Jean Racine
At a glance:
- Series: Dictionary of World Biography: The 17th and 18th Centuries
- Categories: Literature, Publishing
- Subcategories: Drama, Theater, Playwrights
- Curriculum: French History, 17th Century European History
Article abstract: Combining psychological insight, poetic power, and a profoundly pessimistic view of human life, Racine wrote the finest tragedies in French literature.
Early Life
Jean Baptiste Racine was born in the village of La Ferté-Milon, near Soissons, France, and was baptized on December 22, 1639, presumably shortly after his birth. His mother was Jeanne Sconin Racine, and his father was Jean Racine, a minor local official. When Jean Baptiste was a year old, his mother died in childbirth. Although his father remarried a year later, he too died,...
[The entire page is 2512 words long]