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Playwright: Jean Racine, Historical context: Premiered in 1677 during the period of classicism in France, mirrors the intensity of emotions and the strict moral codes of its time.

Playwright: Eugène Ionesco, Historical context: Debuted in 1952, the play is another work of the Theatre of the Absurd, focusing on themes of existential loneliness and the futility of communication.

Playwright: Edmond Rostand, Historical context: Premiered in 1897, set in 17th-century Paris, reflects the romanticization of chivalry and valor in the Belle Époque era.

Playwright: Maxim Gorky, Historical context: Premiered in 1902, this play, though Russian, greatly influenced French social realism in theatre; it portrays the life of impoverished Russians living in a shelter.

Playwright: Jean-Paul Sartre, Historical context: Debuted in 1944 during WWII, reflects existentialist philosophy, and is associated with Sartre's view that 'Hell is other people'.

Playwright: Samuel Beckett, Historical context: First performed in 1953, this play is an example of Theatre of the Absurd, and reflects post-World War II disillusionment.

Playwright: Eugène Ionesco, Historical context: Written in 1950, exemplar of the Theatre of the Absurd, which reflects the meaninglessness of human existence.

Playwright: Molière, Historical context: Written during the reign of King Louis XIV, criticized religious hypocrisy, led to its banning by the Parisian clergy.

Playwright: Henrik Ibsen, Historical context: While Ibsen was Norwegian, this play was written in Munich in 1890 and has had a significant impact on French theater; it confronts the struggle for self-realization in a male-dominated society.