La Mothe le Vayer

Lettre sur la comedie de L'Imposteur

Edited by Robert McBride

Publication date:

28 February 2014

Length of book:

182 pages

Publisher

Manchester University Press

Dimensions:

216x138mm

ISBN-13: 9780719085932

BOOK DESCRIPTION
TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Lettre sur la comédie de l'Imposteur is the only work of any length which does full justice to comedy in the 17th century as a serious dramatic form. It is an important document in its own right and because it is inseparable from the historical context of Molière's Le Tartuffe ou l'Imposteur and the circumstances which influenced its development.

Introduction
A. Evolution of Le Tartuffe up to 1667
B. 1. Presentation and structure of the letter
2. Dramaturgy and characterisation in L'Imposteur as seen by the letter
3. The psychology of religious hypocrisy
C. Religion and the theatre in the seventeenth century
D. The nature and perception of the ridiculous
E. Stylistic features of the letter
F. History of the acceptance of the letter
G. Editions of the letter
H. Works consulted
Editor's note
Notes to introduction