- Reminder: I will be meeting with you in small groups on Monday, Sept. 12th and Monday, Sept. 19th. If you haven’t already done so, sign up for an available time slot. If you prefer to meet with me privately, send me an email at [email protected]
- Read Moliere’s Tartuffe. Please plan to have completed the reading before our class on Wednesday, Sept.14th. You can find the text in Volume D of your Norton Anthology, or you can use the link I’ve posted under the “Readings” tab on our blog if you don’t have the books yet.
- I have recorded a mini-lecture to provide you with some literary and historical context for Moliere’s play. Click HERE to access the recording. When it asks you for a passcode, use: CP75m#!d . Please watch this recording and share either one takeaway from my remarks or one question as a comment on this post. If you encounter any technical difficulties accessing this video, please let me know immediately. This is a video I recorded from home during the height of the pandemic, but the information I share in it hasn’t changed!
- I have posted a set of discussion questions about Tartuffe in a separate post here. Please respond to any two questions by Wednesday, Sept. 14th and then read and comment on any two of your classmates’ responses by Friday, Sept. 16th.
- Watch this scene from a staged production of the Tartuffe. How does the comedy work in this scene? What do you think of this portrayal of Tartuffe? Be prepared to discuss this on Wednesday.
Preview YouTube video Tartuffe Act IV, Scene 5
Tartuffe Act IV, Scene 5
Can neoclassical have both tragedy and comedy ? or does it have to be either or
Good question. The rules are actually pretty strict; a play has to be either tragedy or comedy – no mixing allowed!
While watching the lecture, I found the concept of divine absolutism to be very shocking. The fact that the play had to be revised because of suspicions that it criticized Louis III for involving a cardinal in his decision making, is very telling of how serious these dynamics (God to the world, a king to his kingdom, and a father to his family) were.
Do absolute monarchs have power to sovereign over a nation or a territory or group of people?
I found it interesting how this play was controversial during that time that they saw similarities between Louis 14th and the reading. Also a similarity that I saw was how what Orgon states is done and it connects to how the reading had to be revised.
I found the scene interesting of how they used different tones in the scene we can barely see how desperate Orgon was compared to the text. We can see his emotion of how he felt guilty for not believing his son.
As I watched the lecture, I remembered learning about how comedies were usually regarded that title because these stories had happy endings and not because they were generally comedic. However, through the lecture I learned that comedies usually end in marriage as well. I also thought that the satire portrayed in the play became more obvious after watching the lecture and getting more context of the time period.
A question I have about neoclassical drama is if it was possible back then to make a play both a tragedy and a comedy?
Also it was interesting to know that most comedies ended in marriage, kind of funny but confusing at the same time, does that mean that all comedies had happy ending?
Now a days we can really see how censorship has changed, you can see on tv people impersonating celebrities and politicians with no consequences, but back them you had to respect the higher ups by how we learned that the play had to be revised and approved by the church to be able to be performed.
After reading the play and then watching the recording I was able to see the satire that was used in the play.
It was understandable that targedy ends in death, but can it can the death of possibly anyone in the play (the antagonist)? I find it interestsing how comdies ends in marriage, and I am wondering why is that?
After watching this lecture I just realized that tragedies end with a death and a comedy usually ends with a marriage. I never thought of that until I saw this lecture.
I was thinking how bold it was of Moliere to have Louis XIV make an appearance in the play. The message he was conveying about the king was very clear, with the comparison of Tartfuffe and the cardinal. I’m sure if the church caught on, so did Louis XIV.
I was able to tell Tartuffe was a comedy because of how the author wrote the play. He had a writing structure in the play which helped clearly demonstrate the comedy within the entire play.
I learned that there are 3 characteristics in Neoclassical drama and those are restraint, self-control and common sense. I feel like an example of restraint can be Elmire trying to
explain how women aren’t allowed to speak up for themselves to remain modest.
I have a question regarding Molière, was he one of the first playwrights to write a neoclassical drama in France?
Due to the way the author structured the play, I was able to determine that Tartuffe was a comic. He used a literary style in the play that made it easy to see how comedic the entire thing was.
I found it interesting that comedies end in marriages. I’ve never noticed that trend but now that it is pointed out to me it makes sense.