I finished reading Britannicus by Jean Racine, translated by John Cairncross. It’s a play of five acts and was first performed in 1669.

The plot centers on the Roman emperor Nero, his mother Agrippina, his stepbrother Britannicus, and Britannicus’s lover, June. The action takes place over a single day and tracks the characters’ attempts to navigate a power struggle complicated by familial relationships, love, and the manipulations of influential advisers. The play is focused and tightly written; the action, language, and characters are noticeably restrained.

Racine is able to compress a complex historical situation and present it in a moving work that highlights the nature of morality in decision-making. I am increasingly impressed with Racine’s work, the more of his plays I read.

You light a fire that cannot be put out.

Dreaded by all, you’ll go in fear of all,

Always oppress, and tremble in your plans,

And number all your subjects as your foes.