wyl.p6.t7 Misanthrope

The Misanthrope

Thoughtful laughter occurs when the piece of work causes its audience to laugh because its satirizing society. In The Misanthrope, by Moliere, he uses thoughtful laughter to satirize lawsuits back in the French aristocracy.

In The Misanthrope, Oronte goes to Alceste and Philinte for advice and an honest opinion on his sonnet. As Philinte begins to enthusiastically praise the sonnet, Alceste warns Oronte that his critical words may offend him. Oronte insists that he will be okay so, Alceste launches into a rant against the sonnet and Oronte’s lack of talent. Oronte gets offended and storms off and later sues Alceste for slandering his sonnet.

Moliere uses this scene to use as an exposition to the main plot but still used it to comment on the corruption of social critics. When Oronte gets offended by Alceste’s slandering, it illustrates a comical view on lawsuits. This scene creates tension, as Alceste rather use the verdict as a barometer to judge humanity’s bond to his idea of justice and goodnes, illustrating his self-deceptive, conceited self than battle his trial. It also becomes comical when the audience realies that two men are arguing like elementary kids and can not seem to solve this conflict themselves.

In The Misanthrope, thoughtful laughter is shown to the audience though satirizing the definiton of a lawsuit. The comical scene of Oronte’s choice to sue Alceste, contribute to Moliere’s intentions of illustrating thoughtful laughter. In the end, the Misanthrope gives the audience the satisfying comedy while pointing out the flaws of society. -tiffany show