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Andromache (Magill Book Reviews)

At a glance:

Racine combines in this play a plot and characters drawn from the ancient tale of the Trojan war with his own strict rule of the “three unities” of tragedy. The play unfolds in a single day, in one room, and all the characters and action are settled on one problem, the reconciliation of four incompatible passions.

Orestes, son of Agamemnon, loves Hermione, daughter of Menelaus and betrothed of Pyrrhus, Achilles’ son. Pyrrhus loves his captive, Andromache, but she is devoted only to her son and the memory of her dead husband, Hector. Orestes’ arrival as the Grecian envoy,...

[The entire page is 522 words long]

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