Look for the following stock characters as you read Tartuffe: the young lovers whose desires are thwarted by an unreasonable …

  As you read the first scene, whose word do you trust and why? What do you find out about …

What does Molière say is the function of comedy in his Preface to Tartuffe? Do you think comedy works this …

As you read, try to imagine what a staged version of Tartuffe would look like. Where are the characters, what …

What does Dorinne say about Orgon’s folly? What is humorous about scene 4?

Characterize Madame Pernelle. What social concerns are raised? What does Cleante state about human nature?

How is irony used as a tool of satire throughout the comedy? What major Enlightenment concern is revealed by the …

What specific eighteenth century Enlightenment ideas are demonstrated in the play? Since this is a comedy of character, what does …

Why does Moliere use the artifice of intervention of the King to resolve the plot of Tartuffe ? What are …

Why does Moliere make Tartuffe a religious hypocrite rather than just a hypocrite? “Will to power” is a theme in …