Moliere (1622-1673) Pseudonym of Jean Baptiste Poquelin, French playwright
and actor. Moliere formed his own theater company, securing the patronage of
the court. He later earned a reputation for his comedic attacks on hypocrisy
and the foibles of humanity with works such as Le Misanthrope and Tartuffe.
The Would-Be Gentleman (1670) This comedy centers around M. Jourdain, a
wealthy bourgeois whose desire to mimic the nobility leads him to patronize
the arts, alienate his family, and be exploited by the unscrupulous Dorante.
