RACINE, JEAN°

RACINE, JEAN°
RACINE, JEAN° (1639–1699), French tragic dramatist. Racine's reputation rests on nine tragedies in Alexandrine verse written between 1667 and 1691. There is no record of his having any personal knowledge of Jews, but the heroine's speech in Esther (1689) makes his sympathy for them clear enough. A reference in the preface to Esther to the modern celebration of Purim also shows an awareness of Jewish customs. Racine's profound knowledge of the Scriptures and its application to his work can be traced to his Jansenist education at Port-Royal (1655–58), where he first met blaise pascal and enjoyed semi-private tutoring by such scholars as Louis-Isaac Le Maître de Saci (1615–84), the translator and Bible commentator, and Jean   Hamon (1618–87), author of a four-volume commentary on the Song of Songs (1708). Racine obtained the most thorough grounding in the Scriptures then available in France, but did not learn Hebrew. His knowledge of Midrash and Targum and Jewish traditions were derived from the works of the contemporary Christian Hebraists Matthew Poole, john lightfoot , and richard simon . Racine's Phèdre (1677), though based on classical myth, involves Judeo-Greek syncretism. Phaedra's pangs of conscience can only be understood within the framework of biblical law and a biblical conception of man's relationship to the Deity. The biblical tragedies (Esther, 1689; Athalie, 1691) are less religious in implication than Phèdre, and partake of the rationalist spirit that pervaded French intellectual society at the end of the 17th century. Like most of Racine's plays, Esther depicts only the last part of the story, stressing midrashic, apocryphal, and original elements–Ahasuerus' dream, Esther's prayer, and an intimate conversation between Haman and his wife. Haman's pathetic supplication to the queen, Esther's refusal of pardon, and her silence when the king falsely accuses Haman of attempting to rape her are given far more emphasis in Racine's play than in the biblical narrative. david franco-mendes , who pointed out that Racine's last great tragedy supports Queen Athaliah in her struggle against God, intended his Hebrew melodrama Gemul Atalyah (Amsterdam, 1770) as a reply to the French author. Racine makes the high priest Joad (the biblical Jehoiadah) a prophet of heroic faith, who foresees on stage the criminal career of his Davidic protégé, yet unflinchingly sacrifices his own son to his messianic hopes. A Hebrew verse translation of Esther by solomon judah rapoport , entitled She'erit Yehudah, was published in Vienna in 1827 in Bikkurei ha-Ittim, 7, 171–254. Athalie was twice translated into Hebrew, first by meir ha-levi letteris (1835), and a century later by Elijah Meitus (1950). A two-volume English translation by Samuel Solomon of Racine's complete plays appeared in New York in 1968. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: L.-C. Delfour, La Bible dans Racine (1891); J. Lichtenstein, Racine, poète biblique (1934); G. Spillebout, Le vocabulaire biblique de Racine (1968); Salomon, in: Cahiers raciniens, 15 (1964); 23 (1968); idem, in: Etudes françaises, 1 (June 1965), 131–5; C. Lehrmann, L'Elément juif dans la littérature française, 1 (19602), 97–113; J.M. Cohen, History of Western Literature (1956), 190–5; L. Goldmann, Le Dieu Caché (1955); idem, Jean Racine dramaturge (1956). (Herman Prins Salomon)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

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  • Racine, Jean de — Racine, Jean de, der französische Euripides, sowohl in Auffassung und Darstellung der Charaktere, als in der sanften Süßigkeit und dem duftigen Schmelz der Sprache, der über seine besten Dichtungen ausgegossen ist. Schon in frühester Jugend hegte …   Damen Conversations Lexikon

  • Racine, Jean — • Brief biography of the seventeenth century dramatist Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Racine, Jean — ▪ French dramatist Introduction in full  Jean baptiste Racine  baptized December 22, 1639, La Ferté Milon, France died April 21, 1699, Paris  French dramatic poet and historiographer renowned for his mastery of French classical tragedy. His… …   Universalium

  • Racine, Jean — (1639 1699)    dramatist    Considered the greatest writer of French classical tragedy, Jean Racine was born in La Ferté Milon, the son of a tax official. orphaned at an early age, he was raised and educated at the Jansenist convent of Port Royal …   France. A reference guide from Renaissance to the Present

  • RACINE, JEAN —    great French tragic poet, born at La Ferté Milon, in the dep. of Aisne; was educated at Beauvais and the Port Royal; in 1663 settled in Paris, gained the favour of Louis XIV. and the friendship of Boileau, La Fontaine, and Molière, though he… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Racine, Jean (-Baptiste) — (baptized Dec. 22, 1639, La Ferté Milon, France died April 21, 1699, Paris) French playwright. Orphaned at an early age, he was educated in a Jansenist convent, and he chose drama in defiance of his upbringing. His first play was produced by… …   Universalium

  • Racine, Jean (-Baptiste) — (bautizado 22 dic. 1639, La Ferté Milon, Francia–21 abr. 1699, París). Dramaturgo francés. Huérfano a temprana edad, se educó en un convento jansenista. Posteriormente escogió la dramaturgia como una expresión de rebeldía ante su educación. Su… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Racine,Jean Baptiste — Ra·cine (rə sēnʹ, rä ), Jean Baptiste. 1639 1699. French playwright. The greatest tragedian of the French classical period, he based his works, such as Britannicus (1669) and Phèdre (1677), on classical Greek and Roman themes. * * * …   Universalium

  • Racine, Jean — ► (1639 99) Poeta trágico francés. Fue protegido de Luis XIV. Alexandre le Grand fue, en 1665, su primer gran éxito. Fue miembro de la Academia Francesa en 1673. Sus tragedias son de gran intensidad dramática, por el acertado y veraz juego de las …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Jean Racine — (IPA fr|ʒɑ̃ ʁaˈsin) (December 22, 1639 ndash; April 21, 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the big three of 17th century France (along with Molière and Corneille), and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition. Racine… …   Wikipedia

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