These three plays of Racine teleport Theseus, Nero and Orestes to the court of the Sun King in 18th century France. While no longer vehicles for Dionysian worship, the plays shimmer with characters that seem more Shakespearean than Greek. And, even in translation, the plays are a pleasure to read, both emotionally and intellectually.
Nor should one think that the retelling of Greek tragedy to suit 18th century mores is somehow a betrayal of the text. The Greeks themselves told and retold these myths from different perspectives. Thus, the same characters appear with slight differences in plot in Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. By making the characters seem like contemporaries of early modern France, Racine is merely following an ancient tradition.
Moreover, Racine chose subjects and wrote dialogue that evoked romantic love in all its tortuous and painful aspects more than the first Greek playwrights. By making romantic love the primary theme, Racine’s renditions appeal to moderns in a way that Dionysian ritual does not.
I recommend this text to all non Franco-phones who have an interest in the time when French culture was the pinnacle which the rest of Europe strove to imitate. Easy to understand with characters that are drawn more from modern theater than ancient drama, these retellings of Greek myths reverberate with an impressive resonance for the contemporary reader. In short, a pleasurable way to extend one’s cultural fluency.
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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover comes a novel that explores life after tragedy and the enduring spirit of love. | Learn more
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