Jacques Pradon, often called Nicolas Pradon (1632 – 14 January 1698), was a French playwright. Early in his career, he was helped by

Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; ; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great 17th-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronage ...

and was introduced to the salons at the Hôtel de Nevers and the Hôtel de Bouillon by Madame Deshoulières. Pradon was born in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

and is the author of eight tragedies: ''Pyrame et Thisbé'' (1674) (see

Pyramus and Thisbe In Greek mythology, Pyramus and Thisbe () are a pair of ill-fated lovers from Babylon, whose story is best known from Ovid's narrative poem ''Metamorphoses''. The tragic myth has been retold by many authors. Pyramus and Thisbe's parents, drive ...

), ''Tamerlan, ou la mort de Bajazet'' (1676), ' (1677), ''La Troade'' (1679), ''Statira'' (1680), ''Regulus'' (1688), ''Germanicus'' (1694) and ''Scipion'' (1697). His plays enjoyed a certain limited success, but were severely judged by his rival

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ; ; 22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille, as well as an important literary figure in the Western tr ...

, who also wrote tragedies based on the stories of Bajazet (

Bayezid I Bayezid I (; ), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt (; ; – 8 March 1403), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1389 to 1402. He adopted the title of ''Sultan-i Rûm'', ''Rûm'' being the Arabic name for the Eastern Roman Empire. In 139 ...

) and

Phaedra Phaedra may refer to: Mythology * Phaedra (mythology), Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus Arts and entertainment * Phaedra (Cabanel), ''Phaedra'' (Cabanel), an 1880 painting by Alexandre Cabanel *House of Phaedra ...

("The only difference between Pradon and me is that I know how to write", Racine is reported to have said), and Racine's supporter

Nicolas Boileau Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

. This rivalry was particularly intense when Pradon brought out his ''Phèdre et Hippolyte'' at the same time as Racine's ''

Phèdre ''Phèdre'' (; originally ''Phèdre et Hippolyte'') is a French dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677 at the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris. Composition and premiere With ...

'' (the writers Donneau de Visé and Adrien-Thomas Perdou de Subligny both took Pradon's side), and throughout his life Pradon wrote several attacks on Boileau. He died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Pradon's plays have been largely denigrated by modern critics, both for his lack of imagination or historical awareness and his utter adherence to the three

classical unities The classical unities, Aristotelian unities, or three unities represent a prescriptive theory of dramatic tragedy that was introduced in Italy in the 16th century and was influential for three centuries. The three unities are: #''unity of action' ...

and the ''bienséances'' (proprieties) of . For example, to avoid depicting a stepmother in love with her stepson, Pradon made Phèdre merely Theseus' fiancée. Pradon's 14th-century

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

Tamerlan walks and acts like a gentleman of the 17th-century French court.

Notes

References

* Patrick Dandrey, ed. ''Dictionnaire des lettres françaises: Le XVIIe siècle.'' Collection: La Pochothèque. Paris: Fayard, 1996. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pradon, Jacques Writers from Rouen 1632 births 1698 deaths 17th-century French dramatists and playwrights 17th-century French male writers