Jean Racine

22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699

Jean Racine (1639-1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of seventeenth-century France alongside Molière and Corneille, and the master of French classical tragedy. His works, including Andromaque, Britannicus, and Phèdre, are celebrated for their psychological intensity and the purity of their alexandrine verse.

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Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Jean Racine.

Life events

Born in La Ferté-Milon
22 December 1639

Jean Racine was baptized on 22 December 1639 in La Ferté-Milon, in the province of Picardy; he was orphaned by the age of four.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Educated at the Jansenist schools of Port-Royal
c. 1649

Raised by his grandmother, Racine received a rigorous classical and religious education at the Petites écoles de Port-Royal, which deeply shaped his literary sensibility.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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First staged tragedy, La Thébaïde, produced by Molière's troupe
June 1664

Racine's first performed play, La Thébaïde, was staged in 1664 by Molière's company at the Palais-Royal in Paris.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Triumph of Andromaque
November 1667

The premiere of Andromaque in November 1667 established Racine as the leading tragedian of his generation.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Elected to the Académie française
1672

Racine was elected to the Académie française in 1672, taking his seat in early 1673.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Premiere of Phèdre
1 January 1677

Phèdre, widely regarded as Racine's masterpiece, premiered in Paris on 1 January 1677.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Appointed royal historiographer to Louis XIV
1677

In 1677 Racine was named historiographer royal to Louis XIV together with Nicolas Boileau, a prestigious court appointment that ended his career as a commercial playwright.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Married Catherine de Romanet
June 1677

In 1677 Racine married Catherine de Romanet, with whom he had seven children, and largely withdrew from the public stage.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Wrote the biblical dramas Esther and Athalie for Saint-Cyr
1689 – 1691

At the request of Madame de Maintenon, Racine returned to drama with the religious plays Esther (1689) and Athalie (1691), written for the schoolgirls of Saint-Cyr.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Died in Paris
21 April 1699

Racine died of liver cancer on 21 April 1699 in Paris and, at his own request, was buried at Port-Royal; his remains were later moved to Saint-Étienne-du-Mont.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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