Athalie

Athalie
Actress playing the role of Athalie, 1850s.
Written byJean Racine
ChorusDaughters of the tribe of Levi
CharactersAthalie
Joad
Josabet
Salomith
Abner
Azartah, Ishmael, priests and Levites
Mathan
Nabal
Agar
Nurse of Joad
Date premiered1691
Original languageFrench
Genretragedy
SettingJerusalem Temple, a vestibule of the High Priest's apartment, c. 835 BC

Athalie ([a.ta.li], sometimes translated Athalia) is a 1691 play, the final tragedy of Jean Racine, and has been described as the masterpiece[1][2] of "one of the greatest literary artists known"[3] and the "ripest work" of Racine's genius.[4] Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve deemed it comparable to Oedipus Rex in beauty, with "the true God added."[5] August Wilhelm Schlegel thought Athalie to be "animated by divine breath";[4] other critics have regarded the poetics of drama in the play to be superior to those of Aristotle.[5]

  1. ^ ""ATHALIE" PLAYED AT HARVARD; Racine's Masterpiece Produced Before a Brilliant Audience in Sander's Theatre -- Gov. Wolcott Present". The New York Times. 7 December 1897.
  2. ^ Mann, Albert (1929). "Racine's Biblical Masterpieces, Esther and Athalie by Jean Racine; James Bruner". The French Review. 3 (1): 55–57. JSTOR 379685.
  3. ^ Racine, J.; Eggert, C.A. (1909). Athalie. Heath. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  4. ^ a b Racine, J. (1911). Athalie. D.C. Heath & Company. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Is French Literature Passee? was invoked but never defined (see the help page).