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https://www.britannica.com/art/New-Comedy

https://www.britannica.com/art/comedy-of-manners

http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/staffhome/trsanders/units/comedy/comedyofmanners.html

https://www.theatrefolk.com/spotlights/moliere-and-17th-century-french-theatre

Researching Comedy of Manners

Tartuffe

17th Century France

Moliere

More Cultural Context

French Theatre

Cultural Context

Intelligent and cultivated audience...able to discern serious moral and social issues beneath the laughter and fun.

Rules of society, rules of structure, rules of language, character behavior and story

Not culturally advanced at beginning of century due to wars. Moliere influenced by traveling Commedia troupes.

Performed 2-3 times a week.

Women allowed on stage.

First permanent proscenium stage theatre was renamed the Palais Royal and it is where Molière‎ staged his plays.

Louis XIV had his own theatre at Versailles, designed by Jean Berain. Berain also designed the sets for Molière‎'s plays.

Societal Impact

Applying to Moment in Theatre

Moliere and Tartuffe

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin

First theatre company failed and landed him in debtors prison

Took stage name to not embarrass family

Greatest exponent of Comedy of Manners

satirized hypocrisy and pretension of French society

Made enemies of the church

Archbishop threatened to excommunicate anyone who saw, performed or even read Tartuffe.

Petitioned King three times; play wasn't critical of religion, but those that misuse it.

The word Tartuffe comes directly from Molière‎'s play – a hypocrite who pretends to be pious.

Impacted by Greek New Comedy and author Menander (c. 342–c. 292 bc)

  • mildly satiric of domestic aspects
  • plot deals with thwarted lovers
  • stock characters
  • Menander known for witty writing style

France

  • major power in Europe with "Sun King" Louis 14th
  • Many wars, cultural advances in thinking and science
  • Aristocracy and lower class further separated
  • Louis wanted to build culture, supporter of arts, and absolute monarchy
  • Academies of Dance, Science, Architecture and Music formed as well as The French Academy which oversaw literary output
  • Louis revoked religious tolerance from the Protestants in 1685

“What Shakespeare is to the English, Molière is to the French. While there are differences between them, there are also similarities: both were practical men of the theatre; both were actors as well as playwrights; both had incredible insight into human life; both had a breath-taking mastery over language. " - Jerry L. Crawford, Insights

Performance Convention

Theoretical Context

Gesture, face, body, movement, voice

Focusing on style, form, practice or genre

Satirizes society

Plot focuses on scandal, but is secondary to wit and commentary on society

Prologues and Epilogues are important. Containing poetry. Delivered in coarse, boisterous fashion

Verisimilitude is the appearance of truth or that the play must be believable.

  • characters are identifiable as good and proper French citizens.
  • uphold the moral convictions of the French Academies, the nobility, and the church.
  • unity of time, place, and action.

Neoclassicism

  • Inspired by Ancient Greece and Rome.
  • Adhered to Aristotle's principles of unity of time and space: one setting, one story, and the action was limited to 24 hours.
  • Plays followed a five act form.
  • Use of special effects and elaborate staging.
  • Decorum had to be followed: characters are real (e.g. no ghosts) and behave according to their status. Stories are believable.
  • Morality, manners and good taste were essential.
  • Plays did not mix comedy and drama.
  • Comedies must end happily. Tragedies must end in death.
  • Comedic characters must be middle and lower classes. The hero in a tragedy must be noble.
  • The purpose of a play was entertainment and to provide a moral.

Dress - Every part of the body is adorned

Face - "excessive make-up, false noses, beards, mustaches, powder, rouge, pencil, lipstick and beauty patches. Facial expression was avoided because it tended to crack the facial make-up."

Voice - "brilliant and brittle, witty in language, often prose was used, and rapid repartee was the norm." "Tone was used to convey emotional quality to the audience and precise pronunciation was encouraged." "Intricate vocal pauses and timing was developed and tempo of delivery was rapid."

Movement - "focused on entering and exiting through doors. Action took place mainly downstage on the apron of the stage. Highly graceful and elegant patterns of movement were encouraged and all actions should be precise and inventive."

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