Description
The Ridiculous Precieuses * The School for Husbands * The School for Wives * The Critique of the School for Wives * The Versailles Impromptu * Tartuffe * Don Juan
This memorable collection gathers the plays of the great social satirist and playwright Molière, representing the many facets of his genius and offering a superb introduction to the comic inventiveness, richness of prose, and insight that make up Molière’s enduring legacy to theater, literature, and the world.
Translated and with an Introduction by Donald M. Frame, a Foreword by Virginia Scott, and a New Afterword
About the Author
Sophisticated comedies of French playwrightMolière, pen name ofJean Baptiste Poquelin, includeTartuffe(1664),The Misanthrope(1666), andThe Bourgeois Gentleman(1670).French literary figures, including Molière andJean de la Fontaine, gathered at Auteuil, a favorite place.People know and consider Molière, stage of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, also an actor of the greatest masters in western literature. People best knowl'Ecole des femmes(The School for Wives),l'Avare ou l'École du mensonge(The Miser), andle Malade imaginaire(The Imaginary Invalid) among dramas of Molière.From a prosperous family, Molière studied at the Jesuit Clermont college (now lycée Louis-le-Grand) and well suited to begin a life in the theater. While 13 years as an itinerant actor helped to polish his abilities, he also began to combine the more refined elements with ccommedia dell'arte.Through the patronage of the brother ofLouis XIVand a few aristocrats, Molière procured a command performance before the king at the Louvre. Molière performed a classic of [authore:Pierre Corneille] andle Docteur amoureux(The Doctor in Love), a farce of his own; people granted him the use of Salle du Petit-Bourbon, a spacious room, appointed for theater at the Louvre. Later, people granted the use of the Palais-Royal to Molière. In both locations, he found success among the Parisians withles Précieuses ridicules(The Affected Ladies),l'École des maris (The School for Husbands), and [book:l'École des femmes(The School for Wives). This royal favor brought a pension and the title "Troupe du Roi" (the troupe of the king). Molière continued as the official author of court entertainments.Molière received the adulation of the court and Parisians, but from moralists and the Church, his satires attracted criticisms. From the Church, his attack on religious hypocrisy roundly received condemnations, while people banned performance ofDon Juan. From the stage, hard work of Molière in so many theatrical capacities began to take its toll on his health and forced him to take a break before 1667.From pulmonary tuberculosis, Molière suffered. In 1673 during his final production ofle Malade imaginaire(The Imaginary Invalid), a coughing fit and a haemorrhage seized him as Argan, the hypochondriac. He finished the performance but collapsed again quickly and died a few hours later. In time in Paris, Molière completely reformed.
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