A01=Larry F. Norman
aesthetics
Author_Larry F. Norman
caricature
castigation
Category=ATD
Category=DSB
Category=DSG
comedies
comic dialogue
criticism
depicting
depiction
dramatic conflict
dramaturgy
effectiveness
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
france
french writings
genre
historical contexts
history
imagery
images
insightful
interpretation
jean-baptiste poquelin
literary studies
literature
moliere
performance
playwright
reflexivity
representation
satire
satirical comedy
social commerce
society
stage
theater
theatre
Product details
- ISBN 9780226591520
- Weight: 369g
- Dimensions: 16 x 23mm
- Publication Date: 15 Dec 1999
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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Though much beloved and widely produced, Moliere's satirical comedies pose a problem for those reading or staging his works today: how can a genre associated with biting caricature and castigation deliver engaging theatre? Instead of simply dismissing social satire as a foundation for Moliere's theatre, Larry F. Norman takes seriously Moliere's claim that his satires are first and foremost effective theatre. Pairing close readings of Moliere's comedies with accounts of French social history and aesthetics, Norman shows how Moliere perceived satire as a "public mirror" provoking dynamic exchange and conflict with audience members obsessed with their own images. Drawing on these tensions, Moliere portrays characters satirizing one another on stage, with their reactions providing dramatic conflict and propelling comic dialogue. By laying bare his society's system of imagining itself, Moliere's satires both enthralled and enraged his original audience and provide us with a crucial key to the classical culture of representation.
