French 24, Section 1
Incest and Tragedy: the Case of Racine’s Phèdre (1 unit, P/NP)
Professor Timothy Hampton
Wednesday 1:00-2:00, 205 Wheeler Hall, CCN: 32320

Jean Racine’s 1677 tragedy Phèdre, or Phaedra, as it is known in English, is widely considered to be the greatest dramatic text in French literature, a play rivaled only by Shakespeare’s Hamlet in its density and complexity. Our seminar will be built around a visit to San Francisco to watch the American Conservatory Theater’s presentation of the highly acclaimed Stratford Shakespeare Company’s production of the play. Before and after our visit to the A.C.T. we will read and discuss Phèdre in detail. We will study it in dialogue with earlier versions of the same story by Euripides and Seneca. We will look carefully at the themes of incest and cosmic vengeance that power the play, and place them in the context of the early modern European culture in which Racine was working. And we will look briefly at passages by several modern writers (notably Proust and Stendhal) as a way of gauging the play’s influence. Depending on student interest we may also pay some attention the production history of Phèdre. No knowledge of French is required. All readings and discussion will be in English. Enrollment is limited to fifteen freshmen. This is a Beyond the Classroom Theme seminar.

Timothy Hampton is a Professor of French, Comparative Literature and Italian Studies. He teaches and writes widely on early modern European literature and culture.