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Description
Widely regarded as Moliere's masterpiece, Le Misanthrope has nevertheless unsettled audiences and critics for the time of its publication in 166. Moving away from traditional models of comedy where characters have an unambiguous function it focuses on the figure of the misanthrope whose role is challengingly double – his unsparing social critique suggests both the incisiveness of the satirist and the bad humour of the misfit. In its representation of a society where no character has absolute authority the comedy involves the audience in a serious reconsideration of its own values and assumptions.
This new edition explores Le Misanthrope as a text and play. In his introduction, Jonathan Mallinson examines the interlocking levels of comedy apparently both in the play's literary texture and in the original performance. It then discusses the history of its reception and shows how the play has been constantly adapted to the different moral social or aesthetic values of changing times. A detailed critical commentary offers another method of reading the text, analysing the sophistication of Moliere's comic writing and the theatrical possibiltieis it embodies.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Reading Moliere
Controversies
Comedy of Le Misanthrope
i) The misanthrope as satirist: Alceste against society
ii) The misanthrope satirised: society against Alceste
iii) The misanthrope satirised: Alceste against Alceste
Comedy of Society
i) Philinte: the voice of authority ?
ii) Alceste and society: parallels and echoes
iii)Portraits
iv)The comedy of conversation
Le Misanthrope in 1666: Traditions and Deviations
i) Comedy of manners
ii) Comedy of love
iii) The denouement
iv) Contemporary responses
Bibliography
LE MISANTHROPE
Commentary
Product details
| Published | 01 Jan 1998 |
|---|---|
| Format | Paperback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 168 |
| ISBN | 9781853993923 |
| Imprint | Bristol Classical Press |
| Dimensions | 216 x 135 mm |
| Series | French Texts |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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