This topic was posted , thanks SeekAndFind.
Posted on 01/30/2022 8:33:31 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Vive la différence between British and French culture in two of the greatest playwrights in history. Britain has a rich literary heritage, but Shakespeare, "the Bard," is widely recognized as the greatest writer in the English language. In France, a number of writers — Voltaire, Hugo, Proust, Flaubert — can compete for that title, but Molière is viewed as the most acclaimed writer of French comedy and satires, even more heralded than later satirists like Voltaire and Anatole France.
This year, specifically January 15, 1622, is the 400th anniversary of the birth in the heart of Paris of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, son of wealthy carpet-dealers, who became Molière. He is being honored by new statues, a postage stamp, a costume exhibition, and new staging of his plays, starting with the controversial originally banned version in 1664 of Tartuffe.
Shakespeare and Molière were both actors. Both ran a theater company, both had royal patronage, and both were prolific writers. Shakespeare is credited with 154 sonnets, Molière with 31 plays. Both observe and comment on human folly, though Molière more often satirizes authority, the Church, and the aristocracy. Shakespeare deals with a more complete range of emotions and human conflicts — murder, power, egotism, including issues such as sexual ambiguity and crossdressing, histories, and romances with happy endings. Both produced memorable, vivid characters: Shakespeare's Hamlet and Macbeth are universally known. Molière has given us Tartuffe, the hypocrite; Harpagnon, greedy and mean; and Argan, the hypochondriac.
Very little is directly known about Shakespeare's life apart from court records, land titles, and some contemporary opinions of others, and no original manuscripts survive. This is also true of Molière.
Both playwrights are satirists, but they differ. Molière is concerned mostly with contemporary society, while Shakespeare also refers to ancient history and literature,
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Molière was more sharp in ridiculing members of the French court, and general customs, fashionable absurdities, affected speech, fake sentimentality, intrigues, nobles, doctors, priests, and religious bigotry.
Shakespeare engaged in more in more imagery than did Molière, but both were critics of power-holders. Molière, who regarded nothing as sacred, is equally if not more biting on hypocrisy and cant in plays with philosophical, religious, and moral implications.
The plays are not easy to perform. Shakespeare's plays are written partly in prose but largely in iambic pentameter, with its rhythms of stressed and unstressed syllables. Molière is difficult to translate into English because of his style of alexandrines and rhyming couplets.
Had to look that one up. FreeRepublic is like a continuing education program sometimes. In a good way.
The title of this piece grabbed my attention. Wonderful topic. The horrendous writing kept me from clicking on the full article.
Many of Shakespeare’s plays were written by Amelia Bassano Lanier, who was an Italian-Jewess. Shakespeare was an illiterate manager of a playhouse. See the books
Shakespeare’s Dark Lady by John Hudson
Shakespeare’s Conspiratory by Steve Weitxenkorn
Comparing Moliere to Shakespeare?
Next they’ll compare a sink full of water to the Pacific Ocean.
Molière sucks and worse he was French and wrote in French. Who speaks French these days. Would have been better had he written in Chinese.
Many of Shakespeare’s plays were written by Amelia Bassano Lanier, who was an Italian-Jewess. Shakespeare was an illiterate manager of a playhouse.
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Conspiracy plot by Molière fans
I don’t really care if a fellow named Shakespeare wrote the plays ascribed to him; the dispute is a tempest in a teapot.
Whoever wrote them wrote some of the finest literature in any language
All Will needed to gain his knowledge was to hang out in university linked taverns where top students liked to hold court and brag.
with help from Trayvon Martin.
It is not really possible to compare Shakespeare with Moliere. Both were masters of their language and produced timeless plays, but they were writing in different languages and cultures with different literary traditions. Moliere writing in French in a stylized form with plays having great wit and nuance translates very poorly and the stories in his plays don’t have wider appeal of Shakespeare’s plays.
Many years ago I saw several Moliere plays staged at la Comédie-Française in Paris. While my French language skills were very challenged, I fell in love with Moliere’s poetry. To celebrate the 400 anniversary of Moliere’s birth, I plan on again challenging my French language skills watching videos of Moliere plays.
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