Molière dans les dictionnaires de littérature française Moliere in the dictionaries of French literature
Authors: Sidad Anwar Mohammed Prof. Dr. 
Published: July 2022

Molière is considered the most famous genius of French theater and of French comedy in particular. Nothing predisposed Jean-Baptiste Poquelin to become a man of the theater: neither his birth in 1622 into a bourgeois family, whose father held the office of upholsterer to the king; nor his studies at the Jesuit college, then law in Orleans, if not the eagerness and enthusiasm he has for this literary genre. At a time dominated by religious fanaticism and marked by the classical order, Moliere wanted to immerse his audience in entertainment and laughter. Among his priorities was to create a balance between the pressures of life and what the human soul needs. Indeed, with his ingenuity and wit, Moliere managed to win the appeal and support of the public by addressing the fundamental problems of society and trying to criticize them with a reformist ideology.

Founder of «The Illustrious Theater", Moliere distinguished himself by his prolific theatrical production. He wrote more than thirty comic plays, the most famous of which are: Tartuffe, The Miser, The doctor despite Himself, The Misanthrope, Wise women, Dom Juan and The imaginary sick. He was the writer closest to King Louis XIV.

Our study is based on the receptive approach, which is part of the trinity: the writer, the literary work and the reader. The receiving relationship is direct with the reader. When the writer finishes his book and publishes it, this process is equivalent to the loss of the work, that is to say, the book leaves the private and enters the social domain. Thus, it will be exposed to many different readings and subjected to varied, even sometimes contradictory points of view. In this case, the role of the reader is essential and sometimes goes beyond that of the writer: the writer writes, but the reception of what he writes varies from one reading to another and from one era to another.

The research problem calls for an answer to the reception of Moliere in dictionaries of French literature and to the reasons for his worldwide fame from the point of view of article writers.

This study is divided into three parts. The first studies the reasons for the theatrical debut of Moliere, who hoped to become a famous lawyer or succeed his father in the profession of upholsterer. The second deals with the characteristics of Moliere's comedy, its most striking themes and the characters in its plays. While the third sheds light on the reasons for Moliere's fame and universality.

The results of the study show that Moliere's fame comes mainly from his strong attachment to the theater, so his fame came from his love and affection for the theater. The subjects he covered, the characters and the tongue-in-cheek style played an important role in his worldwide fame. His goal of reforming his society came to justify his means of expression.

This study, “The reception of Moliere in dictionaries of French literature”, is considered the preliminary to a second study dealing with the reception of Moliere in Arabic dictionaries and encyclopedias.