The play followed Corneille's first true tragedy, Médée, produced in 1635. An enormous popular success, Corneille's Le Cid was the subject of a heated polemic over the norms of dramatic practice known as the Querelle du Cid. Cardinal Richelieu's Académie française acknowledged the play's success, but determined that it was defective, in part because it did not respect the classical unities.

The play focuses on Don Rodrigue and Chimène. Rodrigue's father, Don Diègue, is the old upstart general of medieval Spain and past his prime, whereas Chimène's father is the successful current general, Comte de Gormas. Rodrigue and Chimène love each other, but any chance of marriage is brutally disturbed when Chimène's father insults Rodrigue's father. Torn between his love for Chimène and his duty to avenge his father's honour, Rodrigue chooses the latter and faces the general in a duel in which Don Gomes is killed. Without denying her love, Chimène asks the King for Rodrigue's head.

When the Moors attack, Rodrigue gets the chance to redeem himself in the eye of the nation, and, more importantly, gets a chance to win back Chimène with honour still satisfied. His victories on the battlefield win him the renown of the people, the title of "the Cid," and the gratitude of the King.

Chimène then approaches the King to request that one of his knights duel with Rodrigue for her sake, with the goal of bringing her Rodrigue's head. Although Chimène dislikes her champion, she agrees to marry whoever is the victor of the duel to the death. The King agrees to the duel unhappily (he does not want to risk losing Rodrigue).

Rodrigue speaks to Chimène privately, saying that he will not defend himself against what is symbolically "her" hand. She finally persuades him to do his best, because if he wins, they will marry.

After the duel, Chimène's champion, carrying a bloody sword, comes to where she is waiting. Chimène assumes the worst without giving him the chance to speak. Going before the king, she finally feels free to confess her love for Rodrigue because she believes him to be dead. The champion then explains that Rodrigue disarmed him (the champion) and granted him mercy. After the duel, Rodrigue returned straight to the king, leaving the champion to bring Rodrigue's sword to Chimène.

Although they love each other, Chimène and Rodrigue are reluctant to marry because of their history, but the king says that although it seemed impossible at first, circumstances have proven that they were meant to be together. Still, he realizes they need time to adapt. Chimène will set the date for the wedding, up to a year in advance. Meanwhile, Rodrigue, known as the Cid, will conduct a war against the Moors in their own territory.

Don Fernand - King of CastilleDona Urraque - (Infante) Daughter of a king, in love with Don RodrigueDon Diegue - Father of Don RodrigueDon Gomes - Father of Chimene, General of CastilleDon Rodrigue - Chimene's loverDon Sanche - In love with Chimene and fights RodrigueChimene - Daughter of Don GomesDon AriasDon AlonseLeonor - Governess of Dona UrraqueElvire - Governess of Chimene

The play is the basis for the opera Le Cid by Jules Massenet and partly for Handel's Flavio.

Popular Titles (Displaying 1 Result)

1.

El Cid (1961) aka "Le Cid" - France

Titles (Approx Matches) (Displaying 17 Results)

	1.	Il Cid (1910) aka "Le Cid" - France
	2.	Le Cid (2001) (TV)
	3.	The Deceased (1965) aka "A Falecida" - Brazil (original title) aka "The Death" - International (English title) aka "La fallecida" - Spain
	4.	"Ruy, the Little Cid" (1980) (TV series) aka "Ruy, el pequeño Cid" - Spain (original title)
	5.	Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) aka "Butch Cassidy et le Kid" - Canada (French title), France
	6.	Airplane! (1980) aka "Flying High!" - New Zealand (English title), Philippines (English title) aka "Czy leci z nami pilot?" - Poland
	7.	The Kid (1921) aka "Le Kid" - France
	8.	The Kid (2000) aka "Disney's The Kid" - USA (complete title) aka "Le Kid" - Canada (French title) aka "Disney: Le kid" - Canada (French title)
	9.	Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973) aka "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" - USA (poster title) aka "Pat Garrett et Billy le Kid" - France
	10.	The Cincinnati Kid (1965) aka "Le Kid de Cincinnati" - France
	11.	The Flamingo Kid (1984) aka "Le Kid de la plage" - France
	12.	A Kid in King Arthur's Court (1995) aka "Le Kid et le roi" - France
	13.	Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (1979) aka "Les joyeux débuts de Butch Cassidy et le Kid" - Belgium (French title) (TV title)
	14.	The Geisha Boy (1958) aka "Le Kid en kimono" - France
	15.	Lucid (2005)
	16.	The Kid from Brooklyn (1946) aka "Le kid de Brooklyn" - Belgium (French title)
	17.	Lucid (2006/I)

Characters (Approx Matches) (Displaying 2 Results)

	1.	El Cid (Le Cid (2001) (TV), Plácido Domingo)  aka "Rodrigue Le Cid"
	2.	Leonid Brezhnev (Soldaty Svobody (1977), Yevgeni Matveyev)

Keywords (Approx Matches) (Displaying 2 Results)

	1.	apple-cider (5 titles - The Cider House Rules (1999), ...)
	2.	lucid-dream (27 titles - The Matrix (1999), ...)

Names (Approx Matches) (Displaying 1 Result)

1.

Jay Lenci (Visual Effects, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991))

Companies (Approx Matches) (Displaying 1 Result)

1.

Lucid Post [us] (Post Production Services and Facilities)