The Misanthrope and Other Plays

Book excerpt: The Misanthrope * The Doctor in Spite of Himself * The Miser * The Would-Be Gentleman * The Mischievous Machinations of Scapin * The Learned Women * The Imaginary Invalid “The comedy,” Molière once quipped, “is excellent, and they who deride it deserve to be derided.” Written during the triumphant final years of Molière’s career, these seven works represent the mature flowering of his artistry and the most profound development of his vision of humanity. They are essential to appreciating the full genius of this greatest and best-loved French comic author. With an Introduction by Donald M. Frame and an Afterword by Lewis C. Seifert