Analyse How Moliere Uses Comedy as a Dramatic Technique in Le Tartuffe

Set in the 17th century, Molieres Drama, Le Tartuffe is a satirical representation of religious hypocrisy. Its comedy drives the play in a direction where the audience can not only be entertained simply scan the morals which are portrayed. It is important to realise the historical context that influenced Molieres work of Le Tartuffe in order to understand the construction of the characters and comedy portrayed.Commedia dellarte were a group of traveling players in Italy who specialized in improvised theatre, creating stock characters for every performance for the audience to identify with and understand their representation in a comic way. Some of these features have been known to have inspired Molieres construction of the biz and characters such as Clever talking Dorine shedding light on the truth. In that way, Dorine almost acts as a comedic dramatic tool to highlight the truths and themes of the play.This is particularly evident in her dialogue towards Madame Pernelle, Il d emode pour un saint dans votre fantaisie/Tout son fait, croyez-moi, nest rein quhypocrisie(Moliere 1. 1. 69) In supporting this idea, Peter Hampshire moderate writes that Dorine has brilliant wit with which she ridicules hypocrisy (199185). Although the majority of modern audiences would find the witty handmaiden humorous, Paula Alekson noted that Moliere became a master of Le ridicule, so much so that in the sour of making the audiences laugh, he made a multitude of serious enemies(2007ll 15-16).Away from the controversy that the themes created, Moliere generates much more(prenominal) of the comedy in terms of language, structure and pace of the play. For example in the exposition, when Madame Pernelle talks to the rest of the characters, we are able to see the desire of power towards the daughters as they try to speak by saying, Mais. Je croismais ma classical (Moliere1. 1)but are cut off every time. Furthermore, repetition is used when Orgon says, Et Tartuffe? / Le pauvre ho me (Moliere1. 4) This conveys Orgons constant obsessive nature over Tartuffe which provokes laughter.Of course when being performed the proxemics and movement of the character along with the dialogue would emphasise the comedy and complete farce that Moliere had stylized the play with. Overall, we are able to conclude that Moliere uses a variety of assorted techniques, and themes to make the comedy work for the play. We realise that it is not just a form of entertainment but to aid the audience in following the events in the play to understand the central themes. Andrew Calder noted that Moliere does this in both his plays, Le Tartuffe (1664) and Don Jaun (1665).Calder states that they go beyond the comic stage, and both reflect a festive interest in some of the most topical, moral and theological issues of the time. (1973153). Wordcount457 Bibliography Moliere, 2006. Le Tartuffe. Paris Larousse. Alekson, Paula. 2007. Dramatic and histrionics Style a la Moliere Le ridicule, le naturel, and The comic war. online Available at http//www. mccarter. org/ raising/tartuffe/html/4. html Calder, Andrew. 1973. Moliere The Theory and Practice of Comedy. LondonAthlone Nurse, Peter Hampshire,1991. Moliere and The Comic Spirit. GeneveLibraire Droz