The main reason that Moliere was so popular in France was because of the push in plays with Romanticism themes. Romanticism themes included historic accuracy in settings and costumes. Moliere was excellent at using Romanticism themes. Many of Moliere’s plays, such as Dom Juan are very historically accurate. In the 18th century, people wanted to go and see a play that actually made sense and had a wide range of emotions put into it. Many of Moliere’s plays were able to do this. However as stated earlier, many of the emotions that Moliere had exploited were very controversial. The church realized this and attempted to do everything in their power to put an end to Moliere’s work. Many of the plays that were written around Moliere’s timeframe focused around Classicism. Classicism is “the following of ancient Greek or Roman principles and style in art and literature, generally associated with harmony, restraint, and adherence to recognized standards of form and craftsmanship, esp. from the Renaissance to the 18th century.” In my own words, Classicism is a play that follows the rules and will not agitate anyone. Moliere …show more content…
Moliere’s parents send him to school to study law in the year 1641. Attending law school, Moliere met three other writers and formed the theatre company “L’Illustre Theatre”. At age 40 in 1662, Moliere married 19 year old Armonde Bejart. The two had 3 children together. Moliere had died later at the age of 51 in 1673. Moliere had lost his mother at the very young age of 10. He was not very close to his father, who demanded that Moliere studied law. Moliere decided to study theatre instead, and in doing so he decided to change his name (so he wouldn’t put his father’s to shame). Moliere’s birth name was Jean-Baptiste Poquelin. The name change happened because during this time period in France, having an actor with the same last name as you was a great insult and put your name to
Tartuffe A man will only see what he wants to see. In "Tartuffe", by Moliere, we are introduced to Orgon, a man so blinded by his obsession with Tartuffe that he falls subject to his deception. Tartuffe pretends to be a devout, pious, and humble man, while in reality he is a religious hypocrite. Throughout the play we are presented with many characters who try in vain to "open" Orgon's eyes to Tartuffe's lies.
Moliere rocked the 17th century French world with his comedy "Tartuffe" in 1664. Although, religious factions kept the play banned from theatres from 1664-1669, "Tartuffe" emerged from the controversy as one of the all-time great comedies. Tartuffe is a convincing religious hypocrite. He is a parasite who is sucking Orgon, the rich trusting father, for all he is worth. Orgon does not realize that Tartuffe is a phony, and caters to his every whim. For instance, he reneges on his promise to let his daughter Mariane, marry Valere. Instead he demands that she wed Tartuffe, whom she despises. He also banishes his own son, Damis, from his house for speaking out against Tartuffe and all of his son's inheritance is promised to Tartuffe.
This was the age of reason. People at this time began to apply rational thoughts to figure out and understand nature and to guide their human existence. In Moliere’s Tartuffe, this ideal is expressed through the character of the king. In the end, Tartuffe has brought an officer of the king back to take Orgon away. However, in Tartuffe’s attempt to get Orgon arrested, the king saw through him and reasoned that Tartuffe was the one to be accused and put to trial.
Othello has been described as one of William Shakespeare’s most popular plays because the play focuses on its themes of good and evil, military, politics, love and marriage, religion, racial prejudice, gender conflict, and sexuality; but the controversy and debate surrounding Othello is “Why is Othello a qualification for a tragedy?”
Molière’s play “Tartuffe and Oscar Wilde’s play “The Importance of Being Earnest” both demonstrate a comical portrait of hypocrisy. In “Tartuffe”, the main character Tartuffe is seen as a religious hypocrite who takes advantage of Orgon’s wealth and agrees to marry his daughter, Mariane against her wishes. In “The Importance of Being Earnest”, Jack and Algernon both lie about their identity to get the woman of their dreams. The authors use the concept of double personalities in the play to reveal the deceit and lies to represent the theme of hypocrisy. In fact, hypocrisy is not only displayed in the characters but in the play as a whole. Additionally, the plays are both hypocrital in ways that they do not follow the structure of comedy.
Shakespearian plays are intriguing not only to the audiences at the time, but also to the modern audience by the fact that they closely relate to society and the human nature and their instincts like their drive for power, going against their values of right and wrong. Once power and status are achieved, the urge to gain more power continues leading to corruption and many more criminal acts. Other themes, like sexism hasn’t gone away, the discrimination towards women are still there and these examples, along with those previously mentioned, are closely relatable and can be spot easily in the modern world, making the audience understand so well even if they is a difference of centuries.
Tartuffe is a satirical comedic play written by Molière in 1664. It is focused around the family of Orgon and the character of Tartuffe, who has become Orgon’s personal holy man. Before being brought into Orgon’s home, Tartuffe was nothing more than a common beggar who learned how to act pious. Throughout this play, we see Orgon give everything he owns to Tartuffe: his love, his money, his daughter, and even the deed to his house. While everyone else in the household sees Tartuffe for who he really is, Orgon remains blind to it throughout most of the play. Orgon is warned many times by different members of the household, including his own son, yet he only chooses to lash out against those speaking. From early on in the play we as readers are able to recognize that Tartuffe is no more than a hypocrite and Orgon is a blind fool. In the play Tartuffe by Molière there are several different important themes that impact this work,
Orgon is deceived because he cannot or refuses to see Tartuffe for the con artist he is. Tartuffe is hugely successful for most of the play because he is so good at wearing a mask of piety to cover his deception. Orgon regards Tartuffe as his religious guide and is blind to the fact that Tartuffe is deceiving him.
The female characters in Molière’s Tartuffe display feminist behaviors years before the feminist movement emerged historically. Many of their actions, words and behaviors are completely out of character for women of their time. Moliere makes a strong statement with this play by presenting female characters that go against convention. The gender inequality when the Enlightenment began was extreme. The women in this play try to fight against this inequality and in the end it is the patriarch of the family that is fooled by Tartuffe yet most of the female characters remain un-fooled throughout the play. Two of the female characters in this play, Doreen and Elmire play significantly different roles in the home. They have different personalities, different household duties and drastically different social standing. As different as these women are, they both show signs of early feminism. To various degrees they fight for want they believe is right. Dorine speaks her mind openly and does not hold anything back. Elmire is sneakier and uses her sexuality to get what she wants.
Through this, he satisfies the qualities of melodrama. Romeo and Juliet wrings a good cry out of audience members probably every time it is performed. That is because it is easy to identify with the "star-crossed lovers" and the fact they are kept from what they want most. Empathy plays a major role, as much as any of the characters. It almost makes the audience part of the play. The spectator is part of the action in essence, rooting for the good guys, for "us," and not "them," the bad guys.
During the beginning of the 17th Century neoclassical thought began to dominate the stage in France. In the domain of theatre, this meant that neoclassical writers began to look back to the ideals and beliefs of classical times, accentuating the classic ideas of rational control and discipline. It was an age intrigued with regularity as the ideas stemming from this period insist upon certain norms of behavior in society. Throughout the period, specific emphasis was placed upon rational perspective and behavior (Neoclassicism).
Let us examine the William Shakespeare drama Othello for the purpose of determining exactly what characteristics of the play are the outstanding ones which give it such universal appeal.
...seen were Moliere applied Commedia and were made to fit in the French form in the The Imaginary Invalid. The French had a tight hold upon theater in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was seen as political propaganda and anything that was put on the stage was heavily criticized. Moliere, being a prominent playwright, had to endure these criticisms. Moliere was greatly influenced by this form of theater, and it can be seen where he used it and where he applied Neo Classicism, the other popular art form. By looking at his three most famous plays, Tartuffe, The Misanthrope, and The Imaginary Invalid, through Commedia Dell’ Arte, with the characters, plot line, the authorship or structure, it can be seen where Moliere had his influence and when it was applied. “The tradition in playing Moliere is preserved in France by the Comedie Francaise” (Bertram-Cox,am-cox, 301).
Tartuffe is a comedy, but it still follows these characteristics. Firstly the appearance of a tragic hero. In this play, our tragic hero is not Tartuffe for whom the play is named, but is instead Orgon, the head of the household where the play takes place. Orgon is our tragic hero because he really isn’t a bad person. He isn’t seeking to ruin anyone with hidden plans or deception, he is just very unaware of what’s happening right under his nose. The tragic flaw that Orgon shows is just taking everything that tartuffe says as absolute truth and not questioning it at all. This is what ultimately leads to his error in judgement which is telling his daughter that she is to marry tartuffe and not Valere who she’s already proposed to. Of course, this doesn’t
The name most associated with excellence in theatre is William Shakespeare. His plays, more than any other playwright, resonate through the ages. It may be safe to say that he has influenced more actors, directors, and playwrights than any thespian in the history of the stage. But what were his influences? During the Middle Ages theatre was dominated by morality, miracle, and mystery plays that were often staged by the church as a means to teach the illiterate masses about Christianity. It wasn’t until the early sixteenth century that Greek tragedy experienced a revival, in turn, inspiring a generation of renaissance playwrights.