Tartuffe

I loved this play. I especially enjoyed the writing style. At first I thought I would be annoyed by the rhyming and it would make the play seem kind of cheesy, but I quickly realized that it kept up the flow of the play as the rhyming couplets would overlap across characters during intense discussions, and it added to the humor. I also thought that this play is extremely relevant in modern times, to the extent where in my head the plot kind of reminded me of the movie Wedding Crashers. Madame Pernelle's character was the stereotypical mother-in-law, and I enjoyed reading how batty and cruel she was. She came off as one who would seem clever and well-respected, if not because she actually was, but because she forced others into treating her that way, but in the end she was the last one to stick up for Tartuffe. Her treatment of her handmaid was really funny, and I laughed out loud when she randomly slapped her and called her a slut. My favorite character was, of course, Dorine. This character was really well developed and acted as a perfect comic relief to the families ridiculous absorption of Tartuffe. She was sensible and clever and spoke exactly my thoughts as I watched the play unfold. She called out Orgon for being an idiot for accepting and believing in Tartuffe, but I was especially impressed by how she handled the interaction between Mariane and Valere. Those two were so childish and ridiculous, especially Mariane, and it was a huge relief when Dorine finally stepped in and made them admit they were both wrong and had a plan already formulated. Finally, I found Tartuffe to be a huge creep. When he was first spoken about it was easy to see that he was a fraud, however the scene with him and Elmire made him out to be extremely intense and weird. Definitely not someone I would want in my house.