Passion, fate and the divine in Racinian tragedy

Inspired by the great Greek tragedies, obeying the rule of three unities, in pure, noble language, Racine depicted the cruelty of fate crushing humanity. This drama is expressed by unbridled passion for love and power, driven to a climax by the passions of the gods, who are embodied in the heroes of Racine’s last two mythological plays. Tragedy becomes a ritualized celebration of human passions, sublimated by the poetic magic of Racine’s writing. In a Jungian perspective, these ferocious, barbaric passions can be associated with the autonomous complexes and archetypal images often personified by the gods who, according to The Seven Sermons to the Dead, yearn to become human. Racine’s last two biblical tragedies are a return to Jansenist severity. By introducing Jehovah and the biblical world to the stage, Racine demands detachment from human passions.