Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, Le Misanthrope [The Misanthropist]

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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 Hôtel de Bourgogne, rival authors such as Pierre and Thomas Corneille, and most notably from…

2476 words

Citation: Lalande, Roxanne . "Le Misanthrope". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 February 2015 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4076, accessed 28 March 2024.]

4076 Le Misanthrope 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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