Racine's last tragedy (1691), composed like Esther for performance at Saint-Cyr. It is a five-act play, magnificently written, with choruses between the acts. Based on accounts in the books of Kings and Chronicles, it tells of the overthrow of the usurper Athaliah by forces loyal to the house of David and the boy king Joas (a rare stage appearance by a child in 17th-c. theatre). The rising is managed by the inflexible high priest Joad, but the influence of Jehovah is felt throughout the play. It can be read either as the tragedy of the queen, the latest stage in the unending feud of two warring camps, or as a triumphal hymn to the true God, whose purposes are fulfilled by the crowning of Joas, the precursor of Christ. The play has also been interpreted as referring to contemporary events, in particular the English Revolution of 1688. It was greatly admired in the 18th and 19th c., even by those who, like Voltaire, did not approve of its religious message.
[Peter France]
