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Moliere

Born in 1622 in Paris, France to a wealthy bourgeois family, Moliere went on to become a favorite of the court of Louis XIV.

His mother died while he was young and Moliere was never close to his father, Jean Poquelin. His father held a prestigious office in the court of Louis XIII. He was the valet of the King's chamber and the keeper of carpets and upholstery. Poquelin purchased the position and planned to pass it down to his son. But Moliere had different ideas.

Moliere attended school at the Jesuit College de Clermont where he got his first taste of the stage. When he was twenty-one years old, Moliere dropped out of school so he could concentrate on the stage. Me and the actress, Madeleine Bejart opened a theater together. It was called the Illustre Theatre. Although Madeleine's brother and sister helped them with their performances, the theater went bankrupt in 1645.

Moliere was imprisoned for 24 hours, but the debts were paid by either his father or a lover of one of the troupe, and Moliere was released to resume acting. After this, he adapted his stage name, Moliere.

The reason could have been because he did not want to embarrass his father. The court of Louis XIV has made actors more fashionably accepted in society, but they still could not be buried in consecrated ground.

For the next twelve years, Moliere and his troupe traveled throughout France putting on plays. Moliere had a talent for mockery which was evident in his plays. Along the way, he acquired a patron. Armand was the Prince of Conti of the House of Bourbon, and the governor of Languedoc. Moliere lost his patronage after Armand incurred syphilis and became religious. Then Armand joined with a group of zealots who boycotted Moliere's risque plays.

When Moliere finally returned to Paris, he had developed some notoriety. In Paris, he rented the Louvre, which was a theater at the time, and performed for the King in 1658. His troupe was a success and awarded the title of Troupe de Monsieur. While there Moliere wrote plays in a comedic style. His plays used humor to criticize the customs of France at that time.

Moliere contracted pulmonary tuberculosis during his time in prison while young. In 1673 Moliere was performing in the play, Le Malade Imaginaire, or The Imaginary Invalid. It is a play about a hypochondriac. During a scene, Moliere is supposed to fall into a coughing fit. Unfortunately, the coughing fit was real, and Moliere was dying. He insisted on finishing the play.

After the play was finished, he collapsed and was taken to his home. He died 1673. He did not receive last rites because two priests refused and a third was late. There is a superstition that green brings bad luck to actors because that was the color Moliere wore on that fateful night.

Since Moliere was an actor, he could not be buried in consecrated ground, but his wife appealed to the King. He allowed her to bury Moliere at night in the part of the cemetery set aside for unbaptized infants.

Moliere's remains were moved to the museum of French Monuments in 1792 and then moved again to the Pere Lachaise Cemetary in Paris in 1817.

Don Juan

Author: Moliere

Don Juan is a comedy performed in five acts. It was written by Moliere and first performed at the Theatre du Palais-Royal in 1665. Moliere played the part of Sganarelle, Don Juan's valet and moral compass. Because the religious leaders of the time in Paris thought the play mocked their beliefs, they insisted on … [Read more...] about Don Juan

L’Impromptu de Versailles

Author: Moliere

"L’Impromptu de Versailles" is Jean Baptist Moliere’s comedy which belongs to the Classicism, a literary movement well developed in France. The work was published after Moliere’s death in 1682. The comedy describes the French society of those days in a humoristic and satirical way. Moliere uses it as a weapon … [Read more...] about L’Impromptu de Versailles

The Miser

Author: Moliere

"The Miser" is one of the most famous and performed comedies by Moliere. It was the peak of the worldwide drama making and an inspiration for many other writers. The theme and the main inspiration of the work emerged from one of the capital human diseases - greed and miserliness. Miserliness is a theme that could be … [Read more...] about The Miser

Tartuffe

Author: Moliere

The time in which Moliere made his famous works was classicism. It started in the mid 17th century and lasted until the end of the 18th and it was strongly developed in France. The authors paid close attention to the form, content and style of writing and all of those characteristic were inherited from the ancient … [Read more...] about Tartuffe

The Imaginary Invalid

Author: Moliere

"The Imaginary Invalid" is a comedy-ballet by Jean Baptist Moliere in three acts. The work has the characteristics of an opera and a play and it was very popular during the reign of Louise XVI., and it was often preformed in his castle. The performances were great spectacles in which the text would intertwine with … [Read more...] about The Imaginary Invalid

The Misanthrope

Author: Moliere

Moliere’s work "The Misanthrope" talks about the sincerity of human’s emotions. In a world where honesty is a virtue but also an illusion everything is based on corruption, lies, money and the author wants to make us believe those who speak the truth. Moliere deeply believes that only on truth can one base his life. … [Read more...] about The Misanthrope

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