Jean Racine was a 17th-century French playwright and poet, renowned for his mastery of classical tragedy. His works, deeply influenced by Greek and Roman mythology, explore the complexities of human emotion, particularly love, jealousy, and ambition. With a refined use of the French language and a focus on psychological depth, Racine’s most famous plays include Phèdre, Andromaque, and Britannicus. His tragedies are known for their tight structure, moral dilemmas, and tragic inevitability, making him one of the greatest figures in French classical literature.