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Moliere: The Complete Richard Wilbur Translations, Volume 2: The Misanthrope / Amphitryon / Tartuffe / The Learned Ladies
For the 400th anniversary of Moliere's birth, Richard Wilbur's unsurpassed translations of Molière's plays--themselves towering achievements in English verse--are brought together by Library of America in a two-volume editionOne of the most accomplished American poets of his generation, Richard Wilbur (1921-2017) was also a prolific translator of French and Russian literature. His verse translations of Molière's plays are especially admired by readers and are still performed today in theaters around the world. "Wilbur," the critic John Simon once wrote, "makes Molière into as great an English verse playwright as he was a French one." Now, for the first time, all ten of Wilbur's unsurpassed translations of Molière's plays are brought together in two-volume Library of America edition, fulfilling the poet's vision for the translations.The second volume includes the elusive masterpiece, The Misanthrope, often said to occupy the same space in comedy as Shakespeare's Hamlet does in tragedy; the fantastic farce Amphitryon, about how Jupiter and Mercury commandeer the identities of two mortals ; Tartuffe, Molière's biting satire of religious hypocrisy; and The Learned Ladies, like Tarfuffe, a drama of a household turned suddenly upside down. This volume includes the original introductions by Richard Wilbur and a foreword by Adam Gopnik on the exquisite art of Wilbur's translations.
527 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 18, 2022
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About the author
Molière
4,567 books1,500 followersSophisticated comedies of French playwright Molière, pen name of Jean Baptiste Poquelin, include
Tartuffe
(1664),
The Misanthrope
(1666), and
The Bourgeois Gentleman
(1670).
French literary figures, including Molière and Jean de la Fontaine, gathered at Auteuil, a favorite place.
People know and consider Molière, stage of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, also an actor of the greatest masters in western literature. People best know l'Ecole des femmes (The School for Wives), l'Avare ou l'École du mensonge (The Miser), and le Malade imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid) among dramas of Molière.
From a prosperous family, Molière studied at the Jesuit Clermont college (now lycée Louis-le-Grand) and well suited to begin a life in the theater. While 13 years as an itinerant actor helped to polish his abilities, he also began to combine the more refined elements with ccommedia dell'arte.
Through the patronage of the brother of Louis XIV and a few aristocrats, Molière procured a command performance before the king at the Louvre. Molière performed a classic of [authore:Pierre Corneille] and le Docteur amoureux (The Doctor in Love), a farce of his own; people granted him the use of Salle du Petit-Bourbon, a spacious room, appointed for theater at the Louvre. Later, people granted the use of the Palais-Royal to Molière. In both locations, he found success among the Parisians with les Précieuses ridicules (The Affected Ladies), l'École des maris</i> (<i>The School for Husbands</i>), and <i>[book:l'École des femmes (The School for Wives). This royal favor brought a pension and the title "Troupe du Roi" (the troupe of the king). Molière continued as the official author of court entertainments.
Molière received the adulation of the court and Parisians, but from moralists and the Church, his satires attracted criticisms. From the Church, his attack on religious hypocrisy roundly received condemnations, while people banned performance of Don Juan . From the stage, hard work of Molière in so many theatrical capacities began to take its toll on his health and forced him to take a break before 1667.
From pulmonary tuberculosis, Molière suffered. In 1673 during his final production of le Malade imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid), a coughing fit and a haemorrhage seized him as Argan, the hypochondriac. He finished the performance but collapsed again quickly and died a few hours later. In time in Paris, Molière completely reformed.
French literary figures, including Molière and Jean de la Fontaine, gathered at Auteuil, a favorite place.
People know and consider Molière, stage of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, also an actor of the greatest masters in western literature. People best know l'Ecole des femmes (The School for Wives), l'Avare ou l'École du mensonge (The Miser), and le Malade imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid) among dramas of Molière.
From a prosperous family, Molière studied at the Jesuit Clermont college (now lycée Louis-le-Grand) and well suited to begin a life in the theater. While 13 years as an itinerant actor helped to polish his abilities, he also began to combine the more refined elements with ccommedia dell'arte.
Through the patronage of the brother of Louis XIV and a few aristocrats, Molière procured a command performance before the king at the Louvre. Molière performed a classic of [authore:Pierre Corneille] and le Docteur amoureux (The Doctor in Love), a farce of his own; people granted him the use of Salle du Petit-Bourbon, a spacious room, appointed for theater at the Louvre. Later, people granted the use of the Palais-Royal to Molière. In both locations, he found success among the Parisians with les Précieuses ridicules (The Affected Ladies), l'École des maris</i> (<i>The School for Husbands</i>), and <i>[book:l'École des femmes (The School for Wives). This royal favor brought a pension and the title "Troupe du Roi" (the troupe of the king). Molière continued as the official author of court entertainments.
Molière received the adulation of the court and Parisians, but from moralists and the Church, his satires attracted criticisms. From the Church, his attack on religious hypocrisy roundly received condemnations, while people banned performance of Don Juan . From the stage, hard work of Molière in so many theatrical capacities began to take its toll on his health and forced him to take a break before 1667.
From pulmonary tuberculosis, Molière suffered. In 1673 during his final production of le Malade imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid), a coughing fit and a haemorrhage seized him as Argan, the hypochondriac. He finished the performance but collapsed again quickly and died a few hours later. In time in Paris, Molière completely reformed.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 1, 2024
1 star for writing: absolutely brilliant translation
1 star for characters
.5 star for setting
1 star for plot
1 star for loving it!
1 star for characters
.5 star for setting
1 star for plot
1 star for loving it!
May 4, 2024
Brilliant translation! So much fun too read!
May 3, 2023
Five stars for Molière, five more for Wilbur
This is a selection of four out of ten plays by Molière translated in rhyme by American poet Richard Wilbur. Three of these - The Misanthrope, Tartuffe, and The Learned Ladies - are always included in any list of Molière’s major works. Amphitryon, not so often. Well, I’m glad Wilbur decided to translate it, because Molière, even when not at his best, is seldom less than great.
And Wilbur rises to the occasion. English speakers are privileged to count of his versions of these wonderful plays. In each case, I first read the play in the original French, checking the notes, then I read Wilbur’s version, and then I reread the original. Wilbur manages to translate the plays in rhyme, no mean feat as this is much harder to do in English than in French, without losing the flow of language. These versions do not feel like translations at all.
Now for the works themselves: the three “major plays” included in this second volume of Wilbur’s Molière in the Library of America are all original works by the great French playwright, at his most inspired, ridiculing some aspect of 17th century high society. In fact, social interactions, hypocrisy, and fake learning are just as present in our time and place (wherever that is) as they were in France at the time of Louis XIV. This is why a 21st century reader can enjoy Molière to the full, and even add a phrase or two to their repertoire of repartees. (“Repertoire of repartees”? What would Wilbur say about that?)
This is to say that Molière, in addition to being great fun to read, conveys wisdom. I have just read each of the plays in this volume three times and am looking forward to reading them again.
Amphitryon is an old legend, mentioned in Homer and Hesiod and the subject of a play by Plautus, a roman playwright of the 3rd century BCE. In addition to the original work by Molière, I decided to read Plautus’s version as well. The old Roman work was a very good play, but Molière made it a lot funnier.
Nothing compares to reading these plays in the original, but Wilbur comes very, very close. Indeed, his versions feel like original works, not translations. He was a great poet in his own right, but these English versions of French theater would be enough to ensure him a place of honor in the history of American literature.
This is a selection of four out of ten plays by Molière translated in rhyme by American poet Richard Wilbur. Three of these - The Misanthrope, Tartuffe, and The Learned Ladies - are always included in any list of Molière’s major works. Amphitryon, not so often. Well, I’m glad Wilbur decided to translate it, because Molière, even when not at his best, is seldom less than great.
And Wilbur rises to the occasion. English speakers are privileged to count of his versions of these wonderful plays. In each case, I first read the play in the original French, checking the notes, then I read Wilbur’s version, and then I reread the original. Wilbur manages to translate the plays in rhyme, no mean feat as this is much harder to do in English than in French, without losing the flow of language. These versions do not feel like translations at all.
Now for the works themselves: the three “major plays” included in this second volume of Wilbur’s Molière in the Library of America are all original works by the great French playwright, at his most inspired, ridiculing some aspect of 17th century high society. In fact, social interactions, hypocrisy, and fake learning are just as present in our time and place (wherever that is) as they were in France at the time of Louis XIV. This is why a 21st century reader can enjoy Molière to the full, and even add a phrase or two to their repertoire of repartees. (“Repertoire of repartees”? What would Wilbur say about that?)
This is to say that Molière, in addition to being great fun to read, conveys wisdom. I have just read each of the plays in this volume three times and am looking forward to reading them again.
Amphitryon is an old legend, mentioned in Homer and Hesiod and the subject of a play by Plautus, a roman playwright of the 3rd century BCE. In addition to the original work by Molière, I decided to read Plautus’s version as well. The old Roman work was a very good play, but Molière made it a lot funnier.
Nothing compares to reading these plays in the original, but Wilbur comes very, very close. Indeed, his versions feel like original works, not translations. He was a great poet in his own right, but these English versions of French theater would be enough to ensure him a place of honor in the history of American literature.
June 26, 2024
Ok, I only read one play in this collection because I'd didn't have time to finish the rest, but I really enjoyed it! I read Tartuffe, a story about a man who uses his religious piety to get a leg up in the world but is really just a slimy hypocrite. He fools the head of a wealthy family and weasels his way into favor, while the rest of the members can clearly see he is just using the lord for his money. It was really funny and almost slapstick at some points. The characters are stock characters, but it doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the play. There's also a bit of a twist ending. I really liked how the play completely rhymes in couplets. I will definitely pick this up again and read the other plays in his collection.
August 9, 2023
The grandfather of modern comedy. The Misanthrope and Tartuffe are bona fide masterpieces and essential reading. Situational, dramatic, and verbal irony encased in attitudes towards life that are punctured like cheap balloons. The translation by Richard Wilbur will never be mastered - witty rhyming couplets that flow with the give and take of situational comedy. You will laugh out loud so don't read in public unless you want people to stare at the giggling mad person in the corner.
May 26, 2024
The French originals must be a masterpieces given the high regard the plays hold even at this date. I don't know enough French to tell, but the English translations by Wilbur are superb. I first encountered Tartuffe in the late 60s when the play inaugurated the opening of the American Conservatory Theater in SF. I loved it and was pleased to see this complete Richard Wilbur Translations and bought it for the Hard Core Literature Book Club deep dive into Molière; exquisite.
August 5, 2022
Great plays, great translation
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews