Excerpt from Plays, Vol. 1: By Greek, Spanish, French, German and English Dramatists; With a Special Introduction If we consider Moliere's object in all me numerous plays that emanated from his fertile genius we perceive a constant warfare against vice and folly. And no dramatic author, ancient or modern, launched the shafts of satire against such a variety of vanities and foibles. The Misanthrope is considered by most critics to be Moliere's masterpiece. It has even been character ized as the ideal of classic comedy, comprising, as it does, such immortal types as Alceste, the impatient but far from cynical hero; Célimene, the coquette; Oronte, the fop; Eliante. The rea sonable woman; and Arsinoe, the mischief maker. Moliere is, in the estimation of many critics, the most consummate comic dramatist of modern times. It is in the combination of char acter with intrigue that his genius and creative powers are seen to the greatest advantage. His plays scintillate with wit and abound in humor and frolicsome fun. They are also remarkable for their accurate character-drawing and their astonishing repro duction of humanity at large. Racine began to write when the classical fetters were riveted upon the French stage, and he never made the effort of strug gling with his chains. He was as much of a poet as the prev alcnt taste for artificial forms would permit. He excelled in re finement and harmony of versification, and in delineating the passion of love with truth, suavity, and charm. In Phedra he does not attempt the highest poetry, but the jealous frenzy of the heroine is acknowledged to be a great achievement in pure passion. The play, as a whole, is considered one of the most finished productions of the French drama. It is especially noted for excellence of construction, and artful beauty of verse. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.