Jean Racine
modernFrench Classicism / Neoclassical Tragedy1639 – 1699
Jean Racine (1639–1699) was a French dramatist widely regarded as one of the greatest tragedians of the French classical period. His plays, drawing heavily on Greek and Roman sources, exemplify neoclassical ideals of unity, restraint, and psychological depth, and he is often paired with Corneille and Molière as a pillar of 17th-century French theater.
Notable Achievements
1
Wrote Phèdre (1677), considered a masterpiece of French tragedy
2
Authored Andromaque, Britannicus, Bérénice, and Iphigénie
3
Refined the neoclassical unities of time, place, and action in drama
4
Elected to the Académie française in 1673
5
Served as royal historiographer to Louis XIV