Racine (1639-1699) was born in La Ferté-Milon in Picardy, a historic province of northern France. He was one of the most emblematic figures of French classicism in the theatre and literature of the mid to late seventeenth century. He was educated by scholars of Greek – he learned Sophocles and Euripides by heart – and Jansenist monks, as well as studying Pascal, rhetoric and theology. His first plays were the tragedies The Thebans (Le Thébaïde)  and Alexander the Great (Alexandre le Grand), which were staged by Molière’s company.
 

His eleven tragedies and one comedy all observe the Aristotelian unities of action, place and time, while he wrote in Alexandrine verse, following the classicist prescription for noble and elevated language. His heroes, captives of their passions, are led inevitably to their doom. His work is characterised by simplicity of action, believability, propriety, and an elegant style. For Racine, the aim of delighting and moving audiences outweighed blind adherence to aesthetic rules. His tragedies can be divided into those based on Greek and Roman literature, and those inspired by the Bible. Through his plays, he was co-creator and custodian of the literary myth of the age of Louis XIV and the school of classicism.
 

In 1673, he was elected to the Académie Française, which cemented his popularity and won him the favour of the court. His elevation was sealed with the acquisition of a noble title and his appointment, together with the poet Boileau, as historiographer to Louis XIV.

 

A short list of his plays: 
Andromache [Andromaque], Britannicus, Berenice [Bérénice], Iphigenia [Iphigénie], Phaedra [Phèdre], Esther.

 

My heart, I struggle vainly to be free
From you and from myself; I shun you, present;
Absent, I find you near; (Phaedra)