the complete plays of jean racine bajazet

For this new translation, Geoffrey Alan Argent has taken a fresh approach: he has rendered these plays in rhymed “heroic” couplets. Key terms: Jean Racine, Emmanuel Levinas, tragedy, persecution and aggression, relationships between victims and aggressors, the ethical relationship, Andromaque, Britannicus, Bajazet and Phèdre.This is the second volume of a projected translation into English of all twelve of Jean Racine’s plays-only the third time such a project has been undertaken in the three hundred years since Racine’s death.

The thesis attempts to answer these questions with reference to the following tragedies by Racine: Andromaque, Britannicus, Bajazet and Phèdre., and it will show how the abandoning of ethical relationships by the characters leads to persecution and aggression, which is carried out in physical, psychological, verbal and non-verbal forms. Firstly, what informed the presentation of violence in Racine’s plays and what is the link between passion and persecution? Secondly, how is aggression and persecution worked out through the characters depicted in the plays? And finally, what is the role played by language in revealing and promoting aggression and persecution? This thesis is particularly concerned with what makes the Racinian character violent and why he or she so often experiences a passion that for the most part is impossible to satisfy. Three main questions that are presented as the three chapters that make up this thesis. The focus of this thesis is a study of violence and persecution in the theatre of Racine, where they are central themes, and to analyse them in the light of Emmanuel Levinas’s ethical philosophy. It is never really the same and always displays a new facet that is constantly surprising and unusual. From the simple assault case to premeditated murder, genocide aimed at the eradication of a well-defined community, violence is both repugnant and fascinating because we can never get used to it. Why do human beings inflict voluntary suffering or death to others? This is the eternal problem of evil. Human violence has generated a lot of discussion and led to so many attempts, both scientific and philosophical, to understand its prevalence.

The complete plays of jean racine bajazet