Phedra by Jean Racine (9780486817132)

Description - Phedra by Jean Racine

Acclaimed by Voltaire as "the masterpiece of the human mind," Racine's 17th-century drama is based on Euripides' tragedy Hippolytus. The French playwright employs powerful language that brings new life to the ancient mythological tale of a queen whose incestuous passion for her stepson ignites an emotional firestorm of guilt, shame, and jealousy that consumes many lives. A magnificent example of character exposition and dramatisation of powerful spiritual conflicts, Phedra focuses on the destructive power of love - a theme common to Racine's other works rooted in classical mythology. As in the author's other tragedies, the most memorable characters of this play are fierce yet tenderhearted women. Portraying people as they are rather than as they ought to be, Racine was among the first French dramatists to praise the passions of the heart. This edition features a prose translation by the noted educator and scholar of French literature, Wallace Fowlie. AUTHOR: Dramatist Jean Racine (16391699) is renowned for his mastery of French classical tragedy. Racine modeled his plays after the ancient Greek and Roman traditions, reinvigorating the classics with an emphasis on his characters' consciousness rather than their actions. His plays were enormously successful, and he retired from the theater at the height of his powers to serve as royal historiographer in the court of Louis XIV.

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