Moliere’s Sublimation of the Three Unities

【Abstract】The Three Unities is one of the most significant concept in western literary criticism， which has a lasting influence on the development of drama. In the Art of Poetry， Boileau synthetically explains the theory of Three Unities. However， many scholars didnt approve of this， such as Moliere. In his comedy， Tartuffe， Moliere sublimated rules of the Three Unities， contributing to the creation of dramas all over the world.

【Key words】the Three Unities； Moliere； sublimation； Tartuffe

【作者簡介】牛璟祎，北京師范大學。

I. Introduction

The three Unities was regarded as infallible rules in 17th century. In the Art of Poetry， Boileau synthetically explains the theory of Three Unities， “That unity of Action， Time， and Place keep the Stage full”. Even though this theory prospered and developed the drama， to some extent， it is an obstacle for drama to arrive at a higher level. Therefore， the famous comedian， Moliere， didnt obey completely the rules of Three Unities. In the comedy， Tartuffe， he made an sublimation of the Three Unties tactfully.

II. Background of Molieres Creation

Moliere was the founder of French classical comedy in 17th century. At that time， classicism was dominant， nevertheless， we cant explain some of Molieres works in virtue of classical theories， because he not only obeys the classical rules， but also breaks through restrictions of classicism to some extent. His works reflect the realistic life of the age. Moliere satirizes the church， nobility， courtiers and bourgeoisie， but eulogizes the justice， kindness and intelligence of the lower-class.

Because Moliere didnt obey the classical rules completely， such as the Three Unities， his comedy Tartuffe failed in premiere. Later， Moliere modified this drama several times. After five years， this play was performed in public. In order to keep his own ideas in works， he tactfully uses the Three Unities in Tartuffe， making it an invaluable play in literature.

III. Analysis Molieres Sublimation of the Three Unities in Tartuffe

The Three Unities means the unity of the time， place and plot.

Regarding to time， the Three Unities requires that the time of the play should be shown in 24 hours. In Tartuffe， when it comes to Act One Scene Three， Cleante said “Good morning！”. At the end of the play， the housemaid was greeted， “Good morning”. From the morning of the first to the morning of the next day， the time span of the play lasts a day. This conform to the rules of Three Unities.

In fact， as audience， when we see this play， our feelings of the time is more than a day. The swindler， Tartuffe， appears in Act Three Scene Two， however， people has a comments on him in the beginning of the play. The housemaid thinks that Tartuffe is proud and impolite， even ordering others here， extremely hypocritical. Her impression on Tartuffe cant be formed in one day. As audience， we feel the time is further more than 24 hours to know somebodys characteristics.

As for the place， the Three Unities emphasizes the play should be restricted to one place. In Tartuffe， the story happens in exactly one place， in the rich mans house.

However， besides the space of the house， there are also some overlapped spaces and territorial spaces. In Tartuffe， overlapped spaces refers to the combination of mental space with stage space. In Act Three Scene Three， when Amy is talking with Tartuffe， Amys son is eavesdropping behind the door， so the complex psychological space of Amys son interweaves with the realistic space of the conversation， forming a overlapped space. Overlapped space is abstract， the same as the territorial space. Tartuffe was created in 17th century in France. At that time， the lower-class people is oppressed by the nobility， church and government. Moliere revealed the dark society through the comedy Tartuffe. The characters in this play have symbolic meanings. Tartuffe is not only a swindler， but also an image of the evil feudal power in France， even all over the world. This way， the space expands from the narrow stage to the world， from a concrete space to an abstract space.

In plot， that is to say the action， the Three Unities takes the rule of one single plot in a play. In Tartuffe， there is only one main plot， the hypocrisy of Tartuffe is uncovered little by little. This plot has four parts， including Amys daughter being forced to marry Tartuffe， driving Amys son out of house， Tartuffes hypocrisy being exposed and Tartuffe being arrested through Box Event. According to the Three Unities， every part of the main plot should be depicted in detail， but Moliere only writes a little about Box Event， which provide a chance for audience to imagine. In addition， there are some subplots in this play， such as the scene that Tartuffe expressed his love to Amy. Although this is not the part of the main plot， it is indispensable in the play to indicate hypocrisy of Tartuffe.

IV. Conclusion

In Tartuffe， Moliere makes a sublimation of the Three Unities， including unity of time， place and plot， which Boileau explains synthetically in the Art of Poetry. Moliere keeps the time on the stage in 24 hours， but makes audience feel the time far beyond this. Aside from the constrained stage space， Moliere also uses abstract space， the mental space and the territorial space. He extends the meaning of the play， making it of incisive satire. As for the plot， Moliere add some subplots to the main plot， making the play more attractive and interesting.

Molieres Tartuffe sets a good example for other playwrights works. He makes the characters more alive， the conflicts more obvious， and the moral more deep. His sublimation of the Three Unities has an important influence on the development of comedy， pushing the creation of play to a higher level.

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