Phèdre

Ph?dre was a 1677 play by Jean Racine, based on both the play Hippolytus by Euripides, and a later Roman play Phaedra by Seneca the Younger. Due to its negative reception in the popular press, Racine abandoned writing for the public theater after this play (although later in his career he did write additional works on a royal commission). It is generally considered his finest work; it was chosen for inclusion in the Harvard Classics.

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Ph?dre is the last secular tragedy of Racine before a long silence of twelve years, during which time he devoted himself to the service of King Louis XIV and to religion. In Ph?dre, Racine again chose a subject already treated by Greek and Roman tragic poets. In the absence of her husband, King Th?s?e, Ph?dre falls in love with Hippolyte, son of Th?s?e of a preceding marriage.

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Every aspect of Ph?dre was celebrated: the tragic construction, the depth of the personages and the wealth of the versification. In contrast to Euripides in Hippolytos kalyptomenos, Racine puts off Ph?dre's death until the end of the play. In this way, she has time to learn of Hippolyte?s death. Ph?dre, at once guilty of causing misfortune and being victim to it, is most remarkable among Racine's tragic heroes and heroines.

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Jean Racine: Jean Racine (December 22, 1639 – April 21, 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the "big three" of 17th century France (along with Moli?re and Corneille). Racine was primarily a tragedian, though he did write one comedy....

Hippolytus: In Greek mythology, Hippolytus was a son of Theseus and either Antiope or Hippolyte.Hippolytus is the title of a tragedy by Euripides based on the myth.Hippolytus was a writer and the first antipope of the Roman Catholic Church....

Euripides: Euripides (c. 480–406 BCE) was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, along with Aeschylus and Sophocles....