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Jean Racine

Type Figure Region France Time 1639–1699 Also known as Jean Racine、Jean-Baptiste Racine

A master of French classical tragedy, ranked with Molière and Corneille as one of the three giants of 17th-century French theater.

Timeline

  1. 1639–1664La Ferté-Milon · PicardyBorn in a small town in Picardy, he received a classical education at Port-Royal. Beginning in the 1650s he tried his hand at tragedy; his Alexander the Great was staged in Paris in 1664, marking his first success.
  2. 1665–1677Paris · Île-de-FranceHis Andromache was a great success in 1667, and through the 1670s he produced masterpieces such as Berenice and Phèdre, establishing the highest achievement of French classical tragedy. In 1672 he was elected to the Académie française, becoming a cultural symbol of the court of Louis XIV.
  3. 1677–1699Paris · Île-de-FranceAfter 1677 he largely ceased writing plays and became court historian to Louis IX, composing the Chronicle of the Great King Louis. In his later years he continued to be honored at court, dying in Paris in 1699.

Sources