RACINE, Jean (Racine Jean)

(1639-1699)
Born in Fertе?-Milon, the son of an official of the local tax service, was baptized Dec. 22, 1639. His mother died in 1641 at birth of her second child - sister of the poet Marie. His father married again, but two years later he died very young, twenty-eight years old. The children took the education of grandmother.
At the age of nine years, Racine was a boarder school in Beauvais, which was linked to Port-Royal. In 1655 he was admitted a student in the abbey itself. Spent there three years had a decisive influence on his literary development. He studied at four outstanding classical scholar of the era, and under their leadership was excellent Hellenists. Impressionable young man perceived as a direct impact of powerful and dark yansenistskogo motion. The conflict between Jansenism and carried through a lifetime love of classical literature was a source of inspiration for the Racine, defined the tone of his creations.

Completing college education in Paris Harcourt, in 1660, he stayed with his cousin N. Vitara administering the estate of the Duke de Luynes. Around this time in Racine have appeared in literary communication environment, where he became acquainted with the poet Zh.de Lafontaine. In the same year the poem was written by the Nymph of the Seine (La Nymphe de la Seine), for which the Racine received a pension from the king, as well as their first two plays and never put on stage and not preserved.

Feeling no vocation to the ecclesiastical career, Racine Yet in 1661 he moved to his uncle, a priest Yuze southern town, hoping to receive from the church benefices, which would allow him to devote himself to literary work. Negotiations to this effect were not successful, and in 1662 or 1663 Racine returned to Paris. The terms of his literary acquaintances widened, before it opened the door of the court Salons. It is believed that the first two of the surviving pieces - Fivaida (La Thbaide) and Alexander the Great (Alexandre le Grand) - he wrote on the advice of Moliere, who put them in 1664 and 1665.

By the nature of Racine was a man of arrogant, irritable, and treacherous, his ambition was consumed. All this explains the frenzied hostility of contemporaries, and violent clashes that accompanied Racine throughout his creative life.

During the two years following the statement of Alexander the Great, Racine strengthened ties with the court, opened the way to a personal friendship with King Louis XIV, has gained the patronage of the royal mistress, Madame de Montespan. Subsequently, he may bring her in the form of 'arrogant Wasti' in the play Esther (Esther, 1689), written after the fact, as King has captured the heart of Madame de Maintenon. He also led his mistress, the celebrated actress Teresa du Parc, Moliere's troupe to leave and go to the theater 'Burgundy hotel', where in 1667 she played the title role in the Andromache (Andromaque), one of his greatest tragedies. The originality of the play is an amazing ability to Racine to see the heart-rending human fierce passions raging under the cover of assimilated culture. The conflict between duty and feeling is missing here. Naked clash of conflicting aspirations leads to the inevitable, devastating catastrophe.

The only comedy Racine Catchpole (Les Plaideurs) was set in 1668. In 1669 with moderate success was the tragedy Britannicus (Britannicus). In Andromache Racine first used the plot plan, which would be usual in his later plays: A has B, and he loves C. Variant of this model is given in the Britannica, which oppose the criminal and the innocent pair: Agrippina and Nero - Junius and Britannicus. Production next year Berenice (Brnice), which performed the title role of Racine's new mistress, Mademoiselle de Shanmele, became one of the greatest mysteries in the history of literature. It was claimed that in the images of Titus and Berenice Racine brought Louis XIV and his daughter Henrietta English that is supposedly and gave Racine and Corneille idea of writing a play on the same plot. Now it seems more accurate version of that love Titus and Berenice reflected a brief but torrid romance with Mary Mancini King, niece of Cardinal Mazarin, which Louis would sit on the throne. The version of the rivalry between the two playwrights also challenged. It is possible that learned about the intentions of Corneille and Racine, in accordance with the literature mores 17., Wrote his tragedy Titus and Berenice, in the hope to prevail over rival. If so, he acted rashly: Racine won a resounding victory in the competition.

For Berenice followed Bayazet (Bajazet, 1672), Mitridate (Mithridate, 1673), Iphigenia (Iphignie, 1674) and Fedra (Phdre, 1677). The latest tragedy is the top drama of Racine. It surpasses all the other pieces of poetry and beauty of deep penetration into the recesses of the human soul. As before, there is no conflict between the rational principles and cardiac inclination. Phaedra is shown as a woman in a highly sensual, but love for Hippolyte poisoned for her sense of his sinfulness. Production Phaedra was a turning point in the creative destiny of Racine. His enemies, led by the Duchess Buyonskoy, who saw in the 'incestuous' passion Phaedra for her stepson allusion to the perverted morals of their own circle, make every effort to damn a play. Second-rate playwright Pradonu was instructed to write a tragedy on the same subject, and its rival the play was staged in conjunction with Racine's Phedre.

Suddenly, Racine refused to participate in the ensuing bitter controversy. Being married to a devout and housewifely Catherine de Romanus, who bore him seven children, he was appointed royal historiographer, together with N. Boileau. His only piece for this period were Esther and Athalie (Athalie, a Russian translation in 1977 under the name of Athaliah), written at the request of Madame de Maintenon and played in 1689 and 1691 pupils founded by her school in Saint-Cyr. Racine died April 21, 1699.

They allege that Corneille said on the evening of the first production Britannica, that Racine has paid too much attention to the weaknesses of human nature. These words reveal the importance of innovations brought about by Racine and explains the reason for fierce competition of playwrights, a ruptured 17. two parties. Unlike his contemporaries, we understand that in the work of both reflected the perennial qualities of human nature. Corneille, as a singer of heroic, in their best play depicts the conflict between duty and sense. The theme of almost all of the great tragedies of Racine is a blind passion that sweeps away any moral barriers and leads to an unavoidable accident. In Corneille's characters come out of the conflict to date and cleared, while in Racine, they suffer a complete collapse. Dagger or poison, completing their earthly existence in the physical plane is a consequence of the collapse that has already happened in terms of psychology.