Esther

Racine, Jean, 1639-1699Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.2

Word count: 170K words
Chapters: 17

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Esther by Jean RacineAuthor: Racine, Jean, 1639-1699,Language: French, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: May 7, 2005

Editor's review

Racine's late tragedy Esther draws on the biblical Book of Esther and is set in the Persian court, telling how a Jewish woman, Esther, steps forward in grave danger and changes her people's fate. In this play Racine curbs the intense passion and blood vengeance of his earlier works, turning instead to a more restrained religious solemnity and choral lyricism while keeping the spare structure and strong tension of classical tragedy. This edition is the French-language eBook released by Project Gutenberg; the text is light and easy to search, and is best read as one node in the genealogy of Racine's works: it can be set against Phèdre and Britannicus to observe the turn in his late style, and it can also serve teaching and research on French classical drama and biblical adaptation literature. As you read, note the function of the choral passages and how Racine handles power, loyalty and hidden identity in a religious subject.

Who it's for

A good fit for

University students studying French classical drama and the genealogy of Racine's works
Readers interested in literary adaptations of biblical material
Learners who need the French original for close reading or translation practice
Literature enthusiasts interested in court intrigue and images of women as agents

Not a good fit for

Beginners with no French reading ability and no parallel translation at hand
Readers of popular fiction expecting strong plot conflict and fast-paced narrative
Readers impatient with religious subjects or classical choral form

Reading tips

Read through once for the plot, then return to the choral passages and character monologues for close reading.
Compare with the biblical Book of Esther and observe what Racine adds, cuts and adapts.
Read alongside Racine's early tragedies and note changes in language and emotion that mark his late style.
Take notes on shifts in power relations as you read to help sort out the characters' positions.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in French or English?

According to the Project Gutenberg record, this edition of Esther is the French original, classified under French literature. Readers without French are advised to read it alongside a Chinese or English translation so that language barriers do not hinder their grasp of the plot.

Can I understand it without having read the Bible?

Yes. The core plot revolves around Esther's hidden identity and a court crisis, and even readers unfamiliar with the source text can follow the main line; but knowing the basic background of the Book of Esther makes it easier to understand the characters' motives and the religious meaning of the choruses.

Is this work suitable for studying Racine?

It is suitable as one vantage point on Racine's late career. It differs from his earlier tragedies of passion, leaning more toward religious solemnity and choral lyricism, and can be set against works such as Phèdre to illustrate changes in his creative phases, though it should not be the only introductory text.

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About the author

Racine, Jean, 1639-1699 Author

Jean Racine (1639–1699) was one of the most important tragic poets of the French classical period. The library holds five of his works, whose representative titles include Phaedra, Mithridate, Esther, Athaliah and De Pleiters. His tragedies mostly draw on ancient myth, history and biblical stories, focusing on the intense conflicts of passion, duty and fate within his characters. His language is concise and his structure rigorous, with especially profound psychological portrayal; he is regarded as a model of French classical tragedy and has exerted a lasting influence on later European drama. Public information available here on his life and nationality is limited, so this introduction focuses on the subjects and style of his works.