One of the greatest of all French dramatists, lived 1639-1699, and the author of many masterpieces of poetic drama such as:
They are derived from Greek, Roman, Biblical, and contemporary sources (the recent Turkish ruler Bajazet or Bayezid). He is in some ways the French Shakespeare, except that he divided the honour, being one of three equally talented playwrights in France at that time: with his friend the comedian Molière and his rival the dramatist Pierre Corneille. He was also a great friend of the poets La Fontaine and Boileau.