SOURCE: Forestier, Georges. “The Racinian Hero and the Classical Theory of Characterization.” In Racine: The Power and the Pleasure, edited by Edric Calidcott and Derval Conroy, pp. 14-26. Dublin: University College Dublin Press, 2001.

In the following essay, Forestier discusses Racine's conception of characterization for the stage, focusing on his innovative contribution to the portrayal of tragic heroes.

It is evident from a reading of Subligny's La Folle querelle ou la Critique d'Andromaque (1668) that the debate surrounding Andromaque immediately provoked contention regarding whether or not Racine was worthy of being considered Corneille's equal.¹ As far as is known, it was never seriously considered that Quinault, despite his success, should even be compared to Corneille. In the case of Racine, however, the public genuinely felt that the young author had opened up a new path between Cornelian tragedy and la tragédie galante. Racine's new form, based on the tragedy...