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zefirino's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
loumi93's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ilovemondays's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Meh
cajonist's review against another edition
4.0
W.H. Auden in 1941 set a syllabus for an English Literature module that required an absolutely ludicrous amount of reading spanning a considerable cross section of the entirety of Modern English prose plus several Wagner operas. At some point, I read an article about this and decided that, while I certainly had no intention of trying to do all this in half an academic year, there was no harm in ticking these texts off the to-do list piecemeal. Phèdre is the first of them that I’ve gotten around to nearly four years after I had the idea.
Phèdre is a Greek-style tragedy written by a French playwright in the 17th century. Once I got into the swing of it I enjoyed it and found the ending really quite gripping. Something I read about it elsewhere that really rang true is how impressively it avoids contrived drama requiring a misunderstanding or a coincidence. There’s no “Oh if only he’d gotten there in time” or “If only she’d had a chance to explain”. Every character seems to be really true to themselves and the drama arises simply by the manner in which the various characters interact with each other without a need for the playwright to throw an obvious spanner in the works. Short, concise, well-constructed. Great play.
Phèdre is a Greek-style tragedy written by a French playwright in the 17th century. Once I got into the swing of it I enjoyed it and found the ending really quite gripping. Something I read about it elsewhere that really rang true is how impressively it avoids contrived drama requiring a misunderstanding or a coincidence. There’s no “Oh if only he’d gotten there in time” or “If only she’d had a chance to explain”. Every character seems to be really true to themselves and the drama arises simply by the manner in which the various characters interact with each other without a need for the playwright to throw an obvious spanner in the works. Short, concise, well-constructed. Great play.
lillacsillag's review against another edition
4.0
think soap opera but ancient greek and written in french alexandrine verse. god this was so fun.
jo_strader's review against another edition
5.0
Racine does an excellent job recreating the story of Phaedra. I love Greek theatre!
mini142's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
lisareadsclassics's review against another edition
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
wcharliebrown's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5