Phèdre

Based on Euripides' Hippolytus, this play by one of France's greatest playwrights is a magnificent example of character exposition. When the title character, Hippolytus' stepmother, receives false information that her husband, Theseus, is dead, Phèdra reveals a passionate love for her stepson — a...

Dramatist Jean Racine (1639–1699) is renowned for his mastery of French classical tragedy. Racine modeled his plays after the ancient Greek and Roman traditions, reinvigorating the classics with an emphasis on his characters' consciousness rather than their actions. His plays were enormously succ...