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Esther
Esther
Esther
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Esther

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The 17th century dramatist Jean Racine was considered, along with Molière and Corneille, as one of the three great playwrights of his era. The quality of Racine's poetry has been described as possibly his most important contribution to French literature and his use of the alexandrine poetic line is one of the best examples of such use noted for its harmony, simplicity and elegance. While critics over the centuries have debated the worth of Jean Racine, at present, he is widely considered a literary genius of revolutionary proportions. In this volume of Racine's plays we find "Esther", the penultimate of twelve plays by the author. "Esther" was written at the request of Madame de Maintenon, second wife of King Louis XIV of France, who wished Racine write some more liturgical works to be performed by the pupils of the Maison royale de Saint-Louis, a famous academy for girls. Racine's drama concerns the Biblical character of Esther, Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus, who is commonly thought to be Xerxes I.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 1, 2013
ISBN9781420948998
Esther
Author

Jean Racine

Jean Racine, né le 22 décembre 1639 à La Ferté-Milon et mort le 21 avril 1699 à Paris, est un dramaturge et poète français. Issu d'une famille de petits notables de la Ferté-Milon et tôt orphelin, Racine reçoit auprès des « Solitaires » de Port-Royal une éducation littéraire et religieuse rare.

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    Esther - Jean Racine

    cover.jpg

    ESTHER

    BY JEAN RACINE

    TRANSLATED BY ROBERT BRUCE BOSWELL

    eBook ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-4899-8

    Print ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-4898-1

    This edition copyright © 2013

    Please visit www.digireads.com

    CONTENTS

    INTRODUCTION TO ESTHER.

    CHARACTERS.

    PROLOGUE.

    ACT I.

    ACT II.

    ACT III.

    INTRODUCTION TO ESTHER.

    Esther—the first of Racine's two sacred dramas—is a tragedy in the Aristotelian acceptation of the term, as being concerned with a great and noble action, and calculated to excite generous pity and fear, though the denouement is a happy one for the heroine and her compatriots. It was composed by Racine when he was in his fiftieth year, and acted at the Maison de Saint Cyr in 1689 (see biographical notice, p. xv). The incidents are in strict accordance with the Biblical narrative, but our poet was obliged to invent the character of Elizabeth in order to furnish Esther with the confidante deemed so indispensable in the French drama of the period, while Hydaspes is made to perform a similar office for Haman. The fulsome prologue does not enhance our respect for the too courtly bard, who (speaking in the name of Piety!) extols bigotry, and singles out for special commendation the capital blunder which Louis XIV. had recently committed (1685) in the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. He praises the Dauphin for virtues which were only too conspicuous in him by their absence. His flattery is indirectly extended to Madame de Maintenon in the opening lines of his play, the terms in which allusion is made to Vashti's disgrace being such as to recall the circumstances under which the former had supplanted Madame de Montespan in the king's favour; and the choral odes abound in delicate compliments to the distinguished patroness of the Maison de Saint Cyr.

    Racine rejects the testimony of Herodotus to the purely monotheistic nature of the Persian religion. In this he has some ground of justification; but in representing the Persians as idolaters he is certainly wrong, and probably mistaken also in identifying Ahasuerus with Darius, son of Hystaspes. In Esther Racine for the first time introduces a Chorus, as in the ancient Greek drama, whose songs set to music by Moreau gratefully relieved the monotony of the somewhat stilted dialogue. The unity of place is, moreover, observed less rigidly than usual, a change of scene (though still within the limits of the royal palace) accompanying the rise of the curtain for each of the three Acts.

    CHARACTERS.

    AHASUERUS, King of Persia.

    ESTHER, Queen of Persia.

    MORDECAI, Esther's Uncle.

    HAMAN, Favourite of Ahasuerus.

    ZERESH, Hainan's Wife.

    HYDASPES, Chamberlain of the Inner Palace.

    ASAPH, another of the King's Officers.

    ELIZABETH, Confidential Friend of Esther.

    TAMAR, a Jewess, one of Esther's Attendants.

    Guards of King Ahasuerus.

    Chorus of Young Jewish Maidens.

    The scene is laid at Shushan, in the King's Palace. The Prologue is spoken by Piety.

    PROLOGUE.

    PIETY. From the Divine Creator's blest abode

    I to this dwelling-place of Grace descend

    Which Innocence, my constant comrade, haunts,

    And finds no surer refuge 'neath the skies.

    Here, far from tumult, by my hand is form'd

    In holiest offices a rising race;

    I nourish in their hearts the fruitful seed

    Of virtues that may sanctify the world.

    A King, my guardian, a victorious King,

    Has trusted to my care this precious charge.

    'Tis he has gather'd here these timid doves,

    Else widely scatter'd, without help or guides:

    Raising this palace at

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