My man, the French tragic dramatist (9)

I believe the answer is:

corneille

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'tragic dramatist' is the definition.
'corneille' can be an answer for 'dramatist' (I've seen this before). I am not certain of the 'tragic' bit.

'my man the french' is the wordplay.
'my' becomes 'cor' (both are expressions of surprise).
'man' becomes 'neil' (man's name).
'the french' becomes 'le' ('the' in French).
'cor'+'neil'+'le'='CORNEILLE'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for corneille that I've seen before include "Dramatist" , "Pierre ---, Fr. tragedian" , "French author" , "French writer" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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