7Phèdre (Jean Racine)

No, this is not a play by an Ancient Greek playwright. Phèdre is a 5-act dramatic tragedy written in the 17th century. The play, one of the most famous french plays, is written in alexandrine verse which means that each verse has six iambic feet. Jean Racine is another famous 17th-century playwright that has endured the test of time. He loved neoclassicism and was hugely inspired by the Greeks and their famous tragedies. The play is set in Troezen in Southern Greece where Phèdre declares her love for her husband’s son from a previous marriage (while her husband is away presumably dead). The son, Hippolyte, does not love his step-mother and loves the young Aricia but he is forbidden to love her because she is from an enemy town. Phèdre is embarrassed and decides to seek revenge. Hippolyte is punished by Neptune and dies and when Phèdre goes to explain everything to her husband, she dies at his feet.

8Les Quatre morts de Marie (Carole Fréchette)

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Carole Fréchette is an award-winning French Canadian playwright. Her play Les Quatre morts de Marie, which is one of her greatest works of theatre, is divided into four different parts in which the main character Marie will die each time. Marie is a woman filled with solitude but every time she is finally happy, death looms over her and takes her. From her childhood to her adulthood, the spectator gets to experience and feel the life of Marie.

Free learning guideWould you recommend any other French plays? If you’re not into theatre, try one of these French short stories.