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Abstract
This article revisits Racine’s use in Andromaque of onomastic periphrases and proper names by showing, with the support of numerical data, that far from being used in an ornamental way, proper names and onomastic periphrases carry key meanings. Proper names brought to life the rhetoric of hammering force, and periphrases acted as tools used to correct, reinforce, or define the identity of Racine’s protagonists. At the same time, both underline the complexity and the intelligence of Andromaque’s characters, some being used as true arguments ad hominem, others as tricks to push the interlocutor to change his/her point of view, and others as a tool for revenge. The multiple contradictions within the different periphrases make even more obvious the impossibility of encountering this sense of harmony that is sorely lacking in Racine universe. All in all, proper names and onomastic periphrases open new approaches to the understanding of the play that enrich and renew the myth.