... was largely the driving force behind its acceptance, but even the great Victor Hugo had his influences. Years before Hugo shocked France with Hernani, other French authors had attempted to free theatre from strict classical rules. The first such author was Voltaire "came to consider the French neo classical ideal overly restrictive and sought to thereafter liberalize it- (Brockett 275) after ... surrounding it left LeSage estranged from the Comedie Francaise. Denis Diderot, who compiled and edited the Encyclopedia, vehemently argued against neoclassicism's restriction on genre (comedy a...

• Word Count: 2960
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography