1639-1699. French dramatist and exponent of
the classical tragedy in French drama. His
subjects came from Greek mythology and he
observed the rules of classical Greek drama.
Most of his tragedies have women in the title
role, for example Andromaque 1667, Iphigenie
1674, and Phedre 1677. After the contemporary
failure of Phedre he no longer wrote for the
secular stage, but influenced by Madame de
Maintenon wrote two religious dramas, Esther
1689 and Athalie 1691, which achieved
posthumous success.