Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, Le Misanthrope [The Misanthropist]

Roxanne Lalande (Lafayette College)

Ed. by Julia Prest, University of St Andrews
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.03: French Writing and Culture of the Seventeenth Century: Classical and Baroque, 1600-1700.
Vol. editors: Heather Kirk (University of Western Ontario), Kathrina LaPorta (New York University), Polly Mangerson (DePaul University), Julia Prest (University of St Andrews), Allison Stedman (University of North Carolina, Charlotte), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1666

Places

France (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

Molière began writing his five-act masterpiece, Le Misanthrope, in early 1664, but its first performance, in the Palais-Royal Theatre, was not until June 4, 1666. When examining the play’s creation, reception, and literary value, it is impossible to avoid some speculation regarding the conflation of life and text. The genesis of the play has to be understood within the context of the banning of Le Tartuffe in 1664, and the censoring of Dom Juan the following year. By this time in his career, the author had reached the height of popularity and favour at court, but he was to pay dearly for his triumph, which gave rise to multiple coalitions of opposition from rival theatre companies such as the H&…

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2476 words

Citation: Lalande, Roxanne . "Le Misanthrope". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 February 2015 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4076, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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