Meditation 11 - The Misanthrope
Title/Subject: The Misanthrope
When I sat down to read The Misanthrope, I wasn’t too excited. Then I started talking to Liz about it and she told me it was a comedy, something I wasn’t aware of. She told me it was reminiscent of commedia dell’ arte style, which fascinates me. That’s a term I’ve always heard in theater classes, but no one ever bothered to explain it before this class.
I asked Liz if she wanted to read the play out loud together, each of us playing different characters, so we could stay focused and get it done. While we were reading, I realized that we found some of the same parts funny, but we found a lot of different things funny as well.
Some of the things that made me laugh may have had to do with the translation – I’m not sure Morliere would have used terms like ‘willy nilly’, but the point that the modern words made was still entertaining. I also found the honesty Alceste was trying so hard to maintain entertaining, because he was being offensive but thought he was doing the right thing. I also found it funny that Oronte admitted that the poem he wanted Alceste’s opinion on so badly he only spent about 15 minutes on. No one writes good poetry that quickly! Philinte was so willing to say he loved it – I saw a lot of class/status play throughout the play as well.
What I think I’m attempting to say is that I originally didn’t think I was going to enjoy this play, but I did. It wasn’t as hilarious as I thought it was going to be, but it was clever. I’m very glad I got a chance to read it.
posted by Anonymous @ 12:21 AM
5 Comments:
I find it really interesting that you chose to read the play aloud with a friend. I can imagine that voicing and listening to the words of the play out loud would give you more of a perspective on how the play was actually performed. That seems like a very good idea. Also, I agree with you that Alceste's sarcasm can be very funny. However, there were other times in the play that I found his bluntness to be inappropriate and uncomfortable. Perhaps this discomfort sometimes manifests itself as nervous laughter.
Even though we read it aloud, I can see why it would still be a confusing play. The number of characters in it and how it moved pretty quickly made it harder to understand if you didn’t catch something right away. I think that Alceste was a wonderful character, and my favorite part was the poem part. I agree that it was very clever the way that Alceste was criticizing Oronte’s poem while he was reading it, and the way Philinte was basically praising it. I agree that this shows the play on the social standings and the status one holds among society. Someone might think that Philinte is “sucking up” to Oronte because he is of a lower class, or doesn’t have as high a standing as Oronte. Alceste, on the other hand, is not afraid of losing his status or making himself look better, so he feels that it is ok to be rude to Oronte’s face about his poem. I also think this was a very clever play, and I’m glad we read it.
I wish I had thought to read it out loud. I sometimes have trouble staying focused while I am reading the plays we are assigned for this course mainly because I get the characters confused in my head. It would probably be helpful to read it with someone else because then the characters would be separated a little. Good idea!
I wouldn't have known this play was considered to be a comedy unless told otherwise. I would have read this play a lot differently if i hadn't realized it was a comedy.
I read the first half out loud and thought it was hilarious. When I read the rest later to myself I found it very depressing. I really agree with a lot of what Alceste believes but I found his desire to be with Celimene very distressing. Why do all the good ones go for the two-faced bitches?
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