Literature Help: The Misanthrope

By Students' Academy

“The Misanthrope” by French writer Moliere was first performed on 4th of June 1666 at the Theatre du Palais-Royal, Paris, by the King’s Players.

It is also titled “The Cantankerous Lover.” The French title of the play is “Le Misanthrope.” It is a 17th century comedy of manners that has been written in verse.

The play is a very terse satire on the hypocrisies of French aristocratic society. However, it also focuses on the shortcomings which humans possess.

There were several other farces written in the 17th century, but “The Misanthrope” is different from them. Most of the satirists used to present flat characters to criticize the problems in society, but in the present play, the playwright has used dynamic characters such as Alceste and Celimene. They are quite different from the traditional flat characters.

Literature Help: The Misanthrope
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Act One
Act Two
Act Three
Act Four
Act Five
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Mar 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310928932

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Literature Help: The Misanthrope

Copyright

Literature Help: The Misanthrope

Students' Academy

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Chapter One: Introduction

The Misanthrope by French writer Moliere was first performed on 4th of June 1666 at the Theatre du Palais-Royal, Paris, by the King’s Players.

It is also titled The Cantankerous Lover. The French title of the play is Le Misanthrope. It is a 17th century comedy of manners that has been written in verse.

The play is a very terse satire on the hypocrisies of French aristocratic society. However, it also focuses on the shortcomings which humans possess.

There were several other farces written in the 17th century, but The Misanthrope is different from them. Most of the satirists used to present flat characters to criticize the problems in society, but in the present play, the playwright has used dynamic characters such as Alceste and Celimene. They are quite different from the traditional flat characters.

In this play, the playwright has focused more on character development and nuances than on plot progression. It differs in this respect from most of the plays written by Moliere.

When it was first performed, the play was not a commercial success, however, it has survived the time of test and now it is considered as one of the best satirical plays ever written.

Before the launching of this play, two other earlier plays written by Moliere had been banned by the French government, so he tried to make the present play more socially acceptable.

The Misanthrope brought a lot of criticism to Moliere. However, the great French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau admired it as the best work created by Moliere, but he hated the fact that Alceste was shown as a fool on stage. He said that audiences should admire Alceste and his views about society and never try to belittle him as a character.

Moliere’s characters such as Alceste and Celimene are multidimensional and their behavior is more ambivalent than the traditional characters employed by the contemporary playwrights.

Moliere has presented Alceste as an extreme character. The Misanthrope succeeds in providing