Racine, Jean Baptiste

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Racine, Jean Baptiste (1639–99) French classical dramatist whose early plays, such as La Thebaïde (1664) and Alexandre le Grand (1665), were influenced by contemporaries such as Corneille. Racine's later plays, such as Britannicus (1669), Bérénice (1670), Mithridate (1673), and Phèdre (1677), are cornerstones of French literature.

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