Abstract :

Louis-Benoît Picard (1769-1828) engaged himself, since 1812, in revising his plays, arranging them in order and justifying them with prefaces expressing his ideas and principles. These (later) prefaces are rich in analysis, judgment and reflection, and represent ideas relating to comedy and the talent of the playwright. The object of this research is to explain how Picard used his prefaces as a doctrinal corpus of his dramatic production. To do this, we will analyze the various prefaces of Picard to identify the precise principles of his comedy and his theater in general.