The Misanthrope Period 5 Wylie

In the play, The Misanthrope by Moliere, it contains many witty, ironic and satirical jokes on French nobility and society. Many of theses jokes can be considered as satirical jokes that con evoke "thoughtful laughter" in the reader because of the underlying meanings. These jokes that evoke thought laughter in the reader all help contribute to the meaning of the play which was the problems of French society that many ignore.

One character that awakens thoughtful laughter is the main character Alceste. He is seen as a blunt, honest man who hates how society has become. Most of his actions go against the norm, and also ironically some of his actions are hypocritical based on his ideas. An example can be his affection towards Celimene who represents the epitome of all the traits of nobility that Alceste hates. This irony shows how even a person like Alceste who tries to go against social norms can still be sucked back into society’s embrace.

There was also a scene that also provoked thoughtful laughter which was in Act I Scene 2. This scene was when Alceste listened to a fellow nobleman’s, Oronte, poem and was asked to critique it. Although Alceste’s friend, Philinte, said that the poem was great, Alceste bluntly said the poem was horrendous which Oronte took offend to. This scene was funny because it was making fun of the intelligence of the upper class, and how even a nobleman like Oronte can fail to create a decent poem. This scene also pokes fun at the sincerity that people were expected to be. Although Oronte’s poem was bad, Philinte lied by saying it was good out of courtesy, but Alceste just bluntly says the poem was horrible out of pure honesty. This makes the reader think about how society would put lies to make people feel better before being honest and truthful to one another.

Moliere, did a wonderful job in weaving witty comments, irony, and satire into his play. In doing so, it made readers think about these jokes and reflect on Moliere’s message, which was the visible problems in French society that many choose to ignore.

-Karen Cao