Phèdre. Tragédie en cinq actes et en vers

Following several failed debuts, Racine was to abandon his life in the theatre - until Molière asked him to write a tragedy for the latter's troupe. With the second of the plays he wrote for Molière, Alexandre, Racine at last found success. Racine frequently drew his themes from Greek tragedy, as was the case with his biggest success, Phèdre. The playwright had many enemies, and it may have been partly due to a scandal over the authorship of Phèdre - in which a rival tried to steal Racine's work - that he eventually left the theatre to work as Louis XIV's historiographer. He is remembered as a master of tragedy, both for his poetic language and psychological insight.