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The Complete Plays of Jean Racine - Volume I
The Theban Brothers
Alexander the Great
Andromache
The Litigants
Britannicus
Berenice
- GenresPlays
444 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 1967
26 people want to read
About the author
Jean Racine
2,048 books363 followersClassical Greek and Roman themes base noted tragedies, such as
Britannicus
(1669) and
Phèdre
(1677), of French playwright Jean Baptiste Racine.
Adherents of movement of Cornelis Jansen included Jean Baptiste Racine.
This dramatist ranks alongside Molière (Jean Baptiste Poquelin) and Pierre Corneille of the "big three" of 17th century and of the most important literary figures in the western tradition. Psychological insight, the prevailing passion of characters, and the nakedness of both plot and stage mark dramaturgy of Racine. Although primarily a tragedian, Racine wrote one comedy.
Orphaned by the age of four years when his mother died in 1641 and his father died in 1643, he came into the care of his grandparents. At the death of his grandfather in 1649, his grandmother, Marie des Moulins, went to live in the convent of Port-Royal and took her grandson Jean-Baptiste. He received a classical education at the Petites écoles de Port-Royal, a religious institution that greatly influenced other contemporary figures, including Blaise Pascal.
The French bishops and the pope condemned Jansenism, a heretical theology, but its followers ran Port-Royal. Interactions of Racine with the Jansenists in his years at this academy great influenced the rest of his life. At Port-Royal, he excelled in his studies of the classics, and the themes of Greek and Roman mythology played large roles in his works.
Jean Racine died from cancer of the liver. He requested burial in Port-Royal, but after Louis XIV razed this site in 1710, people moved his body to the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont in Paris.
*source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Ra...
Adherents of movement of Cornelis Jansen included Jean Baptiste Racine.
This dramatist ranks alongside Molière (Jean Baptiste Poquelin) and Pierre Corneille of the "big three" of 17th century and of the most important literary figures in the western tradition. Psychological insight, the prevailing passion of characters, and the nakedness of both plot and stage mark dramaturgy of Racine. Although primarily a tragedian, Racine wrote one comedy.
Orphaned by the age of four years when his mother died in 1641 and his father died in 1643, he came into the care of his grandparents. At the death of his grandfather in 1649, his grandmother, Marie des Moulins, went to live in the convent of Port-Royal and took her grandson Jean-Baptiste. He received a classical education at the Petites écoles de Port-Royal, a religious institution that greatly influenced other contemporary figures, including Blaise Pascal.
The French bishops and the pope condemned Jansenism, a heretical theology, but its followers ran Port-Royal. Interactions of Racine with the Jansenists in his years at this academy great influenced the rest of his life. At Port-Royal, he excelled in his studies of the classics, and the themes of Greek and Roman mythology played large roles in his works.
Jean Racine died from cancer of the liver. He requested burial in Port-Royal, but after Louis XIV razed this site in 1710, people moved his body to the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont in Paris.
*source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Ra...
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March 6, 2016
In the renaissance English theatre, women’s roles were not as central as in Racine’s plays. Shakespeare has a few genuinely good female roles – Lady Macbeth, Cleopatra, Viola, Juliet, Goneril, etc. But his plays were much more active and more sweeping in scope and conception. And he had boys playing women’s roles, so perhaps the opportunity wasn’t there.
But Racine’s plays are full of well formed and remarkable women. This is because the plays (the tragedies) are about doomed love. They consist mostly of speeches about how much two people love each other, or hate other, mixed in with a few scenes of plot usually leading to one or both of the lovers’ death.
Racine models his work after the Greeks, and sometimes uses their same plots. He generally respects the unities of time and place. This creates a very formal, speech-focused art form with little action on stage. It is a very narrow path that is challenging to create dynamic, and in some ways the plays really consist of one or two key, emotionally powerful scenes surrounded by set-up scenes.
Voltaire, Flaubert and Giraudoux lauded the beauty and impact of Racine’s poetry. And at moments, in Phaedra for example, Racine achieves a sublime quality. But in others, the scenes are stiff and narrow and talky. Generally, I prefer a larger and more active (i.e., Shakespearian) stage.
Samuel Solomon provides a workmanlike translation. Racine is often described as “untranslatable” (for his “elegance, purity, speed, and fury” per Wikipedia). Solomon’s translations are described in the foreword as “superb” and that the “untranslatable has been translated for the first time in three hundred years” (incidentally by someone who helped edit the translations prior to publication).
That said, I thought the Solomon translations are unremarkable. There is a dearth of lines that stand out as exceptionally beautiful in form or meaning. He deftly and strategically uses rhyme (Racine wrote in rhymed couplets) in key places. Overall, though, the feeling is prosaic with the occasional odd poetic syntax is disconcerting the reader/viewer.
That said, I think Racine’s appeal might be deeper than broader. If you like his style and approach and themes, you love it. If not, you’re left wondering what the fuss is about. I’m with the latter.
Andromache – *** This is a moving play with interesting twists and turns. Like Racine’s other plays, love is like a fever or disease that drives the characters to insanity. If that’s your kind of thing, this is a must see/read. If, though, like me, it doesn’t hold as much interest, this is nice but not a must read.
The Litigants – ** This is a moderately entertaining farce. This edition did no favors for Racine or the play. Other than saying it’s based on Aristophanes’ The Wasps, we are given no context for the social roles of the characters. Who are these people? What are they trying to achieve? How do these courts work? Beats me. This volume won’t tell you.
Britannicus – *** This is another Racine tale of the lovelorn and the making (unleashing?) of Nero’s madness. This does have some charm and Narcissus is deliciously evil. The other characters, except Junia, are interesting and lively creations. This is one of my favorite Racine plays and it provides a good introduction for newcomers.
But Racine’s plays are full of well formed and remarkable women. This is because the plays (the tragedies) are about doomed love. They consist mostly of speeches about how much two people love each other, or hate other, mixed in with a few scenes of plot usually leading to one or both of the lovers’ death.
Racine models his work after the Greeks, and sometimes uses their same plots. He generally respects the unities of time and place. This creates a very formal, speech-focused art form with little action on stage. It is a very narrow path that is challenging to create dynamic, and in some ways the plays really consist of one or two key, emotionally powerful scenes surrounded by set-up scenes.
Voltaire, Flaubert and Giraudoux lauded the beauty and impact of Racine’s poetry. And at moments, in Phaedra for example, Racine achieves a sublime quality. But in others, the scenes are stiff and narrow and talky. Generally, I prefer a larger and more active (i.e., Shakespearian) stage.
Samuel Solomon provides a workmanlike translation. Racine is often described as “untranslatable” (for his “elegance, purity, speed, and fury” per Wikipedia). Solomon’s translations are described in the foreword as “superb” and that the “untranslatable has been translated for the first time in three hundred years” (incidentally by someone who helped edit the translations prior to publication).
That said, I thought the Solomon translations are unremarkable. There is a dearth of lines that stand out as exceptionally beautiful in form or meaning. He deftly and strategically uses rhyme (Racine wrote in rhymed couplets) in key places. Overall, though, the feeling is prosaic with the occasional odd poetic syntax is disconcerting the reader/viewer.
That said, I think Racine’s appeal might be deeper than broader. If you like his style and approach and themes, you love it. If not, you’re left wondering what the fuss is about. I’m with the latter.
Andromache – *** This is a moving play with interesting twists and turns. Like Racine’s other plays, love is like a fever or disease that drives the characters to insanity. If that’s your kind of thing, this is a must see/read. If, though, like me, it doesn’t hold as much interest, this is nice but not a must read.
The Litigants – ** This is a moderately entertaining farce. This edition did no favors for Racine or the play. Other than saying it’s based on Aristophanes’ The Wasps, we are given no context for the social roles of the characters. Who are these people? What are they trying to achieve? How do these courts work? Beats me. This volume won’t tell you.
Britannicus – *** This is another Racine tale of the lovelorn and the making (unleashing?) of Nero’s madness. This does have some charm and Narcissus is deliciously evil. The other characters, except Junia, are interesting and lively creations. This is one of my favorite Racine plays and it provides a good introduction for newcomers.
Displaying 1 of 1 review