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L'Étourdi Ou Les Contretemps
''L’Étourdi ou les Contretemps'' (''The Blunderer, or the Counterplots''), also known in English as ''The Bungler'', is a five-act theatrical comedy by the French playwright Molière. After premiering in Lyon in 1655, it appeared at the Théâtre du Petit-Bourbon in Paris in November 1658. The plot follows a servant's schemes to help his wealthy employer win the affections of a poor young woman. Characters * Lelio (''Lélie'' in the French original), a young aristocrat * Leander (''Léandre''), Lelio's rival * Mascarille, Lelio's servant * Hippolyta (''Hippolyte''), a young woman * Celia (''Célie''), a gypsy woman * Trufaldin, an old man * Pandolphus (''Pandolfe''), Lelio's father * Anselmo (''Anselme''), Hippolyta's father * Ergaste, a servant * Andrès, a young man Plot Two young aristocrats, Lelio and Leander, have been romancing a woman named Hippolyta, who is now engaged to Lelio. However, both men have become infatuated with Celia, a young gypsy who is Debt bondage, en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Frontispiece
A frontispiece in books is a decorative or informative illustration facing a book's title page—on the left-hand, or verso, page opposite the right-hand, or recto, page. In some ancient editions or in modern luxury editions the frontispiece features thematic or allegory, allegorical elements, in others is the author's portrait that appears as the frontispiece. In medieval illuminated manuscripts, a presentation miniature showing the book or text being presented (by whom and to whom varies) was often used as a frontispiece. Origin The word comes from the French language, French ''frontispice'', which derives from the late Latin ''frontispicium'', composed of the Latin ''frons'' ('forehead') and ''specere'' ('to look at'). It was synonymous with 'metoposcopy'. In English, it was originally used as an frontispiece (architecture), architectural term, referring to the decorative facade of a building. In the 17th century, in other languages as in Italian language, Italian, the term cam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niccolò Barbieri
Niccolò (or Nicolò) Barbieri (Vercelli, 1586 - 1641) was an Italian writer and actor of the commedia dell'arte theatrical genre. He was also known as Beltrame di Milano ("Beltrame of Milan") in reference to one of his most popular characters, Beltrame; this was the main character of one of Barbieri's best known plays, '' L'inavertito'', which is known to have inspired Moliere's ''L'Étourdi ou les Contretemps'' ("The Blunderer"). Besides popularizing Beltrame, Barbieri is also credited with creating another ''commedia dell'arte'' mask, Scapino Scapino, or Scapin, is a zanni character from the commedia dell'arte. His name is related to the Italian word "scappare" (to escape) and his name translates to “little escape artist” in reference to his tendency to flee from fights, even those ....Niccolò Barbieri' Barbieri was a successful author and actor, and one of those that toured Europe; he is known, for example, to have played at the royal court of France. Besides plays, he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French-language Plays
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien) largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the ( Germanic) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to France's past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, most notably Haitian Creole. A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is an official language in 29 countries across multiple continents, most of which are members of the ''Organisation internationale de la Francophonie'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy Plays
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term originated in ancient Greece: in Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was influenced by political satire performed by comic poets in theaters. The theatrical genre of Greek comedy can be described as a dramatic performance pitting two groups, ages, genders, or societies against each other in an amusing '' agon'' or conflict. Northrop Frye depicted these two opposing sides as a "Society of Youth" and a "Society of the Old". A revised view characterizes the essential agon of comedy as a struggle between a relatively powerless youth and the societal conventions posing obstacles to his hopes. In this struggle, the youth then becomes constrained by his lack of social authority, and is left with little choice but to resort to ruses wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1655 Plays
Events January–March * January 5 – Emperor Go-Sai ascends to the throne of Japan. * January 7 – Pope Innocent X, leader of the Roman Catholic Church and the Papal States, dies after more than 10 years of rule. * February 14 – The Mapuches launch coordinated attacks against the Spanish in Chile, beginning the Mapuche uprising of 1655. * February 16 – Dutch Grand Pensionary advisor Johan de Witt marries Wendela Bicker. * March 8 – John Casor becomes the first legally recognized slave in what will become the United States, as a court in Northampton County in the Colony of Virginia issues its decision in the Casor lawsuit, the first instance of a judicial determination in the Thirteen Colonies holding that a person who had committed no crime could be held in servitude for life. * March 25 – Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is discovered by Christiaan Huygens. April–June * April 4 – Battle of Porto Farina, Tun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Dryden
'' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden. Romanticist writer Sir Walter Scott called him "Glorious John". Early life Dryden was born in the village rectory of Aldwincle near Thrapston in Northamptonshire, where his maternal grandfather was the rector of All Saints. He was the eldest of fourteen children born to Erasmus Dryden and wife Mary Pickering, paternal grandson of Sir Erasmus Dryden, 1st Barone t (1553–1632), and wife Frances Wilkes, Puritan landowning gentry who supported the Puritan cause and Parliament. He was a second cousin once removed of Jonathan Swift. As a boy, Dryden lived in the nearby village of Titchmarsh, where it is likely that he received his first education. In 1644 he was sent to Westminst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Martin Mar-all
''Sir Martin Mar-all, or The Feign'd Innocence'' is an English Restoration comedy, first performed on 15 August 1667. Written by John Dryden and based on a translation of ''L'Étourdi'' by Molière, it was one of Dryden's earliest comedies, and also one of the greatest theatrical successes of his career. The play's 1666 entry into the Stationers' Register assigned it to William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle. John Downes, in his ''Roscius Anglicanus'' (1708), maintained that Newcastle executed "a bare translation" of Molière's play, which was revised and adapted by Dryden. The play was first published in quarto in 1668, in an anonymous volume, which was re-issued in 1678; a third edition in 1691 carried Dryden's name, and the play was included in the 1695 edition of Dryden's collected works. The initial production of the play was a huge success; it ran for thirty-two performances and was acted four times at Court. Samuel Pepys saw the play seven times, and called it "the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scapino
Scapino, or Scapin, is a zanni character from the commedia dell'arte. His name is related to the Italian word "scappare" (to escape) and his name translates to “little escape artist” in reference to his tendency to flee from fights, even those he himself begins. He has been dated to the last years of the 16th century, and his creation is sometimes credited to Niccolò Barbieri.Niccolò Barbieri' He is a Bergamo native, and was popularized by the actor Francesco Gabrielli. Costume Later versions show his costume with green (or sometimes turquoise) and white stripes, similar to Mezzetino's red and white, but Callot shows Scapino in an outfit similar to the early Brighella's, white with a tabaro and a sword on his belt, and topped with a torn hat adorned with feathers. He is in fact a variant on Brighella, more cowardly and less clever. Some people call him Brighella's brother, some his son. Character Scapino tends to make a confusion of anything he undertakes and metaphorica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mummer
Mummers' plays are folk plays performed by troupes of amateur actors, traditionally all male, known as mummers or guisers (also by local names such as ''rhymers'', ''pace-eggers'', ''soulers'', ''tipteerers'', ''wrenboys'', and ''galoshins''). Historically, mummers' plays consisted of informal groups of costumed community members that visited from house to house on various holidays. Today the term refers especially to a play in which a number of characters are called on stage, two of whom engage in a combat, the loser being revived by a doctor character. This play is sometimes found associated with a sword dance though both also exist in Britain independently. Mumming spread from the British Isles to a number of former British colonies. It is sometimes performed in the street but more usually during visits to houses and pubs. It is generally performed seasonally or annually, often at Christmas, Easter or on Plough Monday, more rarely on Halloween or All Souls' Day, and often wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world literature. His extant works include comedies, farces, tragicomedies, comédie-ballets, and more. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed at the Comédie-Française more often than those of any other playwright today. His influence is such that the French language is often referred to as the "language of Molière". Born into a prosperous family and having studied at the Collège de Clermont (now Lycée Louis-le-Grand), Molière was well suited to begin a life in the theatre. Thirteen years as an itinerant actor helped him polish his comedic abilities while he began writing, combining Commedia dell'arte elements with the more refined French comedy. Through the patronage of aristocrats including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortune-telling
Fortune telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115-116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle identical with the practice of divination. The difference is that divination is the term used for predictions considered part of a religious ritual, invoking deities or spirits, while the term fortune telling implies a less serious or formal setting, even one of popular culture, where belief in occult workings behind the prediction is less prominent than the concept of suggestion, spiritual or practical advisory or affirmation. Historically, Pliny the Elder describes use of the crystal ball in the 1st century CE by soothsayers (''"crystallum orbis"'', later written in Medieval Latin by scribes as ''orbuculum''). Contemporary Western images of fortune telling grow out of folkloristic reception of Renaissance magic, specifically associated with R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Debt Bondage
Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, the person who holds the debt has thus some control over the laborer, whose freedom depends on the undefined debt repayment. The services required to repay the debt may be undefined, and the services' duration may be undefined, thus allowing the person supposedly owed the debt to demand services indefinitely. Debt bondage can be passed on from generation to generation. Currently, debt bondage is the most common method of enslavement with an estimated 8.1 million people bonded to labour illegally as cited by the International Labour Organization in 2005. Debt bondage has been described by the United Nations as a form of "modern day slavery" and the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery seeks to abolish the practice.Article 1(a) of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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