Molière: A Playwright and His Audience

Up until the last century there was a tendency, among directors in the theatre and academic critics alike, to stress the philosophical and satirical content of Moli re's comedy and to overlook the fact that he was a professional man of the theatre. More recently, certain influential critics have tended to go to the other extreme and to emphasise the theatrical and aesthetic qualities of his plays at the expense of what they may have to offer as plays of ideas. This study seeks to reconcile the two approaches: while exploring the evolution of Moli re's comedy as a vehicle for his own talents as an actor and for the resources of his company, the author also seeks to define the composition of the original audiences, both in the public theatre and at Court, and to assess the taste and attitudes of the spectators for whom the plays were written.

Author: W. D. Howarth
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 07/30/1982
Pages: 348
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.97lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.78d
ISBN: 9780521286794

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