Product Description
Moliere is considered the Shakespeare ofFrance. Moliere's plays are enacted throughout the world in virtuallyevery language, as much today as ever. ... Read more

Product Description
Moli re's beloved comedy features a rising member of the middle class who lusts for social status and higher learning. Plays for Performance Series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

One of Moliere's Most Popular Plays - Delightful Comedy
In seventeenth century class-conscious France a tradesman, even one that had achieved financial success, was not considered a gentleman. The Bourgeois Gentleman (1670), sometimes titled The Would-Be Gentleman, is a comedic tale of a wealthy tradesman, Monsieur Jourdain, that aspires to be a gentleman.His motivation is to gain favor with a beautiful marchioness; his efforts are complicated by the fact that he is already married.

Jourdain hires tutors for singing, dancing, fencing, and even philosophy and also engages a private tailor to dress him fashionably. They all have great fun with the vain, gullible Jourdain, easily persuading him to behave in an outrageously, ridiculous manner.

The fast moving plot and snappy dialogue make good reading, but I strongly suspect that The Bourgeois Gentleman is much better in performance than in print. The absurd, hilarious situations must have the audience continuously laughing.

The Bourgeois Gentleman is available in an inexpensive Dover Thrift Edition. Also, virtually all collections of Moliere's plays include this delightful comedy.

An Unexpected Literary Connection: The Bourgeois Gentleman was still quite popular nearly two hundred years later when Alexander Dumas was writing his swashbuckling adventure stories. Humorously, Dumas utilized Moliere as a minor character in an early chapter of The Man in the Iron Mask. A farcical situation, one in which Moliere is mistaken to be an assistant to King Louis XIV's tailor, is prefaced by Dumas with the comment "Where Probably Moliere Formed His First Idea of The Bourgeois Gentilhomme". ... Read more

Product Description
MADAME PERNELLE and FLIPOTTE, her servant; ELMIRE, MARIANE, CLEANTE, DAMIS, DORINE ... Read more

Product Description
This file includes: Don Juan ou Le Festin de Pierre (1663); L'Avare (1667); L'Etourdi ou Les Contre-Temps (1653-1658); Le Mariage Forcé (1664); Le Médecin Malgré Lui (1666); Les Précieuses Ridicules (1659); and Sganarelle ou Le Cocu Imaginaire (1660); According to Wikipedia: "Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, mostly known by his stage name Molière, (January 15, 1622 – February 17, 1673) was a French playwright and actor who is considered one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature. Among Molière's best-known dramas are Le Misanthrope (The Misanthrope), L'École des femmes (The School for Wives), Tartuffe ou L'Imposteur, (Tartuffe or the Hypocrite), L'Avare ou L'École du mensonge (The Miser), Le Malade imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid), and Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (The Bourgeois Gentleman). From a prosperous family and having studied at the Collège de Clermont (now Lycée Louis-le-Grand), Molière was well suited to begin a life in the theatre. Thirteen years as an itinerant actor helped him polish his comic abilities while he began writing, combining Commedia dell'Arte elements with the more refined French comedy." ... Read more

Product Description
These are the best of MolireÕs masterful one-acts, blending broad farce and pointed wit to express his never-ending delight in human foibles. But Molire is more than just the "master of the laugh", for behind the comic gestures of these matchless rogues, tight-fisted masters, possessive lovers and elegant ladies lurk fears, insecurities and their consequences. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Little known Moliere (at least in America)
These comedies are just as good as his well known plays. This translation is simple and direct. A great addition to an actor's book shelf. Good for high school students as the plays are short.

Bermel is the BEST!
If you're producing Moliere for an American audience, Bermel's translations/adaptations are the BEST! His texts play magnificently and his ability to transcode Moliere's sense of humor into an American-accessible format is extraordinary. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Drama / Continental European; ... Read more

Product Description
Originally published in 1907.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

Product Description
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, dit Molière, (1622-1673) est un dramaturge et acteur de théâtre français. Considéré comme l'âme de la Comédie-Française, il en est toujours l'auteur le plus joué. Impitoyable pour le pédantisme des faux savants, le mensonge des médecins ignorants, la prétention des bourgeois enrichis, Molière aime la jeunesse qu'il veut libérer des contraintes absurdes. Très loin des rigueurs de la dévotion ou de l'ascétisme, son r?'le de moraliste s'arrête là où il l'a défini: "Je ne sais s'il n'est pas mieux de travailler à rectifier et à adoucir les passions des hommes que de vouloir les retrancher entièrement", et son but a d'abord été de "faire rire les honnêtes gens". Molière dispose d'un grand talent comique. Molière partage, en 1661, le théâtre du Palais-Royal avec la troupe de Domenico Biancolelli, dit Arlequin. Il présente Dom Garcie de Navarre qui est un échec et L'École des Maris qui triomphe. La même année, Molière emménage en face du Palais-Royal. Le 17 août il crée Les Fâcheux, sa première comédie-ballet. ... Read more

Product Description
In The Doctor in Spite of Himself, Moliere's scalpel-sharp satire of the medical profession, Sganarelle's wife spreads the word the he is secretly a brilliant doctor who won't reveal his skills unless he is unmercifully punished. The Bourgeois Gentleman, Moliere's classic treatment of snobbery, presents Monsieur Jordain's obsessive desire to move up out of the ranks of the middle class and associate with the gentry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

clear and modern translations of great plays
Bermel's translations are funny and sharp and a little bawdier than most, but they will appeal more to modern audiences reared on Mtv and reality shows. The Doctor is especially sharp and would make an excellent piece for college theatre groups. Both bring forth Moliere's satire beautifully.

A Bad Translation?
These are two comdedies that fail in a modern sense: a woodcutter as a doctor
and a middle class fellow who wants "Culture".Coming from California
I have felt the sting of New York/ east coast snobbery and
wanted to be able to reply.So the Bourgeois Gentleman
isn't funny to me: it is cruel.The Army made a medic of me
despite of my religious history, so I sympathize with the poor woodcutter.
Had the translation been better the plays might have survived them,
but it fails the humor of the plays and they fall flat. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Drama / Continental European; ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Moliere takes aim at the hypocrisy of neoclassical France
I often taught Moliere's "Tartuffe" as an example of the neoclassical form of comedy in contrast to the romantic comedy represented by Shakespeare. We would read "Twelfth Night," a play set in a faraway exotic land where the point was simply romance, and then turn to "Tartuffe," where the contemporary society becomes one of the primary concerns of the comic dramatist. During the neoclassical period society was concerned with norms of behavior, and in a Moliere play you usually find a eccentric individual, out of step with the rest of society, who is laughed back to the right position. Moliere was concerned with social problems, which was while this particular play, dealing with the issue of hypocrisy, was banned for years. Keep in mind that originally hypocrisy was specific to religion, although today it can be used with regards to politics, sex, or even uncontroversial subjects.Consequently, the idea of characterizing Tartuffe as an imposter, would miss the point; he might be misrepresenting himself, but he is, indeed, Tartuffe.

The central character in "Tartuffe" is not the title character, but Orgon, a reasonably well to do man of Paris who is married to his second wife, Elmire, and has a song, Damis, and a daughter, Mariane, from his first marriage. He also has the misfortune of living with his mother, Madame Pernelle. Tartuffe is a religious hypocrite who worms his way into Orgon's confidence in order to take him for everything he is worth. Orgon is completely duped, and disinherits his son when Damis tries to prove Tartuffe is fraud. The other key character in the play is Dorine, who is Mariane's maid and the smartest person in the house, which allows her to both manipulate the action and comment on the play.

There are three crucial scenes in the play that readers should appreciate, even if it will not be covered on a future exam. The first is the opening scene (in Moliere's comedies the scene changes every time a character enters or exits) where we are introduced to Madame Pernelle, who promptly proceeds to criticize everybody in Orgon's household while praising Tartuffe. The result is that because she is so obnoxious, we have a low opinion of Tartuffe before he ever appears on stage. So, in addition to being a funny scene, it serves an important function in terms of the play. The second key scene comes when Orgon realizes he has been duped, and instead of continuing to ridicule his central character, Moliere turns him into a sympathetic figure. We laugh at Orgon while he does not have a clue as to his culpability in his coming demise, but once he starts to lose everything we stop laughing.

The final scene of interest, for mostly reasons external to the story, is the conclusion, where Moliere pulls what could only be called a "roi ex machina." This is because instead of dropping a god out of the sky in the manner of Euripides, Moliere has a representatative of the King arrive to set everything to rights. Tartuffe might pull the wool over the eyes of ordinary folk, but the King--in this case, King Louis XIV--is not fooled. The play "Tartuffe" was banned by the clergy after its first performance because it was seen as a thinly veiled attack against the Jansenists (a rather puritanical Catholic sect), and Moliere literally spent years rewriting it before the King gave his approval. It is not surprising that the playwright makes his patron the hero at the end of the play.

If you are only going to read (or teach) one Moliere play, then my choice would be "Tartuffe," even over "The Misanthrope," "The Imaginary Invalid," or "The Bourgeois Gentleman." I would argue that "Tartuffe" is the paradigmatic Moliere play, which best represents his comic techniques while also having a historical context that speaks to the tenor of the times in which he wrote. I also think it is the funniest of his plays. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Product Description
Molière"s classic verse comedy: the folly of one man"s attempt to mold the "perfect" wife — and his eventual undoing as she outsmarts him ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A play to enjoy, a message to ponder...
"L' école des femmes" is a very well-known comedy written by Molière (1622-1673) in 1662. At first sight, it appears to be the epitome of the classical comedy of mistakes. Despite that, this short play also deals with a topic that was highly controversial during Molière's life, women's education. The author of this book seamlessly incorporates that theme into the plot, making the reader reflect on it even without realizing he is doing that.

To start with, I would like to outline the plot of"L' école des femmes". It is simple, but shows that a play doesn't need to be too complicated in order to entertain. The main character is Arnolphe, an old man who having had lots of affairs with married women, distrust women in general. The strange thing is that in spite of that Arnolphe still wants to get married, provided (of course) that he can find a woman he can trust with his honour. After much pondering, he finds a seemingly perfect solution for his problem: to marry a woman without too much education, so she won't know how to deceive him ("Épouser une sotte est pour n'etre point sot"). According to Arnolphe, a dumb woman is a honest woman.

Having arrived to that conclusion, he decides to take a young orphan, Agnès, under his wing. Arnolphe educates Agnès according to his ideas: not too much studying, a lot of sewing and praying. The years go by, and Agnès grows into a beautiful but profoundly ignorant young woman. Arnolphe is ready to marry her, but something unexpected happens: a new character appears. That character is Horace, a young and handsome man who falls madly in love with Agnès and begins to court her, to Arnolphe's desperation and Agnès' happiness.

What will happen?. Well, you need to read "L' école des femmes" in order to know that. What I can tell you, though, is that I really enjoyed reading this play, notwithstanding the fact that there were some words that are no longer used in modern French. That made reading this play a little bit more difficult, although there was an abundance of footpages that explain the meaning of those words perfectly well, something that clarified my doubts.What is more, this edition includes a chronology of Molière's life, and several interesting studies regarding this play, something that helps to reader to understand "L' école des femmes", and the context in which it was written.

On the whole, I think that "L' école des femmes" is worth the time and effort of reading it. Molière wrote a perfectly good comedy, but he also took a stand regarding what kind of education should be given to women. He did that throughout the story, and also in a phrase said by one of the secondary characters, who says that "Une femme d'esprit peut trahir son devoir; mais il faut, pour le moins, qu'elle ose le vouloir; et la stupide au sien peut manquer d`ordinaire sans en avoir l`envie, et sans penser le faire". I completely agree with that, and I recommend this book as a play to enjoy, but also as a message to ponder...

Belen Alcat

L'ecole des femmes-negative review
I'm sorry to say that this Moliere play was dissapointing.Not only was it plain boring, yet it was very predictable.Moliere's sense of humor in this book let me down compared to other books such as L'AVARE and LESPRECIEUSES RIDICULES, which I highly recommend to read.

Very amusing Satire.
I read this play for a French Lit. class and enjoyed Moliere's sense of humor. I laughed out loud as I watched everyone's plans go horribly awry. A great classic social commentary. It centers around one man's obsessive fearof cuckoldry (when a man's wife cheats on him), and the extremes to whichhe goes to avoid this. He practically emprisons a girl/young woman so thatshe can be raised properly and will make a faithful and obedient wife whenshe finally matures. The only problem for me was that it has a lot ofreferences and vocabulary which are out of date and hard for anon-(native)French speaker to understand. ... Read more

Product Description
This work includes seven of the plays that accredited Molière as the greatest and best-loved French playwright of all times: "The Pretentious Young Ladies," "The School for Husbands," "The School for Wives," a comedy of infidelity and his first great success, "The Critique of the School for Wives," "The Impromptu of Versailles," "Tartuffe," a highly controversial play in its time, and "Don Juan." Although "Tartuffe" was immediately censured and banned for several years after its appearance on the stage because of its strong focus on religious hypocrisy, it is considered today to be one of Molière's masterworks. These plays are highly revered for their humor, imagination, and their keen observations of humanity. The actor and playwright realized early on that in order for comedy to be successful, it must have a basis in truth; in this way his plays emanate a sense of reality and universality that withstand the tests of time. ... Read more

Product Description
Publisher: New York, C. Scribner's SonsPublication date: 1910Subjects: Molie?re, 1622-1673Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more