Tartuffe
by Molière · Le Tartuffe, ou l'Imposteur
Assigned by 3 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1664, final version 1669
- Form
- Comedy
- Language
- French
- Length
- Short · 110 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Approachable1 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendTartuffe, translated by Richard WilburHarcourt, 1965Rhymed couplets that keep the comic timing of the French; the standard classroom text.
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Orgon, a prosperous Parisian, has taken the pious fraud Tartuffe into his house and will hear nothing against him, even planning to marry his daughter to the man and sign over his property. His family sees through the impostor and stages a trap so that Orgon can watch Tartuffe attempt to seduce his wife. Tartuffe, exposed, turns on the family with the deed and a box of compromising papers, and only the king's intervention saves them. The play was banned for five years after its first performance.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Tartuffe are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
