Britannicus is a five-act tragic play by the French dramatist Jean Racine. It was first performed on 13 December 1669 at the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris.Britannicus is the first play in which Racine depicted Roman history. The tale of moral choice takes as its subject Britannicus, the son of the Roman emperor Claudius, and heir to the imperial throne. Britannicus' succession to the throne is however usurped by Lucius, later known as Nero, and the son of Claudius' wife Agrippina the Younger.
“Behind a veil, unseen yet present,
I was the forceful soul that moved this mighty body.”
Derrière un voile, invisible et présente,
J'étais de ce grand corps l'âme toute-puissante.
Agrippine, Britannicus, (1669), act I, scene I.
