Produced by David Moynihan, D Garcia, Charles Franks and
the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
1656.
The Love-tiff (Le Dépit-amoureux) is composed of twopieces joined together. The first and longest is a comparatively modestimitation of a very coarse and indecent Italian comedy,L'Interesse, by Signer Nicolo Secchi; its intrigue dependschiefly on the substitution of a female for a male child, a change whichforms the groundwork of many plays and novels, and of which Shakespearehas also made use. The second and best part of the Love-tiffbelongs to Molière alone, and is composed chiefly of the whole of thefirst act, the first six verses of the third scene, and the whole of thefourth scene of the second act; these, with a few alterations and a few.lines added, form, the comedy which the Théâtre Française playsat the present time. It was first represented at Béziers towards the endof 1656, when the States General of Languedoc were assembled in thattown, and met with great success; a success which continued when it wasplayed in Paris at the Théâtre du Petit-Bourbon in 1658. Why in some ofthe former English translations of Moliére the servant Gros-René iscalled "Gros-Renard" we are unable to understand, for both names arethoroughly French. Mr. Ozell, in his translation, gives him theunmistakably English, but not very euphonious name of "punch-gutted Ben,alias Renier," whilst Foote calls him "Hugh." The incidents ofthe Love-tiff are arranged artistically, though in the Spanishtaste; the plot is too complicated, and the ending very unnatural. Butthe characters are well delineated, and fathers, lovers, mistresses, andservants all move about amidst a complication of errors from which thereis no visible disentangling. The conversation between Valère and Ascanioin man's clothes, the mutual begging pardon of Albert and Polydore, thenatural astonishment of Lucile, accused in the presence of her father,and the stratagem of Éraste to get the truth from his servants, are alldescribed in a masterly manner, whilst the tiff between Éraste andLucile, which gives the title to the piece, as well as theirreconciliation, are considered among the best scenes of this play.
Nearly all actors in France who play either the valets or thesoubrettes have attempted the parts of Gros-René and Marinette,and even the great tragédienne Madlle. Rachel ventured, on the 1st ofJuly, 1844, to act Marinette, but not with much success.
Dryden has imitated, in the fourth act of An Evening's Love, asmall part of the scene between Marinette and Éraste, the quarrellingscene between Lucile, Éraste, Marinette, and Gros-René, as well as inthe third act of the same play, the scene between Albert andMetaphrastus. Vanbrugh has very closely followed Molière's play in theMistake, but has laid the scene in Spain. This is the principaldifference I can perceive. He has paraphased the French with a spiritand ease which a mere translation can hardly ever acquire. The epilogueto his play, written by M. Motteux, a Frenchman, whom the revocation ofthe Edict of Nantes brought into England, is filthy in the extreme. Mr.J. King has curtailed Vanbrugh's play into an interlude, in one act,called Lover's Quarrels, or Like Master Like Man.
Another imitator of Molière was Edward Ravenscroft, of whom Baker saysin his Biographia Dr BU KİTABI OKUMAK İÇİN ÜYE OLUN VEYA GİRİŞ YAPIN!
Sitemize Üyelik ÜCRETSİZDİR!