Molière in Context

The definitive text on the social, intellectual and theatrical conditions within which Molière operated and his subsequent impact worldwide.

Jan Clarke (Edited by)

9781108493215, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 24 November 2022

350 pages
23.7 x 15.8 x 2.6 cm, 0.72 kg

The definitive guide to Molière's world and his afterlife, this is an accessible contextual guide for academics, undergraduates and theatre professionals alike. Interdisciplinary and diverse in scope, each chapter offers a different perspective on the social, cultural, intellectual, and theatrical environment within which Molière operated, as well as demonstrating his subsequent impact both within France and across the world. Offering fresh insight for those working in the fields of French Studies, Theatre and Performance Studies and French History, Molière in Context is an exceptional tribute to the premier French dramatist on the 400th anniversary of his birth.

Biographical preface Georges Forestier
Part 1. Socio-political Context: 1. A Bourgeois at court Mathieu da Vinhae
2. The religious climate Julia Prest
3. Medicine Valerie Worth-Stylianou
4. Family law Janine Lanza
5. Women Wendy Perkins
6. Gender, masculinity and cross-dressing Joseph Harris
Part 2. Intellectual and Artistic Context: 7. Philosophical influences Jean-Luc Robin
8. Molière and classical theatre Michael Call
9. The survival of medieval and renaissance professional practices Marie Bouhaïk-Gironès
10. Commedia dell'arte Claude Bourqui
11. The literary establishment Richard Maber
12. Are the Précieuses only ridicules? Molière, salon culture and the shaping of France's collective memory Faith E. Beasley
Part 3. Theatrical Context (Paris): 13. Molière's theatres in Paris Philippe Cornuaille
14. Stage design in Paris Philippe Cornuaille
15. Company administration Jan Clarke
16. The theatre industry and cultures of consumption Sabine Chaouche
17. Acting style Sabine Chaouche
Part 4. Theatrical Context (Court): 18. Colbert, cultural policy and the propaganda of spectacle Georgia Cowart
19. The decors of comedy-ballet: from the 'Songe de Vaux' to the 'Rêve de Versailles' Marie-Claude Canova-Green
20. Court performances and their audiences Laura Naudeix
21. Music Anne Piéjus
22. The livrets of Molière's plays Marine Roussillon
Part 5. Reception and dissemination: 23. Audience laughter Coline Piot
24. The triumph of publicity Christophe Schuwey
25. Molière and his critics: the 'Querelles' Jeanne-Marie Hostiou
26. Molière and his publishers Michael Call
27. Molière In print Michael Hawcroft
28. Early modern English translations of Molière Suzanne Jones
Part 6. Afterlives: 29. Molière at the hôtel Guénégaud and the Comédie-Française: the early years Jan Clarke
30. Comedy after Molière Guy Spielmann
31. Molière as national hero Mechele Leon
32. Molière in performance: Twentieth- and twenty-first-century productions Noël Peacock
33. Molière on the modern Anglophone stage Cédric Ploix
34. Who and what is Molière? The film director's perspective Noël Peacock
35. Molière in the Arab world Angela Daiana Langone
36. Digital Molière Claude Bourqui.

Subject Areas: Literary reference works [DSR], Literary studies: plays & playwrights [DSG], Literary studies: c 1500 to c 1800 [DSBD], Plays, playscripts [DD], Poetry by individual poets [DCF]