MTA 104 ("Understanding Theatre")

Instructor: Walter Metz

Reading Notes:  Moliere, The Misanthrope (1666)

Unity of time and place:  Celimene's house in Paris (441, 1)

Use of Alexandrine Couplet (441, 1)

Philinte's hypocrisy:  He pretends to be chummy with a guy he hardly knows (441, 1)

Alceste demands sincerity no matter what (441, 2)

Alceste wants to break free from humankind (442, 1)

People think Alceste is ridiculous, which is just fine with Alceste, as if they didn't, he'd be worried (442, 1)

Alceste is a true misanthrope:  He not only hates the rogues, but those that allow the rogues to operate (442, 2)

Class:  the middle-class is afraid of the lower class (442, 2)

Alceste vows to change the flighty Celimene by loving her (443, 2)

Argument over Reason vs. Love (443, 2)

Ornonte's Alexandrine Couplets express his hypocrisy (444, 1)

Alceste tells Oronte the truth about his horrid poetry (444, 1)

Philinte, on the other hand, flatters Oronte's poetry, just to be nice (444, 2)

Alceste really gives it to Oronte for how horrid his poetry is (445, 1)

Alceste uses the Alexandrine couplet to insult Oronte (445, 2)

Celimene is a gossip (448, 1)

Celimene is a hypocrite:  She does what she critiques in others (448, 2)

Celimene runs down Arsinoe, but then hugs her (451, 1)

Eliante admires Alceste's honesty (454, 1)

Celimene accuses Alceste of being too extreme (456, 1)

Alceste loses his lawsuit (457, 2)

Philinte tries to calm Alceste down, to keep him from engaging in rash action (458, 1)

Oronte and Alceste demand that Celimene decide between the two of them (459, 1)

Celimene refuses to go with Alceste (461, 1)

Alceste apologizes to Eliante, but it is too late:  Eliante and Philinte marry (461, 2)

Alceste decides to leave civilization (461, 2)

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This page was last updated on June 16, 2001

Questions or comments?  Please phone me at (406) 994-6403 or send an e-mail to:  metz@montana.edu

Walter Metz, Department of Media and Theatre Arts, Montana State University--Bozeman