Molière
123 Rue Saint-Jacques, 75005 Paris, France
The Lycée Louis-le-Grand where Molière studied.
123 Rue Saint-Jacques, 75005 Paris, France
The Lycée Louis-le-Grand where Molière studied.
Portrait of Molière by Nicolas Mignard.
Madeleine Béjart
Armande Béjart
Jean-Baptiste Lully
(Doctor Love is a French comedy written by Molière. Molièr...)
Doctor Love is a French comedy written by Molière. Molière's foreword to the text states that the play is only a sketch, a mere impromptu commissioned for one of the Royal Entertainments. It was the most hurriedly written of all his commissioned works.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AUICHIA/?tag=2022091-20
1615
(L’Étourdi ou les Contretemps, also known in English as Th...)
L’Étourdi ou les Contretemps, also known in English as The Bungler, is a five-act theatrical comedy by the French playwright Molière.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1162689153/?tag=2022091-20
1655
(The Pretentious Young Ladies (Les Precieuses ridicules) i...)
The Pretentious Young Ladies (Les Precieuses ridicules) is a one-act satire by Molière in prose. It takes aim at the precieuses, the ultra-witty ladies who indulged in lively conversations, word games and, in a word, preciosite (preciousness).
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1167158393/?tag=2022091-20
1659
(The School for Husbands is a comedy in three acts and in ...)
The School for Husbands is a comedy in three acts and in verse. The intrigue of this comedy is the radical contrast between the ideas of two brothers about educating their children: one of them is very strict while the other is indulgent.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018PMFRRA/?tag=2022091-20
1661
(The Bores is a character-comedy, but the peculiarities ta...)
The Bores is a character-comedy, but the peculiarities taken as the text of the play, instead of being confined to one or two of the leading personages, are exhibited in different forms by a succession of characters, introduced one after the other in rapid course, and disappearing after the brief performance of their roles.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0084AKQMK/?tag=2022091-20
1661
(The School for Wives is a theatrical comedy written by th...)
The School for Wives is a theatrical comedy written by the seventeenth century French playwright Molière and considered by some critics to be one of his finest achievements.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0822209993/?tag=2022091-20
1662
(Condemned and banned for five years in Molière’s day, Tar...)
Condemned and banned for five years in Molière’s day, Tartuffe is a satire on religious hypocrisy. Tartuffe worms his way into Orgon’s household, blinding the master of the house with his religious "devotion," and almost succeeds in his attempts to seduce his wife and disinherit his children before the final unmasking.
https://www.amazon.com/Tartuffe-Moli-C3-A8re-dp-1296879127/dp/1296879127/ref=mt_hardcover?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=
1664
(Don Juan, the "Seducer of Seville," originated as a hero-...)
Don Juan, the "Seducer of Seville," originated as a hero-villain of Spanish folk legend, is a famous lover and scoundrel who has made more than a thousand sexual conquests. One of Molière's best-known plays, Don Juan was written while Tartuffe was still banned on the stages of Paris, and shared much with the outlawed play. Modern directors transform Don Juan in every new era, as each director finds something new to highlight in this timeless classic. Richard Wilbur's flawless translation will be the standard for generations to come, as have his translations of Molière's other plays. Witty, urbane, and poetic in its prose, Don Juan is, most importantly, as funny now as it was for audiences when it was first presented.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/015601310X/?tag=2022091-20
1665
(The play is one of several plays by Molière to center on ...)
The play is one of several plays by Molière to center on Sganarelle, a character that Molière himself portrayed, and is a comedic satire of 17th century French medicine.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004H1U6SY/?tag=2022091-20
1666
(One of Molière's best one-act plays, The Countess of Esca...)
One of Molière's best one-act plays, The Countess of Escarbagnas blends broad farce and pointed wit to express his never-ending delight in human foibles. But Molière is more than just the "master of the laugh," for behind the comic gestures of these matchless rogues, tight-fisted masters, possessive lovers and elegant ladies lurk fears, insecurities and their consequences.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1543193137/?tag=2022091-20
1671
(This rollicking version of Les Femmes Savantes delighted ...)
This rollicking version of Les Femmes Savantes delighted audiences Off Broadway in a production starring Jean Stapleton as Philamente, a most unliterary lady intent on having a high toned literary salon. She has neither literary nor common sense, which makes her easy prey for sycophantic con artist Trissotin. He passes himself off as a famous poet and becomes a permanent house guest. Philamente hopes to marry her daughter to Trissotin, but the daughter wishes to marry the unsuitable Clitandre. This version strays from a strictly literal translation of Molière's play, often employing anachronisms in the rhymed couplets that will appall purists and absolutely delight everyone else.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0573692890/?tag=2022091-20
1672
(The Imaginary Invalid, one of Molière's funniest and most...)
The Imaginary Invalid, one of Molière's funniest and most incisive satires, is also among the most performed worldwide and perennially studied in world literature courses. In this entertaining gem, a hypochondriac, victimized by two pompous doctors, tests his daughter's loyalty and discovers the greed and contempt of his scheming wife.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1477420177/?tag=2022091-20
1673
Molière was born on January 15, 1622, in Paris, France. He was a son of Jean Poquelin and Marie Cress. His mother whom he was so close to, passed away when he was ten years old. Since then Molière lived with his father, with whom he did not seem to have been particularly close to, and his stepmother.
Jean started off his studies in a Parisian elementary school and then enrolled in Jesuit Collège de Clermont (now the Lycée Louis-le-Grand), where he grew in a strict environment, and received a solid classical background. He graduated from Collège de Clermont in 1639 and studied as a lawyer in Orleans, but no documents were found proving that he was qualified enough.
Molière started a brief career as a lawyer and pursued his father’s work under Louis XIII, until the king’s death in 1643. He joined with nine others to produce and play comedy as a company under the name of the Illustre-Théâtre. At that time taking up acting as a career had its bad reputation, so he came up with the name Molière to divert any shame away from his family. In 1645, the new theater troupe he formed went bankrupt and Molière was twice sent to prison for debts on the building and properties.
From the end of 1645, for no fewer than 13 years, the troupe sought a living touring the provinces. In 1653, his troupe went on to become the official theatre troupe of the Prince de Conti. The next year, he presented his first play, L’Etourdi, ou le Contretemps (The Blunderer, or, the Counterplots), in Lyon. In 1656, Molière presented, Le Depitamoureux, in Beziers. However, the very same year, the troupe lost its donations from Conti, who was becoming extremely disapproving of theater productions. On October 24, 1658, Molière and his troupe of actors were prepared to make an impression on Paris with a performance at the Louvre before the young King Louis XIV, his brother Philippe, and the court. Although the king was uninterested in their major play, a tragedy by Pierre Corneille, he found Molière's farce entertaining. As a result, the troupe was allowed to play at the royal Petit-Bourbon Theater, where they shared performance days with the Italian Comedians.
In 1659, Molière debuted his first comedy of manners, Les Précieuses ridicules (The Affected Young Ladies), which satirizes the affectations of Parisian society, followed by Sganarelle ou Le Cocu imaginaire (Sganarelle), a complicated story of love and misunderstanding, which became a favorite of King Louis. In 1661, Molière showcased L’Ecole des maris (The School for Husbands) and the subsequent year, he presented L’Ecole des femmes (The School for Wives). Quick to find parallels between The School for Wives and the playwright's life, Molière's detractors accused him of incest, called him a cuckold, and proclaimed him a godless man. All were insults Molière and his friends refuted in a 1663 series of essays, poems, and plays. Inevitably, the incessant contempt began to affect Molière's work. In 1664, for example, he was forbidden to perform Tartuffe, the story of a pious hypocrite, because of religious fanatics at court. The play was not approved until 1670. In 1665, he presented Don Juan, followed by The Misanthrope and The Doctor in Spite of Himself the next year.
From 1669 to 1672, Molière presented a range of plays including Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (The Bourgeois Gentleman), Les Fourberies de Scapin (The Impostures of Scapin) and Les Femmes savantes (The Learned Ladies). However, Molière himself was very ill and had to depend on doctors whom, as his plays reveal, he completely distrusted. In 1673, he gave his last stage performance in Le Malade Imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid), after which he collapsed and died.
Molière, was a French playwright, actor and poet who was known as one of the greatest playwrights of France, who perfectly captured the double standards of 17th-century French society, fusing both humor and intellect in his works. Molière is also considered the founder of modern French comedy. His famous plays, such as Tartuffe, The School for Wives and Don Juan, have been translated into every major living language and are performed at the Comédie-Française more often than those of any other playwright today. Some of the words that Molière used in his plays such as "tartuffe" and "harpagon" are still used in current French.
Molière was honored with the title of Troupe de Monsieur. The main French theatre prize, La cérémonie des Molières, has been named after Molière.
(The Bores is a character-comedy, but the peculiarities ta...)
1661(This rollicking version of Les Femmes Savantes delighted ...)
1672(The School for Wives is a theatrical comedy written by th...)
1662(Don Juan, the "Seducer of Seville," originated as a hero-...)
1665(The Imaginary Invalid, one of Molière's funniest and most...)
1673(The play is one of several plays by Molière to center on ...)
1666(One of Molière's best one-act plays, The Countess of Esca...)
1671(L’Étourdi ou les Contretemps, also known in English as Th...)
1655(Condemned and banned for five years in Molière’s day, Tar...)
1664(The Pretentious Young Ladies (Les Precieuses ridicules) i...)
1659(The School for Husbands is a comedy in three acts and in ...)
1661(Doctor Love is a French comedy written by Molière. Molièr...)
1615Being raised in Paris, Molière pretty much grew up to be Catholic. But then again, his works drew criticism from the Catholic Church. It is highly debated as to whether he was mocking religion itself or the way that religious leaders have twisted their practices as he mocked it in Tartuffe and drew criticism to himself. Though it has been believed that he was just mocking the leaders, not the religion itself.
Molière did not admit his political views out for the audience but kept his personal opinions to himself although it was shown through his works and many plays talked about them.
Molière used a simpler language along with depicting recognizable character types in ordinary situations in order to attack the hypocrisy and defects of society. Intending to guide his audience to moral and social responsibility, Molière had his characters attempt to deny their flaws. His most important innovation as a dramatist was elevating comedy to the seriousness of tragedy.
Molière was exposing hypocrisy, artificiality, and vice in French society with the hope that people would control and correct their behaviors. Certainly, because of possible repercussions, it was in Molière's best interests not to offend members of King Louis XIV's court and members of the clergy. Molière wrote in a time of rules. Neoclassicism was not just encouraged, it was enforced. And although Molière is thought of as a Neoclassical playwright, he often went against the rules of the form. For example, the maid Dorine in Tartuffe speaks with wisdom far above her station, which was against the Neoclassical principle of decorum.
Quotations:
"The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it."
"It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible, but also for what we do not do."
"If everyone were clothed with integrity, if every heart were just, frank, kindly, the other virtues would be well-nigh useless."
"A wise man is superior to any insults which can be put upon him, and the best reply to unseemly behavior is patience and moderation."
"Some of the most famous books are the least worth reading. Their fame was due to their having done something that needed to be doing in their day. The work is done and the virtue of the book has expired."
Molière’s acting had been both his disappointment and his glory. He aspired to be a tragic actor, but the contemporary taste was against him. His public seemed to favour a tragic style that was pompous, with ranting and roaring, strutting and chanting. Molière had the build, the elasticity, the india-rubber face, as it has been called, of the born comedian. Offstage he was neither a great talker nor particularly merry, but he would mime and copy speech to the life. Molière incorporated masks into his work, but instead of simply using them to define character types, Molière used the masks as a metaphor for the masks people wear to hide their true selves.
Quotes from others about the person
Margaret Webster: "In his own language he is as towering a figure as Shakespeare is in ours."
Henri Van Laun: "He is equal, if not superior, to any other writer of character-comedies on the ancient or modern stage."
Molière had a relationship with the actress Madeleine Béjart. However, on 20 February 1662 Molière married Armande Béjart. They had a son two years later, but he died just before his first birthday. He had another son, but the latter also passed away a few days after being baptized. The third child that born to the couple was a daughter, but since she had no children of her own later on, Molière did not have any direct descendants.
(1595 – 1669)
(1601 – 1632)
Madeleine Béjart (8 January 1618 - 17 February 1672), was a French actress and theatre director.
Armande Béjart (1640 – 30 November 1700) was a French actress.
(19 January 1664 – 11 November 1664)
(3 August 1665 – 23 May 1723)
(1672 – 1672)
Jean-Baptiste Lully (28 November 1632 – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, instrumentalist, and dancer.
