Theatre Presentatio

n:

France and Moliere By Jesse Tabernaberri

and Geoffrey Webber

Neoclassicism emerged during turbulent times in France, in the early sixteenth century

After the French Revolution, France became a democracy. French government was to be modelled on the high virtues and moral principles of classical Rome

Neoclassical artists created paintings and sculptures that depicted inspirational scenes from Roman history

Architecture and interior design began to reflect the neoclassical period.

Neoclassical France

Neoclassical Theatre Began to develop in the 16th century Had a great effect on writing, scenic design, and

production Comedies of this time used farce and principles of

Commédia dell'Arte Plays based on unity of time, action, place,

etiquette if a play was a neoclassical piece Costumes and scenery were very intricate and

elaborate Acting characterized by large gestures and

melodrama.

Church plays were banned in 1548 by because of the religious uproar during this period

This ban dealt a painful blow to French theatre, but allowed secular theatre to develop.

In this time the French language was encouraged to be written in plays, strengthening culture.

Theatre cont’d

Palais royal, where Moliere and other neoclassical playwrights performed

Neoclassicism came to an end when there were only two theatres left in Paris

French politics became more and more conservative.

By 1680, the great period of French Playwriting was over

Molière’s company merged with the Marais Theatre to form the Comèdie Française, the first (and still existing) national theatre.

End of Neoclassicism

There were 17,000 to 25,000 noble families in the neoclassical period

Estimates of individuals range from 80,000 to 350,000.

Nobles accounted for 0.05% of the 28 million people in the French population

French Social Structure

A family's prestige was determined by: how long had a given family been noble into what other families did it marrywhat positions its members achieved and what offices

they heldwhat actions they performed

Arranged marriages were common, mainly business relationships created desire and/or need for property, monetary or political alliances.

The revolution abolished the feudal system, however titles were reintroduced in 1806 by Napoleon

Social Structure cont’d

http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/noblesse.htm http://www.stage-lighting-museum.com/museum/images/history-2/jp

g/Richelieu-Palace-i.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_Richelieu http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/spd130et/neocfrance.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_nobility http://everything2.com/title/Moli%25E8re http://people.brynmawr.edu/cwillifo/ParisPlayhouses/partthree_text.s

html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_theatre#Neoclassical_theatre http://www.librarything.com/subject/Social+classes%09France%09H

istory%0918th+century http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_French_peerages http://genealogy.about.com/cs/timelines/a/romance_history.htm

Bibliography