''Bajazet'' () is a five-act tragedy by

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 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 traditi ...

written in alexandrine verse and first performed at the Hôtel de Bourgogne theatre in January 1672, after ''

Berenice Berenice ( grc, Βερενίκη, ''Bereníkē'') is the Ancient Macedonian form of the Attic Greek name ''Pherenikē'', which means "bearer of victory" . Berenika, priestess of Demeter in Lete ca. 350 BC, is the oldest epigraphical evidence. ...

'', and before ''

Mithridate Mithridate, also known as mithridatium, mithridatum, or mithridaticum, is a semi-mythical remedy with as many as 65 ingredients, used as an antidote for poisoning, and said to have been created by Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus in the 1st cent ...

''. Like

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...

in ''

The Persians ''The Persians'' ( grc, Πέρσαι, ''Persai'', Latinised as ''Persae'') is an Greek tragedy, ancient Greek tragedy written during the Classical Greece, Classical period of Ancient Greece by the Greek tragedian Aeschylus. It is the second and on ...

'', Racine took his subject from contemporary history, taking care to choose a far off location, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. In 1635, the sultan

Murad IV Murad IV ( ota, مراد رابع, ''Murād-ı Rābiʿ''; tr, IV. Murad, was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods. Murad IV was born in Cons ...

(Amurat, in the work of Racine) had his brothers and potential rivals Bajazet ( Bayezid) and Orcan (Orhan) executed. Racine was inspired by this deed, and centered his play on Bajazet. Racine also develops several romantic subplots in the seraglio. The action is particularly complex, and can only be resolved by a series of deaths and suicides. The initial success of the play was not prolonged. Today, it is one Racine's least played pieces. In 1717 it was staged in London's

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Drur ...

under the title '' The Sultaness'' after being rewritten by Charles Johnson. The character of Bajazet in the opera of the same name by Antonio Vivaldi is not the same as the protagonist of Racine. The play was translated into English by

Alan Hollinghurst Alan James Hollinghurst (born 26 May 1954) is an English novelist, poet, short story writer and translator. He won the 1989 Somerset Maugham Award, the 1994 James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the 2004 Booker Prize. Early life and education H ...

. This translation was published by Chatto & Windus in 1991. In 2011 Pennsylvania State University Press published an English translation of the play by Geoffrey Alan Argent in iambic pentameter couplets. A translation in Alexandrines was made, as for all the other Racine plays, by Samuel Solomon and published by Random House (1967).

Summary of the play

Act 1 (4 scenes)

Osmin brings news of the sultan Amurat to Byzantium : they appear to be at the point of abandoning the siege of Babylon. Acomat, grand vizir, wishes to take advantage of this failure by encouraging the Janissaries to revolt. He has already refused to execute Bajazet as the sultan commanded. Finally, Acomat believes Bajazet and Roxane, the sultan's favorite, are in love, and he wishes to rely on them while marrying Atalide. In reality, Bajazet is in love with Atalide; he only returns the love of Roxane in order to become king.

Act 2 (5 scenes)

Roxane wants to dethrone Amurat by wedding Bajazet. He is reticent, which infuriates Roxane. Acomat, and then Atalide pushes Bajazet to accept, and he considers it.

Act 3 (8 scenes)

Bajazet and Roxane make up, while Atalide wishes to die, having saved the man she loves. Bajazet comes to tell her that he has only made vague promises to Roxane. Roxane overhears this conversation, and begins to realize Bajazet and Atalide's relationship.

Act 4 (7 scenes)

Orcan, the sultan's servant, has come home to announce that, against all odds, Amurat has taken Babylon. Roxane receives evidence of the love between Bajazet and Atalide, and it is these two elements which force Roxane into action: she will kill Bajazet in order to please the sultan. Acomat, who up until now has conspired with Bajazet and Roxane, has decided to act from now on without them.

Act 5 (12 scenes)

After one final interview with Bajazet, Roxane has him hanged. After this, she is assassinated by Orcan, who is acting under a secret order of the Sultan. The conspiracy of Acomat is run aground, and Atalide kills herself on stage.

Sources

* ''This article was translated from the French Wikipedia page Bajazet.'' {{Authority control Plays by Jean Racine 1672 plays Chatto & Windus books Tragedy plays