On Racine (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

On Racine is a brilliant, personal view of theatre in which Barthes discusses all the major tragedies of Racine as well as the range of critical views of his work.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

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Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (February 11, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520078241
• ISBN-13: 978-0520078246
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,203,411 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, Ripping Little Tome, January 8, 2008

By	R. Williams "code slubber" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love Barthes. This is by far my favorite of his books. It's one of those rare books that literally turns the world inside out. The subject, Racine, is almost incidental. The real subject is the patterns of tragedy, and how a small set of predicates as it were have become the backbone of western letters for thousands of years, and show no sign of losing their thrall. Blood, blackmail, the double, reversals. Barthes lays these out not so much as themes, as they are parts of a pattern language that is deeply rooted not only in humanity, but in our ability to understand ourselves. Philosophy, literature, anthropology, all disappear into this wonderful stew.

How on earth can this be out of print?