Jean Racine facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jean Racine
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Portrait of Jean Racine by Jean-Baptiste Santerre
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| Born | Jean-Baptiste Racine 22 December 1639 La Ferté-Milon, France |
| Died | 21 April 1699 (aged 59) Paris, France |
| Occupation | Dramatist |
| Citizenship | French |
| Period | Seventeenth century |
| Genre | Tragedy (primarily), comedy |
| Literary movement | Classicalism, Jansenism |
| Notable works | Andromaque, Phèdre, Athalie |
Jean Racine, baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine (22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699), was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, and an important literary figure in the Western tradition.
The quality of Racine's poetry is perhaps his greatest contribution to French literature. His use of the alexandrine poetic line is considered exceptional in its harmony, simplicity and elegance.
Racine was primarily a tragedian, producing such "examples of neoclassical perfection" as Phèdre, Andromaque, and Athalie, although he did write one comedy, Les Plaideurs, Esther, for the young.
Jean Racine died in 1699 from cancer of the liver. He requested burial in Port-Royal, but after Louis XIV had this site razed in 1710, his remains were moved to the Saint-Étienne-du-Mont church in Paris.
Images for kids
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Jean Racine
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Jean Racine on the 1989 USSR commemorative stamp
