An Analysis of Moliere’s Satirization of Social Issues A man, or rather a demon in flesh and inhabited as a man, the most notably impious creature and libertine who ever lived throughout the centuries, has had the impiety and abomination to bring forth from his devilish mind a play [Tartuffe]…He deserves for this sacrilegious and impious act…to be burned at the stake as a foretaste of the fires of hell. Pierre Roulle (1664) Moliere lived a life surrounded by controversy. After renouncing his position of Valet de Chambre Tapissier to pursue his acting career, Moliere formed a theater performance troupe called “The Illustrious Theater'; with his mistress’s family, the Bejarts. The troupe struggled for two years before collapsing in 1645 under the weight of massive debts. Moliere was soon arrested for bankruptcy. After bail was posted he fled from France with Madeline Bejart. Moliere returned to France some time later after his father paid his debts. He soon married Armande Bejart, either the sister or daughter of his first mistress, Madeline. His enemies charged him with incest. Not only his personal life, but his plays as well were considered subjects of controversy. Many were considered blasphemous. Tartuffe, for example, was forbidden from being performed for five years. Controversy followed Moliere right up to the day he died, when he was refused burial in the local cemetery because his remains would offend the sacred ground. Moliere thereby left the world in as agitated a manner as in which he had lived (Hobdell 102-105.) Comedies, of which Tartuffe is an example, aggressively satirize issues and relationships communities care the most about. The purpose of this essay is to identify these situations, as found in Tartuffe, and to illustrate how they were important to the society for which it was written. By examining misuse of religion, destruction of paternal authority, and the corruption of the guest-host relationship, I will demonstrate the ways in which these satirized issues were considered threats to society. A person who misuses religion has always been considered somewhat of a threat to society. During the 1600’s, when Tartuffe was written, this was especially true. Tartuffe, before his character is actually revealed, is discussed by the other characters as feigning his piety—“You imagine he’s a saint but, believe me, he’s nothing more than a hypocrite!'; While all the other family members can see Tartuffe is a fake, Orgon refuses to believe it.
In Molière’s play, Tartuffe, there is a sense of honor that the king receives although he is not in the actual play. Often times in the 17th century, when this play was published, the king of the country had to sponsor the plays in order for them to be performed. Tartuffe conforms to this because Molière nearly writes the entire last scene to honor King Louis XIV. This shows that he wanted to flatter the king and therefore achieve his approval. By flattering the king, Molière even achieved overriding Cardinal Chigi, who hated the play. He does this by providing examples of King Louis XIV’s strength, experience and attentiveness. Overall, the king was Molière’s strongest supporter. Molière shows how the play is monetary dependent on the King
Tartuffe, a con artist, knows that if he can give an answer to the ultimate question then he must be of great importance. Tartuffe uses the established hierarchy and ideology of Orgon’s faith to mold himself into an exemplified “holy” individual. Blinded by his own faith Orgon fails to see through the carefully crafted facade. Tartuffe’s holiness resigns Orgon to, “my heart…surrendered to him” (1.5.24) certifying Tartuffe’s influence over Orgon. When questioning Tartuffe, the other characters are questioning Orgon’s faith. Once established an authority figure’s power will be met with confirmation bias. Nothing will convince Orgon of the deception, rather he will rationalize anything he is told. Tartuffe uses Orgon’s faith to manipulate him into evicting Damis who accused Tartuffe of infidelity by a display of faith: “I beg you on bended knee, to pardon him.” (3.6.40-41) This reaffirms Tartuffe’s holiness to Orgon and through this
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Moliere's Tartuffe is an epic play of hypocrisy, betrayal, and the tale of a foolish mind. Moliere's choice of protagonist in this play happens to be the most blatantly ignorant character in the play. Orgon is naive to the villain Tartuffe's hypocritical ways, makes a complete dunce of himself by uplifting Tartuffe as holy, and failing to pick up the abundance of clues of Tartuffe being fake. Analyzing this character is rather interesting and at the same time frustrating to read of someone so ignorant that they fail to see the wolf hiding under the sheep clothing. A fool is a fool unless they open their eyes to see the truth, and it took Orgon the majority of the play to realize the truth.
Out of the plays that we could have chosen to produce, I have decided to go with Molière’s, “Tartuffe.” This play is a comedy that comes from 17th century France and is heavily influenced by two large sources of experience for Molière. Those sources are the rules and structure for a play put in place by the French academy and the lessons of improvisation taught by the Commedia dell’Arte. This piece is written in fives acts that are in a unique alexandrine style of verse which have 12 syllables in a line and usually ends with rhyming words. The reason I chose this play is because, in my opinion, things like television, movies, plays, and other forms of media and entertainment are meant to transport you away from all the bad things happening in real life and focus you on something fun and/or interesting. I find this play to have a lot of fun moments that can be mined for even more comedy and I think it has the good chance to keep a large audience entertained for a long period of time. To accomplish my goal I will use elements of situational comedies, France in the 1660’s, and one of Molière’s plays, “A school for girls.”
Throughout the stage interpretation of the character Tartuffe, his actions make him out to be consistently dramatic and animated through exaggerated hand motions while talking in addition to his way of responding by yelling in an excited manner. His clothing is made up of black and white, making it seem as if he is a priest. His appearance is a little messy due to his unkempt hair and facial hair. In relation to his religious affiliations, he carries a bible and wears a large rosary at all times. However, in this portrayal, he is often times uncomfortable and doesn’t act his age.
Shakespeare reveals no trace whatever of the widespread prejudices of non-Catholics in connection with this aspect of the life of the Roman Church. On the contrary: he does everything in his dramatic power to show his friars and nuns, their lives and customs, in an unequivocally favorable light. (267)
In speeches such as these, Moliere wanted to get across the fact that it was false piety he was condemni...
Feste, the fool character in Twelfth Night, in many ways represents a playwright figure, and embodies the reach and tools of the theater. He criticizes, manipulates and entertains the other characters while causing them to reflect on their life situations, which is similar to the way a playwright such as Shakespeare interacts with his audience. Furthermore, more so than the other characters in the play he accomplishes this in a highly performative way, involving song and clever wordplay that must be decoded, and is thus particularly reflective of the mechanisms at the command of the playwright. Feste is a representation of the medieval fool figure, who is empowered by his low status and able to speak the truth of the kingdom. A playwright speaks the truth by using actors and fictional characters, who are in a parallel low status in comparison to the audience, as they lack the dimensionality of real people. Thus, the role Feste plays in the lives of the characters in the play resembles the role the play itself plays in the lives of the audience watching the performance. This essay will explore this comparison first by analyzing similarities between the way in which Feste interacts with other characters and the way the playwright interact with the audience, and then focus on the similarities between the aims and content of these interactions.
Tartuffe is one of the most famous comedies written by the French playwright Molière. The play tells the story of a wealthy Frenchman named Orgon who takes in Tartuffe, a man who presents himself to be religious and passionate but actually turns out to be a hypocrite. Despite his family’s warnings, Orgon completely turns his back on his family in order to protect Tartuffe, who betrays him. During that time the play was first written and performed, many people, along with King Louis XIV himself, enjoyed the play. However, to others it was seen as being critical of religion and the church, which then lead to it being banned. In a political sense, Tartuffe serves as both an endorsement and critique of the ideas of absolutism, divine right, and the patriarchal family.
Shakespeare’s works are some of the finest examples of Tragedy and Comedy from the English cannon of literature. The reason that his works are so poignant and reflective is his use of both emotions in order to progress the other. In his interpretation of Troilus and Cressida the traditional story of tragic love and loss are peppered with irony and satire in order to address topical issues of Gender roles, Government action/inaction, and hero worship through juxtaposition and humor.
It is in the duality of Orgon, the believing subject, and Tartuffe, the manipulating hypocrite (or impostor), that Moliere takes his digs at the extremes of enthusiastic belief. Tartuffe plays the role of a man whose greedy actions are cloaked by a mask of overwhelming piety, modesty and religious fervor. Orgon is the head of a household who has taken Tartuffe in. We laugh at Orgon because everyone else (except his mother) knows that Tartuffe is a fake. All of Orgon's relatives warn him of Tartuffe's gluttony and of the false nature of his pious proclamations. When Dorine tries to tell Orgon about Elmire's illness, all Orgon can say is,
“The Merchant of Venice” is one of William Shakespeare’s most complex and controversial stage plays. “The Merchant of Venice” is a comedic, tragedy that enveloped everything that an audience wants to experience. From love to hate, justice to revenge “The Merchant of Venice” has it all. William Shakespeare focused many themes that were controversial in society during his time and some that are still controversial in society. This essay will focus on analyzing and connecting the major theme of 16th century anti-Semitism to underplayed racism and anti-Islamic ideas of today’s society.
The first principle that Aristotle outlines in Poetics is that of the plot, and according to him, the most important feature in a play. He defines the plot as “the arrangement of incidents”, meaning the structure of the play. Aristotle believes that the plot must be “a whole”, “complex”, “of certain magnitude”, and must be “complete” having “unity of action” (McManus). Molière’s Tartuffe fits this criterion perfectly. The play is considered to be whole in that i...
Moliere's Tartuffe is a satire based on religious hypocrisy. Every character is essential in Tartuffe. All of the characters play an important role, but it is easy to say that Tartuffe and Orgon are the main characters. First, we must know the definition of satire. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, satire is defined as "literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn" ("satire"). In other words, a satire is defined as literary work that uses humor to point out the foolishness of a person or just in human nature. Religious hypocrisy can be self-defined as a false assumption of a person. What follows are examples of how I believe Tartuffe exposes humor through religious hypocrisy.
He focuses on exposing of the hypocrisy of Tartuffe throughout the story. Orgon has taken Tartuffe in his house, and given him food and shelter. In the family, everyone believes that Tartuffe is a hypocrite and fraud, expected Orgon and his mother; Tartuffe isn’t getting any respect from the other characters, Orgon is wealthy and powerful man, he trusts Tartuffe as holy and righteous man and listens to anything he says in which Orgon looks like fool. He does not even realize that Tartuffe takes advantage of him and manipulates his behavior. The character of Tartuffe contains most essential trait of hypocrisy. Moliere depicts his hypocritical behavior and vice in an exaggerative way, it is effective to criticize and uncover the religious hypocrisy in the society through description of the character