The Art Life of Moliere - Essay Example

Topic - Moliere (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin) Introduction Jean Baptise Poquelin is a French artist who is known by the of Moliere and is one of thefamous comedians in French history. He was born to an aristocratic family in January 1622.His father held a position in a royal household and Moliere was educated in Jesuit College de Clermont and pursued law for sometime which was abandoned later. He spent his life in Paris, where he did acting, managing theatres, directing performances and writing plays. He got lot of appraisal from the public and the king. His popularity also gained him many rivals and he was subjected to attacks and slanders. He neither had Solace at home as his marriage brought much unhappiness into his life. However, the popularity Moliere had in French comedy was not comparable to any other artist in the same field. The greatest work of Moliere was “ Les Precieuses Ridicules” which was produced 1659.In this masterpiece Moliere gave a new dimension to French comedy and gave a new purpose to it. In the play “Tartuffe” one can see his characteristics qualities where his simplicity is portrayed.Poquelin signed a contract Jean Baptise poquelin thereby creating one of the most famous literary stage names, pseudonyms in the world. Moliere choice of his name has been an enigma for his admirers and friends but none had an idea of the origin of his name. In fact, Moliere’s life was a mystery in itself. Moliere was the epitome of the French classic heroic tragedies and enjoyed the honor and respect of his colleagues and the aristocratic audience. The art life of Moliere In 1943 Moliere adopted the path of drama by joining the newly formed Illustre theatre company in Paris. In 1644, he adopted the name Moliere, and this marks the beginning of his celebrated career as actor – manager – playwright. His first full – length play, The Scatterbrain was put on 1655. The company at first toured the provinces, then returned to Paris in 1658 and shared the Petit – Bourbon theatre with the Italian comedy commedia dell’arte players. Moliere also received the patronage of the King’s brother Philippe d’ Orleans. 1659 saw the great success of The Pretencious ladies. In 1661, the company was forced to move to a different theatre, Palais- Royal. He wrote altogether thirty plays and nearly all of them were a great success. His best productions are “ The Misanthrope”, “Learned women”, “The Miser”, and “The Hypocrite” which are regarded as high comedy. Moliere was the noblest heart, the most illustrious soul, the greatest writer and the grandest philosopher of France in the seventeenth century, and of the whole world in all time. Moliere whose life was so beautiful, whose knowledge was so wide , whose benevolence was so deep : Moliere the first literary man of France who realized his worth , and lived and enriched by his genius is still alive in the minds of people with his exquisite works. His output can be classified in various ways, none entirely satisfactory. In addition staging and often performing in some 70 plays by other hands, he acted in 24 of the 29 comedies he wrote and directed himself. In 1644 Moliere spent thirteen years touring the south of France with a company of Itinerant actors. An actor – manager with a theatre to fill, Moliere never lost faith with farce and sought ways of combining it with a more sophisticated comedy of character and manners suitable for his royal, aristocratic and Paris public. According to (Mills)“The kings brother became Moliere’s patron; later Moliere and his colleagues were appointed official providers of entertainment to the Sun King himself”. Though he deliberately did not seek controversy, he made enemies at court among doctors, religious zealots and faculty of theology. A comic was surrounded L’ Ecole des femmes, which was constructed as an insult to the ‘holy mystery’ of marriage. By combining traditional forms of comedy, he created a new kind of comic play which drew its unity from a consistent concern with human behavior and social foibles. He was not afraid of vulgarity and relied heavily on broad comic strokes which are visible in his soberest character studies. It is true that Moliere attained greater popularity during life than his illustrious English contemporary. The art of Moliere was aristocratic and energetic, original and untrammeled from all codes, religious or moral boundaries. Most remarkable work of his is the portrayal of the eminence of the human spirit in the case of Tartufe. His play Don Juana is the very embodiment of the arrogance of the intellect, and his servant Sganarelle and seems to inculcate a lesson of fatalistic skepticism. The popularity of Moliere Moliere was one of the most frequently performed playwrights in Paris during the revolution. Nearly two thousand plays of his were performed between 1789 and 1799.Moliere’s plays flowed into the repertories of both new and established theatres. Besides the numerous productions, biographical plays on Moliere also appeared in abundance in late 1790s.Moliere was dramatist, celebrated moralist, actor venerated on stage by everyone, witty promoter and master of delight fun and laughter. Moliere’s characters were very famous in the eighteenth century as they were well quoted and paraphrased. Renowned for his satirical works, Moliere delighted in lampooning the social pretensions and conceits of the 17th French society. Moliere occupies a position of great significance in France, not only for its theatre but also for French culture in general and notions of national identity. Moliere is appreciated by theatre artist and audiences around the world, but for French people it is not an exaggeration to say that he is part of their national soul. Traditionally regarded as the father of French comedy, he is the author of the nation’s most treasured dramatic literature and a proud cultural export. Moliere’s significance as a national figure was created over time, among changing audiences, through the efforts of different political, social and cultural agencies. As per (Matthews 1) “Moliere is the great master of comedy in its finest not than in its broader aspects” Conclusion Moliere is one of the handful of French authors well – known enough to be able to sell their manuscripts to acquire a marketable reputation. Moliere was the first French author to have benefited fully from the new design to assign to the best known authors a visual image by which they could be recognized. Numerous painted portraits preserved a record of Moliere’s face during the last decade of his life. Moliere’s characters announce that he does not care what other playwrights think of it. To limit Moliere’s comic vision to matters of theatrical - or even theatrical and literary – technique would be to be content with externals; it is the unique combination of craftsmanship and ‘philosophy’ that defines his genius. According to (Fletcher)”The life of Moliere is a story of struggle, hard work, domestic unhappiness, death and burial in obscurity and almost in shame”. The man Moliere was, above all, a chronicler of obsessions, although he never wrote about his own principle obsession which was work. Actor, playwright, director, manager, orator, officer, courtier, his life was unimaginably busy. French comedy was sterile in the beginning and Moliere gave it a life and a spirit of its own. Moliere’s stature as one of the world’s great masters of the dramatic form is based on his ability to create a wide range of remarkable theatrical characters. But equally important is his success in depicting, in a mocking and irreverent style, morals and manners of seventeenth century France. Moliere’s personality embraced a remarkable variety of dramatic faculties. Well educated in the classical tradition, he was a consummated actor and director as well as a poet and playwright. References Fletcher, Martha. "Molier - (JEAN BAPTISTE DE POQUELIN, 1621-1673." Theatre data bae. N.p., 2011. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. Matthews, Brander C. Moliere - his life and his works. New York: Kessinger Publishing, 2005. 1. Print. Mills, Ian C. "MOLIERE - French Dramatist ." discoverfrance. The Wharton Group, 1997. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. . Read More