What do you think?
Rate this book
Œuvres complètes 2
On connaît Molière, et on croit le connaître bien. Chaque génération l’a lu à sa manière. Des traditions éditoriales, et des légendes biographiques, se sont fait jour. On publie généralement ses œuvres dans l’ordre selon lequel elles furent créées, alors que pour plusieurs pièces, et notamment pour Tartuffe, on ne possède pas le texte de la création. Il aurait écrit sur la médecine parce qu’il était malade ; sur le mariage et la jalousie parce que sa femme aurait été légère… L’avantage, avec les grandes œuvres, c’est qu’elles redeviennent neuves dès qu’on veut bien porter sur elles un regard différent. Ainsi, ce n’est pas dans de prétendues difficultés conjugales qu’on cherchera la source de l’intérêt de Molière pour le statut des femmes, mais bien plutôt dans un ensemble de valeurs partagées par toute la société mondaine de son temps. De même, Molière ne fut pas un malade qui raillait ses médecins, mais un auteur qui, après l’interdiction du Tartuffe, utilisa la médecine comme allégorie de la religion, sujet désormais prohibé. De même encore, on ne peut mettre sur le même plan les pièces qu’il publia lui-même – à partir des Précieuses Ridicules –, celles que firent imprimer ses héritiers et celles qui restèrent inédites jusqu’au XIXe.
446 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
16 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Molière
4,629 books1,508 followersSophisticated comedies of French playwright Molière, pen name of Jean Baptiste Poquelin, include
Tartuffe
(1664),
The Misanthrope
(1666), and
The Bourgeois Gentleman
(1670).
French literary figures, including Molière and Jean 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 know l'Ecole des femmes (The School for Wives), l'Avare ou l'École du mensonge (The Miser), and le 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 of Louis XIV and a few aristocrats, Molière procured a command performance before the king at the Louvre. Molière performed a classic of [authore:Pierre Corneille] and le 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 with les Précieuses ridicules (The Affected Ladies), l'École des maris</i> (<i>The School for Husbands</i>), and <i>[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 of Don 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 of le 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.
French literary figures, including Molière and Jean 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 know l'Ecole des femmes (The School for Wives), l'Avare ou l'École du mensonge (The Miser), and le 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 of Louis XIV and a few aristocrats, Molière procured a command performance before the king at the Louvre. Molière performed a classic of [authore:Pierre Corneille] and le 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 with les Précieuses ridicules (The Affected Ladies), l'École des maris</i> (<i>The School for Husbands</i>), and <i>[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 of Don 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 of le 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 12, 2018
Molière Œuvres Book 1&2
Molière, (1622-1673) was a French playwright and actor who is considered one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature.
My selected readings are among Molière's best-known comedies:
Les Précieuses Ridicules, *** L’Avare *****
L’Ecole des Maris, *** Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme ***
L’Ecole des Femmes, **** Les Fourberies de Scapin ****
Le Misanthrope. *** Les Femmes Savantes ****
Le Malade Imaginaire *****
The first thing that came to my mind was to compare Molière with Shakespeare.
Shakespeare, only about fifty years before Moliere, from an actor, become a genial playwright.
Whether they had been excellent actors, I don't know, but they became each one a genius in his style. Shakespeare in drama and Moliere in comedy.
In Shakespeare's dramas at the end of the play, there is grief and death.
In Moliere’s comedies, in conclusion, the moral is always safe, and even though the outcome may sometimes be farfetched, all ends in marriages and happy ends.
Moliere's style of writing is incredibly delicate, and all the dialogues are pure poetry, naturally riming as if the author's thinking was permanently in that mode.
The settings are mostly popular environments, characters from French aristocratic society and bourgeois as well as merchants, farmers, servants and girls in all imaginable situations.
There is ample material to write a review on each one of the plays, but I will save that for my next life.
Moliere’s theatres may have been simple in his beginnings in small provincial places, but when he became noticed in Paris and appointed the king’s personal entertainer things changed.
At that time, there may not have been more distinguished and luxurious theatres in the whole of Europe. Costumes for actors, accessories, and decorum as well as music and dance would have been chosen from the most beautiful the richest available anywhere.
Moliere’s comedies was an exceptional reading experience for me.
I would say it is one of the Must reads in life.
Molière, (1622-1673) was a French playwright and actor who is considered one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature.
My selected readings are among Molière's best-known comedies:
Les Précieuses Ridicules, *** L’Avare *****
L’Ecole des Maris, *** Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme ***
L’Ecole des Femmes, **** Les Fourberies de Scapin ****
Le Misanthrope. *** Les Femmes Savantes ****
Le Malade Imaginaire *****
The first thing that came to my mind was to compare Molière with Shakespeare.
Shakespeare, only about fifty years before Moliere, from an actor, become a genial playwright.
Whether they had been excellent actors, I don't know, but they became each one a genius in his style. Shakespeare in drama and Moliere in comedy.
In Shakespeare's dramas at the end of the play, there is grief and death.
In Moliere’s comedies, in conclusion, the moral is always safe, and even though the outcome may sometimes be farfetched, all ends in marriages and happy ends.
Moliere's style of writing is incredibly delicate, and all the dialogues are pure poetry, naturally riming as if the author's thinking was permanently in that mode.
The settings are mostly popular environments, characters from French aristocratic society and bourgeois as well as merchants, farmers, servants and girls in all imaginable situations.
There is ample material to write a review on each one of the plays, but I will save that for my next life.
Moliere’s theatres may have been simple in his beginnings in small provincial places, but when he became noticed in Paris and appointed the king’s personal entertainer things changed.
At that time, there may not have been more distinguished and luxurious theatres in the whole of Europe. Costumes for actors, accessories, and decorum as well as music and dance would have been chosen from the most beautiful the richest available anywhere.
Moliere’s comedies was an exceptional reading experience for me.
I would say it is one of the Must reads in life.
October 6, 2024
On remonte un peu par rapport au tome précédent, mais ce n'est pas encore ça.
2.91
2.91
March 21, 2023
3,75 🌟
"Tant que je ne vous ai parlé que des yeux, j'avais, ce me semblait, cent choses à vous dire; et maintenant que j'ai la liberté de vous parler de la façon que je souhaitais, je demeure interdit; et la grande joie où je suis étouffe toutes mes paroles."
- Acte III, Scène 7, L'Amour Médecin
Pièces préférées dans ce volume: L'école des Femmes, Le Tartuffe et L'Amour Médecin
"Tant que je ne vous ai parlé que des yeux, j'avais, ce me semblait, cent choses à vous dire; et maintenant que j'ai la liberté de vous parler de la façon que je souhaitais, je demeure interdit; et la grande joie où je suis étouffe toutes mes paroles."
- Acte III, Scène 7, L'Amour Médecin
Pièces préférées dans ce volume: L'école des Femmes, Le Tartuffe et L'Amour Médecin
June 20, 2015
"l'hypocrisie est une vice à la mode, et tous les vices à la mode passent pour vertus." (Don Juan)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews