Misanthrope Essay

Nancy Lai

Wylie

Period 5

It was once said by George Meredith that "The true test of comedy is that it shall awaken thoughtful laughter." In the play The Misanthrope, the characters and scenes of the play show how a sense of thoughtful laughter is created. There are many scenes in The Misanthrope that express an ironic and satirical setting that led to the scene where thoughtful laughter is shown. In Act V Scene iv of The Misanthrope main characters Alceste and Celimene show thoughtful laughter in the reader and adds to the story.

In Act V Scene iv, Celimene is put in the situation where she needs to admit to the suitors that she has been with that she has insulted them in a letter. In this situation, it is almost a complete flip from what had happened towards the beginning of the play. In a previous act, Celimene's suitors were asked to describe her, and their responses were of how perfect she was. This letter has shown how little care she has towards these men hat accept every aspect of Celimene. Thoughtful laughter is within this scene because of the way she was seen in other's eyes and the way she actually is. In the scene where her suitors describe her as perfect, Alceste claims otherwise. None of the suitors had a clue of how she truly felt about them besides Alceste.

In the same scene, Alceste is fiven the chance to marry Celimene. alceste feels insulted and rejects the offer saying he wants nothing to with her. Alceste shows thoughtful laughter towards the reader because of the relationship Alceste and Celimene have. Just moments before Celimene agrees to marry him, Alceste wanted to retreat into solitude with Celimene. alcest feels as though he is "unworthy" of Celimene because he feels insulted. As the reader sees the truth in the happennings, it is allmost humorous to see Alceste's mind being manipulated by Celimene.

In Act V Scene iv of The Misanthrope both Celimene and Alceste have actions that create thoughtful laughter. The reader sees the irony of the letter that Celimene has written about her suitors. Celimene tried to make it seem as though she liked these men, but in actuality, she spotted all the flaws. alceste's mind is also being manipulated and changed because of Celimene's actions. It is humorous that he is capable of switching thought process that quickly because of the words that Celimene says. The Misanthrope awakens thoughtful laughter in order to have the story have a deeper meaning than what is written on paper.