The footnote at the bottom of the first page of the play talks about Tartuffe as an always-relevant play because it exposes the failure of people with public recognition and status to live up to expectations. I'm sure you could come up with public figures today who have recently been exposed for their failings: Wesley Snipes, Brittney Spears, OJ Simpson, Martha Stewart, and President Clinton are among the many names that come to mind. While these people's flaws have become public, the attention they receive for their failings may be undue. Who cares if Martha Stewart participated in insider trading? What parent is perfect? Certainly not Brittney, but that doesn't make her evil. The point is that we may hold public figures to different, often unrealistic, standards.
Pay attention to some of the following underlying themes of the play (there are others, but here are a few to get you started):
- Hypocrisy within the aristocracy (for an illustration of the superficiality and falsity of relationships like those in the play, think about renting and watching the movie Ridicule)
- Deception (think of Tartuffe as equivalent to today's scam artist, or even identity thief)
- Voices of wisdom: the response of Cleante's response to the irrational relationship she sees between her husband and Tartuffe
- Commentary on class and gender: servants and women who know what's up and men who are/play fools
For your unit one essay, if you choose to write about this play, you'll choose one to three techniques (e.g., dialogue, diction, imagery, action, juxtaposition, pacing) that make the theme of theme of the play clear.
Please remember that you have until 31 January to decide on a topic for your first essay - you may want to read Candide and Faust before you choose what to write about 