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Important figures in enlightenment era drama and theatre

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Research the Enlightenment. Keeping the time frame of the Enlightenment in mind, write about theater.

Answer the following questions: Who were some important figures in this genre during this time period? What important works were created? If applicable, who/what was the patron for these works of art? What, if any, was the role of the Church in the creation of these works? Were these works controversial at the time of their creation, or were they generally accepted? How were they influenced by works of previous periods, or were these works from the Enlightenment radically different from past works?

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Solution Summary

This posting overviews Enlightenment drama. 1,334 words and references are used to discuss the important figures of the time, the art work of the time, theater techniques, and religion's involvement in all of this.

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Please allow my notes to help with this extensive subject. Once you write your essay, please send to us for feedback:

As you research the Enlightenment and its theater, please note that the dramatists used an underlying philosophy for their pieces. For example, they believed that human reason, combined with rationalization and science, could change the man's interaction with both nature and other men.

As you explore who were some important figures in this genre during this time period, you might look at writers, philosophers, and dramatists such as Voltaire, Leibniz, Rousseau, Corneille, Molière, Racine, Voltaire, Diderot, and others.

Please refer to this link for ideas: http://www.rockwood.k12.mo.us/rsummit/nigro/candidewebquest/teacher.html

As mentioned, you might look at Voltaire's role as well as satires by Montesquieu, Gay, Butler, Pope, and Swift. Since these Enlightenment writers rebelled against warfare that followed the Reformation, they focused their attention on scientific progress and other social topics. You might even cite pivotal works such as John Milton's Paradise Lost and Voltaire's Candide within the ea.

When looking at a specific piece, you might note Moliere's comedy and how he applied the Enlightenment's emphasis on rationality as a guide to truth and behavior. Moliere's Tartuffe is a superb example. Please note how it stresses the function of comedy.

Since you asked for a specific piece, you might note how "In Tartuffe, a comedy in five acts, Molière relates the story of an attempt, by an irreclaimable hypocrite, to destroy the domestic happiness of a citizen who, charmed by his seeming piety, has received him as a prominent guest. In painting such a portrait, this lively assailant of Parisian foibles was in a new element, though one that proved to him perfectly congenial. His genius had a serious side, and on that side he was unquestionably at his best, the character of Tartuffe being drawn with a strength and precision which few dramatists have equaled" (http://www.theatrehistory.com/french/tartuffe001.html).

When looking at the role of the church, his work seems to sum the Enlightenment's stance in ...

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