Molière
Tartuffe's comic creator
Molière is the stage name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622–1673), the French playwright and actor who wrote *Tartuffe*, *The Misanthrope*, and *The Imaginary Invalid*.
His comedies satirized religious hypocrisy, social pretension, and human folly.
Molière remains central to French theater and literature, roughly analogous to Shakespeare's status in English drama.
Work meant to amuse
- farceAbsurd, laughable situation
- satireMockery exposing vice
- TartuffeBaroque comedy of imposture
- verseMetered poetic passage
French drama · theatrical · stage · dramatist · neoclassical · playwright · scenes · acts
Pretense of virtue
- pretensionUnwarranted claim to merit
- social critiqueExamination of societal problems
- marriageFormal union between partners
- classGrouping by shared traits
deception · avarice · vanity · jealousy · education · authenticity · social mobility · folly
- VersaillesFrench royal palace complex
- seventeenth centuryThird period of second millennium
- Palais-RoyalHistoric Parisian palace complex
- troupeTraveling group of performers
patronage · Sun King · court · Paris · acting company · Baroque · absolutism · Richelieu
Feigns virtue falsely
- miserStingy wealth hoarder
- bourgeoisMiddle-class and conventional
- pretentiousFalsely grand or important
- pedantObsessive precision-seeker
cuckold · jealous husband · social climber · quack doctor · valet · servant · ingenue · deceiver
Works ready to perform
- revivalReturn after decline
- French theaterGallic dramatic arts
- slapstickExaggerated physical humor
- costumeClothing for portrayal
mask · physical comedy · ensemble · touring · stagecraft · comic timing · stock characters · influence
comedy
Work meant to amuse
verse · French drama · theatrical · stage · dramatist · neoclassical · playwright · scenes · acts · dialogue
hypocrisy
Pretense of virtue
- pretensionUnwarranted claim to merit
- social critiqueExamination of societal problems
- marriageFormal union between partners
class · deception · avarice · vanity · jealousy · education · authenticity · social mobility · folly · human nature
Louis XIV
- VersaillesFrench royal palace complex
- seventeenth centuryThird period of second millennium
- Palais-RoyalHistoric Parisian palace complex
troupe · patronage · Sun King · court · Paris · acting company · Baroque · absolutism · Richelieu
hypocrite
Feigns virtue falsely
- miserStingy wealth hoarder
- bourgeoisMiddle-class and conventional
- pretentiousFalsely grand or important
pedant · cuckold · jealous husband · social climber · quack doctor · valet · servant · ingenue · deceiver · buffoon
repertoire
Works ready to perform
- revivalReturn after decline
- French theaterGallic dramatic arts
- slapstickExaggerated physical humor
costume · mask · physical comedy · ensemble · touring · stagecraft · comic timing · stock characters · influence
MolièreRacine
Southeastern Wisconsin municipality
Sophocles · Euripides · Seneca · Aeschylus · Eugene O'Neill