Analysis Of Phedre Was A Classic Tragedy Written By...

â€Å"Phà ¨dre† was a classic tragedy written by Jean Racine in the 17th century. It explored the theme of fatality, with regards to Greek mythological references. The drama reflected the importance of order and harmony (L1) during classicism period in light of Racinian poetics. It also paralleled with the political background during Louis XIV regime, through the portrayal of Thà ©sà ©e as a heroic dominant both within and outside the palace. Among the many themes aforementioned, this commentary will shed light on Racine’s arrangement of plot structure, use of the dramatic and linguistic effect, major classicism values, and parallelism with the absolute monarchy in France. To begin with, the first part of the extract from Act 4 Scene 2 was a dialogue between Hippolytus and Thà ©sà ©e. It served as a plot device and revealed the prominence of logical thinking in the 17th century. Thà ©sà ©e’s accusation of â€Å"d inceste et d adultà ¨re† against Hippolytus triggered him to confess his love for Aricia as a defense. However, it enraged Thà ©sà ©e even more as he perceived it as his son’s atrocious attempt to cover up his â€Å"brutale insolence†. This scene helped to transit the play to the ‘falling action’ in which Hippolytus and Thà ©sà ©e unwittingly became the victims of Oenone’s perfidy. This scene also hinted the idea of determinism and free will. Each action and choice would casually lead to another one, like the domino effect. Such as how Thà ©sà ©e accusation against his son led to Hippolytus revealing