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Jean Racine ( December 22 , 1639 – April 21 , 1699 ) was a French Dramatist , one of the "big three" of 17th Century France (along with Molière and Corneille ). Racine was primarily a Tragedian , though he did write one Comedy . Life Born in produced an ''Iphigénie'' in the same year as Racine ( 1674 ), and Jacques Pradon also wrote a play about '' Phèdre '' ( 1677 ). The success of Pradon's work (the result of the activities of a Claque ) was one of the events which caused Racine to renounce his work as a dramatist at that time. Others, including the historian W.H. Lewis , attribute his retirement from the theater to qualms of conscience. However, the major incident which seems to have contributed to Racine's departure from public life was his implication in a court scandal of 1679 . He got married at about this time, and his religious beliefs and devotion to the Jansenist sect were revived. When at last he returned to the theatre, it was at the request of Madame De Maintenon , mistress of King Louis XIV , with the moral fables, ''Esther'' ( 1689 ) and ''Athalie'' ( 1691 ), both of which were based on Old Testament stories and intended for performance by the pupils of the school of Saint-Cyr . Racine was also a courtier, having first been presented at court in 1664, and in 1677 made (along with Boileau ) Historian to the King; he kept this position in spite of the minor scandals he was involved in, and Louis XIV provided for his widow and children after his death. Jean Racine died in 1699 and is buried in the St. Etienne-du-Mont church in Paris , France. Style The quality of Racine's poetry is perhaps his greatest contribution to French Literature . His use of the Alexandrine is considered exceptional in its harmony, simplicity and elegance. Racine's work faced many criticisms from his contemporaries. One was the lack of historic veracity in plays such as ''Britannicus'' ( 1668 ) and ''Mithridate'' ( 1673 ). Racine was quick to point out that his greatest critics — his rival dramatists — were among the biggest offenders in this respect. Another major criticism levelled at him was the lack of incident in his tragedy, ''Bérénice'' ( 1670 ). Racine's response was that the greatest tragedy does not necessarily consist in bloodshed and death. Works
External links
http://www.verbumvanum.org/indexgreek.html for a philological study of the evolution of Hippolytus as a Chastity Paradigm in Euripides , Seneca , Racine ; extensive bibliography (in Dutch ) Sources
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