Three Plays

Jean Baptiste Racine (1639-99) is the undisputed master of tragic pathos in French literature. He was a member of the group of dramatists, known as 'The Four' which also included La Fontaine, Boileau and Moliere. His tragic masterpieces, Andromache (1677, a tragedy after Euripides, and Phaedra (1677), a marvellous representation of human agony, were produced by the Hotel de Boourgogne company after Racine had become dissatisfied with Moliere's company at the Palais Royal. Athaliah is an Old Testament religious tragedy first performed in 1691. These three plays are powerfully concentrated portrayals of timeless human passions: sexual desire and jealousy, hatred and ambition.