Molière | Plays, Tartuffe, Dom Juan, Misanthrope, & Facts

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align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Moliere-French-dramatist">Molière</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/biography/Moliere-French-dramatist">Introduction & Top Questions</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref12109"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Moliere-French-dramatist#ref12109">Early life and beginnings in theater</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref12110"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Moliere-French-dramatist/Scandals-and-successes">Scandals and successes</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref12111"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Moliere-French-dramatist/Harassment-by-the-authorities">Harassment by the authorities</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref12112"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Moliere-French-dramatist/Last-plays">Last plays</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref12113"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Moliere-French-dramatist/Last-plays#ref12113">Molière as actor and as playwright</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref12114"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Moliere-French-dramatist/Molieres-unique-sense-of-the-comic">Molière’s unique sense of the comic</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref12115"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Moliere-French-dramatist/A-French-genius">A French genius</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/quotes/Moliere-French-dramatist">Quotes</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Moliere-French-dramatist/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Moliere-French-dramatist">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Moliere-French-dramatist/images-videos">Images</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/05/190005-050-1816BB2B/Portrait-Moliere-oil-canvas-collection-Jean-Baptiste-Mauzaisse-1841.jpg" data-href="/media/1/388302/219182" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/05/190005-004-BA757A5E/Portrait-Moliere-oil-canvas-collection-Jean-Baptiste-Mauzaisse-1841.jpg" alt="Molière" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/23/19323-050-3B543A5D/scene-print-Moliere-Le-Misanthrope-Bibliotheque-des.jpg" data-href="/media/1/388302/198236" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/23/19323-004-8EBD9153/scene-print-Moliere-Le-Misanthrope-Bibliotheque-des.jpg" alt="Le Misanthrope" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/53/148853-050-90F23A8E/Moliere.jpg" data-href="/media/1/388302/155069" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/53/148853-004-0A509F2D/Moliere.jpg" alt="Molière." height="50" /> </a> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Previous"> <span class="material-icons md-24" 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Essential Writers, Artists, and Scientists</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mb-30 tlr-related-questions"> <div class="text-gray-900 p-5 pb-0 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-10 mb-15"> Related Questions </div> <ul> <li class="link-gray-900 mb-15"><a class="" href="/question/How-did-Moliere-begin-his-career-in-theatre">How did Molière begin his career in theatre?</a> </li> <li class="link-gray-900 mb-15"><a class="" href="/question/How-did-Moliere-die">How did Molière die?</a> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="mb-30 tlr-read-next"> <div class="text-gray-900 p-5 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-10 mb-10"> Read Next </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/list/12-novels-considered-the-greatest-book-ever-written"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/55/142355-131-EFF621AF/books-Stack-literature-pile-reading-entertainment-society-2010.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop" alt="Close up of books. 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</figcaption> </figure> </div><div class="topic-header"> <div class="d-flex align-items-top justify-content-between"> <div class="d-flex flex-column"> <div> <div> <h1>Molière</h1></div> </div> <div class="topic-identifier font-16 font-md-20">French dramatist</div> </div> </div> <div class="d-none d-sm-flex flex-row"> <div class="mr-10 mb-15"> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="d-block md-topic-tools qa-action-buttons mb-15" data-topic-id="388302"> <button class="js-tooltip btn btn-sm btn-outline-blue border pr-10 border-2" > <em class="material-icons md-icon ml-n10 my-n5 mr-5" data-icon="more_vert"></em> More Actions </button> <div class="md-more-popover popover popover-sm p-0 font-14 z-1"> <div> <button class="js-print-modal-button js-modal gtm-topic-tool btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" data-modal="[data-topic-id=388302] 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Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. </div> <div class="label mt-20 mb-10">Select Citation Style</div> <select class="js-citation-format-select form-select"> <option selected value="mla">MLA</option> <option value="apa">APA</option> <option value="chicago">Chicago Manual of Style</option> </select> <div class="citation font-serif border rounded p-15 mt-20" data-authors="Will G. Moore, Ronald W. 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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.kennedy-center.org/artists/m/mo-mz/-moliere/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">The Kennedy Center - Moliere</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.theatredatabase.com/17th_century/moliere_001.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Theatre Database - Biography of Molière</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.academia.edu/96827223/Moli%C3%A8re_as_National_Hero" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Academia - Molière as National Hero</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/long-reads/moliere-france-comic-b1992478.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Independent - The story of Molière, one of the greatest comic geniuses the world has ever known</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.bard.org/study-guides/the-greatest-comic-dramatist-in-france" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Utah Shakespeare Festival - Biography of Molière</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.shakespearetheatre.org/_pdf/first_folio/folio_donjuan_about.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Shakespeare Theater Company - Biography of Moliere</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-title">Britannica Websites</div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-subtitle">Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.</div> <ul class="list-unstyled bps-topic-web-sites lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Moliere/275889" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Molière - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="caption alternate-titles">Also known as: Jean-Baptiste Poquelin</div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Will-G-Moore/2043" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Will G. Moore</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Reader in French Literature, University of Oxford. Author of <i>La Rochefoucauld: His Mind and Art </i>and others.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Will G. Moore</span>, <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Ronald-W-Tobin/4327" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Ronald W. Tobin</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Ronald W. Tobin is Research Professor of French at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has written or edited fifteen books, including three on Jean Racine, and has lectured throughout Canada,...</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Ronald W. Tobin</span><span class="text-gray-700 mx-5">•</span><a class="see-all border-gray-700 gtm-byline" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Moliere-French-dramatist/additional-info#contributors">All</a> </div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-12-03T00:00:00CST" >Dec 3, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Moliere-French-dramatist/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="qf-title font-weight-bold font-14 mb-10 text-center"> Quick Facts</div> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Original name: </dt> <dd>Jean-Baptiste Poquelin</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Baptized: </dt> <dd>January 15, 1622, <a href="/place/Paris">Paris</a>, <a href="/place/France">France</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Died: </dt> <dd>February 17, 1673, <a href="/place/Paris">Paris</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Notable Works: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/Dom-Juan-ou-le-festin-de-Pierre">“Dom Juan; ou le festin de pierre”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/George-Dandin">“George Dandin”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/LImpromptu-de-Versailles">“L’Impromptu de Versailles”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/La-Critique-de-LEcole-des-femmes">“La Critique de L’École des femmes”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Le-Misanthrope">“Le Misanthrope”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Lettre-sur-la-comedie-de-lImposteur">“Lettre sur la comédie de l’Imposteur”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Psyche-play-by-Corneille-Moliere-and-Quinault">“Psyché”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Sganarelle">“Sganarelle”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Tartuffe">“Tartuffe”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/The-Affected-Young-Ladies">“The Affected Young Ladies”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/The-Amorous-Doctor">“The Amorous Doctor”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/The-Amorous-Quarrel">“The Amorous Quarrel”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/The-Blue-Stockings">“The Blue-Stockings”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/The-Blunderer-or-The-Mishaps">“The Blunderer; or, The Mishaps”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/The-Bourgeois-Gentleman">“The Bourgeois Gentleman”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/The-Doctor-in-Spite-of-Himself">“The Doctor in Spite of Himself”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/The-Forced-Marriage">“The Forced Marriage”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/The-Imaginary-Invalid">“The Imaginary Invalid”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/The-Miser-play-by-Moliere">“The Miser”</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/The-School-for-Wives-play-by-Moliere">“The School for Wives”</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Notable Family Members: </dt> <dd>spouse <a href="/biography/Armande-Bejart">Armande Béjart</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>On the Web: </dt> <dd><a href="https://www.academia.edu/96827223/Moli%C3%A8re_as_National_Hero" target="_blank">Academia - Molière as National Hero</a> (Dec. 03, 2024)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Moliere-French-dramatist"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> <button class="facts-list-show-more-btn mt-15 p-0 mx-auto btn font-14 d-block font-weight-normal"> <span class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></span> <span class="show-more-label">Show More</span> </button> </div><script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>How did Moli\u00E8re begin his career in theatre?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Moli\u00E8re founded his own theatre company in his early 20s. His company toured the French provinces for several years and eventually secured the patronage of King <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Louis-XIV-king-of-France\">Louis XIV<\/a>\u2019s brother in 1658 at a performance given at the Louvre. With the advantage of royal patronage, Moli\u00E8re\u2019s company began to grow in prestige." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What did Moli\u00E8re write?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Moli\u00E8re wrote comedies for the stage. He is the author of enduring plays such as <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Tartuffe\">Tartuffe<\/a><\/em> and <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Le-Misanthrope\">Le Misanthrope<\/a><\/em>. Many of his plays contained scandalous material. They were met with public outcry and were suppressed by the Roman Catholic Church." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What is Moli\u00E8re\u2019s legacy?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Moli\u00E8re created a new kind of comedy. In his plays, the comic is based on a double vision that holds together opposing ideas, such as wisdom and folly or right and wrong. He was controversial during his day, but he is now viewed as an icon of French culture." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>How did Moli\u00E8re die?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Moli\u00E8re suffered repeated illness in the final years of his life. On February 17, 1673, he collapsed onstage during a performance of his play <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/The-Imaginary-Invalid\">The Imaginary Invalid<\/a><\/em> and was carried home to die. Since he had not renounced the profession of actor before his death nor received the sacraments, he was buried without ceremony." } } ] } </script> <div class="top-questions qa-accordion d-flex flex-column module-spacing"><div class="font-weight-bold font-14 mb-5"> Top Questions </div><div id="intent-accordion" class="md-intent-accordion"><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="1"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>How did Molière begin his career in theatre?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Molière founded his own theatre company in his early 20s. His company toured the French provinces for several years and eventually secured the patronage of King <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-XIV-king-of-France" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Louis XIV</a>’s brother in 1658 at a performance given at the Louvre. With the advantage of royal patronage, Molière’s company began to grow in prestige.</p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="2"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What did Molière write?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Molière wrote comedies for the stage. He is the author of enduring plays such as <em><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tartuffe" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Tartuffe</a></em> and <em><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Le-Misanthrope" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Le Misanthrope</a></em>. Many of his plays contained scandalous material. They were met with public outcry and were suppressed by the Roman Catholic Church.</p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="3"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What is Molière’s legacy?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Molière created a new kind of comedy. In his plays, the comic is based on a double vision that holds together opposing ideas, such as wisdom and folly or right and wrong. He was controversial during his day, but he is now viewed as an icon of French culture.</p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="4"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>How did Molière die?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Molière suffered repeated illness in the final years of his life. On February 17, 1673, he collapsed onstage during a performance of his play <em><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Imaginary-Invalid" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">The Imaginary Invalid</a></em> and was carried home to die. Since he had not renounced the profession of actor before his death nor received the sacraments, he was buried without ceremony.</p></div></div></div><button class="show-more-button js-toggle-top-questions btn btn-unstyled font-14 d-flex pr-10 rounded-sm"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></button></div></div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref362536"></span>Molière</strong> (baptized January 15, 1622, Paris, France—died February 17, 1673, Paris) was a French actor and playwright who became the greatest of all writers of French <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/comedy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">comedy</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Although the sacred and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="secular" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secular" data-type="MW">secular</a> authorities of 17th-century <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/France" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">France</a> often combined against him, the genius of Molière finally emerged to win him acclaim. Comedy had a long history before Molière, who employed most of its traditional forms, but he succeeded in inventing a new style that was based on a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/double-vision-physiology" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">double vision</a> of normal and abnormal seen in relation to each other—the comedy of the true opposed to the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="specious" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/specious" data-type="MW">specious</a>, the intelligent seen alongside the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="pedantic" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pedantic" data-type="MW">pedantic</a>. An actor himself, Molière seems to have been incapable of visualizing any situation without animating and dramatizing it, often beyond the limits of probability. Though living in an age of reason, he had the good sense not to <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="proselytize" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proselytize" data-type="MW">proselytize</a> but rather to animate the absurd, as in such masterpieces as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tartuffe" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Tartuffe</em></a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-School-for-Wives-play-by-Moliere" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>L’École des femmes</em></a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Le-Misanthrope" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Le Misanthrope</em></a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Bourgeois-Gentleman" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme</em></a>, and many others. It is testimony to the freshness of his vision that the greatest comic artists working centuries later in other media, such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charlie-Chaplin" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Charlie Chaplin</a>, have been compared to Molière.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref12109"> <h2 class="h1">Early life and beginnings in theater</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Molière was born (and died) in the heart of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Paris" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Paris</a>. His mother died when he was 10 years old; his father, one of the appointed furnishers of the royal household, gave him a good education at the <span id="ref362537"></span>Collège de Clermont (the school that, as the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, was to train so many brilliant Frenchmen, including <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Voltaire" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Voltaire</a>). Although his father clearly intended him to take over his royal appointment, the young man <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="renounced" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/renounced" data-type="EB">renounced</a> it in 1643, apparently determined to break with tradition and seek a living on the stage. That year he joined with nine others to produce and play comedy as a company under the name of the Illustre-Théâtre. His stage name, Molière, is first found in a document dated June 28, 1644. He was to give himself entirely to the theater for 30 years and to die exhausted at the age of 51.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">A talented actress, <span id="ref362538"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Madeleine-Bejart" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Madeleine Béjart</a>, persuaded Molière to establish a theater, but she could not keep the young company alive and solvent. In 1645 Molière was twice sent to prison for debts on the building and properties. The number of theatergoers in 17th-century Paris was small, and the city already had two established theaters, so that a continued existence must have seemed impossible to a young company. From the end of 1645, for no fewer than 13 years, the troupe sought a living touring the provinces. No history of these years is possible, though municipal registers and church records show the company <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="emerging" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/emerging" data-type="EB">emerging</a> here and there: in Nantes in 1648, in Toulouse in 1649, and so on.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">They were in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Lyon-France" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Lyon</a> intermittently from the end of 1652 to the summer of 1655 and again in 1657, at Montpellier in 1654 and 1655, and at Béziers in 1656. Clearly they had their ups as well as downs. These unchronicled years must have been of crucial importance to Molière’s career, forming as they did a rigorous apprenticeship to his later work as <span id="ref362539"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/actor-manager-system" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">actor-manager</a> and teaching him how to deal with authors, colleagues, audiences, and authorities. His rapid success and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="persistence" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/persistence" data-type="EB">persistence</a> against opposition when he finally got back to Paris is inexplicable without these years of training. His first two known plays date from this time: <em>L’Étourdi; ou, les contretemps</em> (<em><span id="ref362540"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Blunderer-or-The-Mishaps" class="md-crosslink ">The Blunderer; or, The Mishaps</a></em>), performed at Lyon in 1655, and <em>Le Dépit amoureux</em> (<em><span id="ref362541"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Amorous-Quarrel" class="md-crosslink ">The Amorous Quarrel</a></em>), performed at Béziers in 1656.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/who-said-it-essential-writers-artists-and-scientists" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/84/178184-131-0B1E3AC6/Alfred-Hitchcock-publicity-photo-The-Birds-director-1963.jpg" alt="Sir Alfred Hitchcock. Circa 1963 publicity photo of Alfred Hitchcock director of The Birds (1963)." class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Who Said It? Essential Writers, Artists, and Scientists</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The path to fame opened for him on the afternoon of October 24, 1658, when, in the guardroom of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Louvre-Museum" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Louvre</a> and on an improvised stage, the company presented <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pierre-Corneille" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Pierre Corneille</a>’s <em>Nicomède</em> before the king, <span id="ref362542"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-XIV-king-of-France" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Louis XIV</a>, and followed it with what Molière described as one of those little entertainments which had won him some reputation with provincial audiences. This was <em>Le Docteur amoureux</em> (“<span id="ref362543"></span>The Amorous Doctor”); whether it was in the form still <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="extant" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extant" data-type="MW">extant</a> is doubtful. It apparently was a success and secured the favor of the king’s brother <span id="ref362544"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Philippe-I-de-France-duc-dOrleans" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Philippe, duc d’Orléans</a>. It is difficult to know the extent of Philippe’s <span id="ref362545"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/patronage-art" class="md-crosslink ">patronage</a>, which lasted seven years, until the king himself took over the company known as “Troupe du roi.” No doubt the company gained a certain celebrity and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="prestige" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prestige" data-type="MW">prestige</a>, invitations to great houses, and subsidies (usually unpaid) to actors, but not much more.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">From the time of his return to Paris in 1658, all the reliable facts about Molière’s life have to do with his activity as author, actor, and manager. Some French biographers have done their best to read his personal life into his works, but at the cost of misconstruing what might have happened as what did happen. The truth is that there is little information except <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="legend" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legend" data-type="MW">legend</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/satire" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">satire</a>.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=august-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Although unquestionably a great writer, Molière insisted that his plays were made for the stage, and his early prefaces complain that he had to publish to avoid exploitation. (Two of the plays were in fact pirated.) Comedies, in his view, were made to be acted. This fact was forgotten in the 19th century. It took such modern actors as <span id="ref362546"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Jouvet" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Louis Jouvet</a>, <span id="ref362548"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Louis-Barrault" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jean-Louis Barrault</a>, Francis Huster, Michel Bouquet, and Denis Podalydès to present a new and exact sense of his dramatic genius.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Toward the end of his life, Molière arranged for the publication of an attractive edition of his complete works; that edition, however, did not appear until about 10 years after his death. Ever attentive to furthering his status as a preeminent man of letters in Europe, Molière walked the fine line between his role as a literary lion and his status as a (distinguished) subject of the king. That the king was not pleased with Molière’s efforts at self-promotion may well have been one of the reasons why Louis XIV authorized <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Baptiste-Lully" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jean-Baptiste Lully</a> to oversee all the material aspects of musical productions in France, including Molière’s <em>comédies-ballets</em>. Molière is now considered one of the first French “authors” in the modern sense of a writer who is vigilant about his commercial success as well as the state of his <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="legacy" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legacy" data-type="MW">legacy</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">During the short span of Molière’s productive years, he was not at all a classical author, with leisure to plan and write as he would. Competition, the fight for existence, was the keynote of Molière’s whole career. To keep his actors and his audiences was an unremitting struggle against other theaters. He won this contest almost single-handed. He held his company together by his technical competence and force of personality.</p><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD11 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Molière’s first Paris play, <em>Les Précieuses ridicules</em> (<em><span id="ref362550"></span>The Affected Young Ladies</em>), prefigured what was to come. It centers on two provincial young women who are exposed by valets masquerading as masters in scenes that contrast, on the one hand, the women’s desire for elegance coupled with a lack of common sense and, on the other, the valets’ plain speech seasoned with cultural clichés. The women’s fatuities, which they consider the height of wit, suggest their warped view of <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="culture" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture" data-type="MW">culture</a> in which material things are of no account. The fun at the expense of these pretentious people is still refreshing and must have been even more so for the first spectators who recognized in the <em>précieuses</em> the major flaw of an essentialist age: affectation, the desire to be what one is not.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD12 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><em>Les Précieuses</em>, as well as <em><span id="ref362551"></span>Sganarelle</em> (first performed in October 1660), probably had its premiere at the <span id="ref362552"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Theatre-du-Petit-Bourbon" class="md-crosslink ">Théâtre du Petit-Bourbon</a>, a great house <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="adjacent" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adjacent" data-type="MW">adjacent</a> to the Louvre. The Petit-Bourbon was demolished (apparently without notice), and the company moved early in 1661 to a hall in the <span id="ref362553"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Palais-Royal-Theatre" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Palais-Royal</a>, built as a theater by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Armand-Jean-du-Plessis-cardinal-et-duc-de-Richelieu" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Richelieu</a>. Here it was that all Molière’s Paris plays were staged, starting with <em>Dom Garcie de Navarre; ou, le prince jaloux</em> (<em>Don Garcia of Navarre; or, The Jealous Prince</em>) in February 1661, a heroic comedy of which much was hoped; it failed on the stage and succeeded only in inspiring Molière to work on <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Le-Misanthrope" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>Le Misanthrope</em></a>. Such failures were rare and eclipsed by successes greater than the Paris theater had known.</p><span class="marker MOD12 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":6,"pageId":388302,"pageLength":1390,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.38"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.38' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"B","adLeg":"B","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"BIO_PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Molière | Plays, Tartuffe, Dom Juan, Misanthrope, & Facts | Britannica