About
Jean Racine, baptized on 22 December 1639 in La Ferté-Milon, was orphaned at age four and raised at the Jansenist convent of Port-Royal des Champs, where he received a rigorous classical education. He became famous for his tragedies in Alexandrine verse observing the classical unities, such as Andromaque (1667), Britannicus (1669), Bérénice (1670), Iphigénie (1674), and Phèdre (1677). Elected to the Académie Française in 1673, he was appointed royal historiographer in 1677. After a twelve-year retirement, he wrote two biblical tragedies, Esther (1689) and Athalie (1691), for the school at Saint-Cyr. He died in Paris on 21 April 1699.
* 1639-12-22 — † 1699-04-21
Major works
- Andromaque (1667)tragedy
- Britannicus (1669)tragedy
- Bérénice (1670)tragedy
- Phèdre (1677)tragedy
- Athalie (1691)tragedy
Key milestones
- 1673Elected to the Académie Française.
- 1677Appointed royal historiographer to Louis XIV alongside Nicolas Boileau.
- 1699Dies in Paris on 21 April.
Themes
Passion and reasonTragic fatePolitical powerImpossible loveJansenism and grace
Sources: britannica.com · britishmuseum.org