Tartuffe

When producing a play that is considered a classic and has remained popular for centuries, it is easy to fall into the habit of directing it the way that it usually is, without giving much thought to all of the individual elements of it. One of the crucial elements to any production that is all too frequently overlooked in these situations is the feeling that the audience is left with after the end of the play. For Tartuffe in particular, it is convenient to assume that because the play is labeled as a comedy, it will have a happy ending that will leave the audience feeling content. In reality, while the contrived ending that Moliere has written and a direct interpretation of the text in the staging of the play will leave the audience feeling…

Tartuffe Tartuffe by Monsieur Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Molière is a religious satire that takes place in the home of Orgon, who is one of the main characters and a well-off man in terms of money, at least. The opening lines of the play place the reader in the middle of a family “discussion” about their house guest Tartuffe. However, the discussion is more of a quarrel about Tartuffe’s true character and the two opinions of Tartuffe can be seen immediately in the play as the grandmother, Madam…

Tartuffe Orgon; is one of the main characters in the story, who had a firm belief in Tartuffe with a great passion. From this play Moliere explains how a man like Orgon can be so blind in his loyalty and love to a belief that he can’t make the right judgement, even of those who can easily deceive him. Tartuffe’s hypocrisy is unknown to Orgon that he goes against his family members who disagree with Tartuffe being the firm believer in God. Everyone in the family tries to tell Orgon (Except for…

Most lies in life are a slippery slope, causing nothing but pain for both the sender and the receiver. In Moliere’s Tartuffe, Tartuffe use of lies and deceit to trick a family for is own selfish gains, while destroying the family in the process. Many themes can be seen in the play, such as hypocrisy, religion, and morals and ethics. But lies and deceit are the two things that truly fuel Tartuffe, and fuels the play itself. In the beginning, Orgon, the head of the household, has taken in a…

Tartuffe is widely considered Moliere’s finest comedic play, written in 1664. It was considered quite scandalous at the time and King Louis XIV censured it (Scott 2000). The play was subtitled ‘The Imposter’, or sometimes ‘The Hypocrite’. So deeply woven into our intellectual culture is the play, or rather its protagonist, that in both French and English ‘Tartuffe’ has officially become a word. The definition in English is ‘a hypocritical pretender to piety’. This essay will examine Moliere’s…

When you think of what you will do for the day, do you think of things to better others’ lives or your own? In Tartuffe and A Modest Proposal Jonathan Swift and Moliere speak of ways of living and human nature. Tartuffe speaks of a man who is supposed to be a man of God but is only trying to better his own way of living and take away a man’s own home. Swift as well speaks of living and human nature but not of a man but society as a whole and how they look at a certain group of people. In this…

In this essay, I will be focusing on the characters Madame Pernelle and Tartuffe. I will be analyzing their personal characteristics, as well as, their interactions with other characters. Also, I will provide evidence as to why they are stock characters and how they are important in the play Tartuffe. Before I get into the analysis, I will first give a brief background of the play Tartuffe and the significance of stock characters. The play Tartuffe was written by Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, who was…

Tartuffe is a theatrical production that is written and was first produced by Molière in 1664. It follows the story of a Parisian by the name of Orgon who happens to be the patriarch of a wealthy and influential family whose world is turned upside down when he decides to shelter a stranger by the name of Tartuffe. The events begin to unravel after Lady Pernelle who is Orgon’s mother chastises him for the sinfulness and depravity of his household; claiming no one recognizes the piety and holiness…

Orgon, the head of the household in the comedy Tartuffe: a respected man by his friends and family and righteously served the King; he is a rational, sane man but questions emerge when he becomes ludicrous and he is not the same man as he was before. He demonstrates a form of satire because of his strong-willed mind of Tartuffe and then being tricked into the fraudly innocence of Tartuffe. His actions lead to different conflicts within the family which leads us to believe that he is careless…

In Moliere’s Tartuffe, the protagonist, Orgon, is the head of his household, which his role also resembles that of a king. The magnitude of his power is the most apparent in Act II when he decides that he want his guest Tartuffe to be allied in the family by marriage, which he tries to control his daughter, Mariane into marrying him. He does not only overlook his daughter’s will but he also overlooks his servants’s opinion and tries to control her as well. In the Opening of Act II, Orgon is…