Tartuffe
comedy play by Molière
Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite (; French: Tartuffe, ou l'Imposteur, pronounced [taʁtyf u lɛ̃pɔstœʁ]), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy (or more specifically, a farce) by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical theatre roles.
History
Molière performed his first version of Tartuffe in 1664. Almost immediately following its performance that same year at Versailles' grand fêtes (The Party of the Delights of the Enchanted Island/Les fêtes des plaisirs de l'ile enchantée), King Louis XIV suppressed it, probably under the influence of the archbishop of Paris, Paul Philippe Hardouin de Beaumont de Péréfixe, the King's confessor and former tutor. While the king had little personal interest in suppressing the play, he did so because, as stated in the official account of the fête:
although it was found to be extremely diverting, the king recognized so much conformity between those that a true devotion leads on the path to heaven and those that a vain ostentation of some good works does not prevent from committing some bad ones, that his extreme delicacy to religious matters can not suffer this resemblance of vice to virtue, which could be mistaken for each other; although one does not doubt the good intentions of the author, even so he forbids it in public, and deprived himself of this pleasure, in order not to allow it to be abused by others, less capable of making a just discernment of it.
As a result of Molière's play, contemporary French and English both use the word "tartuffe" to designate a hypocrite who ostensibly and exaggeratedly feigns virtue, especially religious virtue. The play is written entirely in twelve-syllable lines (alexandrines) of rhyming couplets—1,962 lines total.
Characters
Plot
Orgon's family is up in arms because Orgon and his mother, Madame Pernelle, have fallen under the influence of Tartuffe, a fraud and vagrant prior to Orgon's charity. Tartuffe manipulates Orgon by aping devotion and pretending to speak with divine authority. Madame Pernelle, also convinced of Tartuffe's piety, denounces Elmire and Cléante, Orgon's second wife and step-brother, respectively.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Tartuffe” is comedy play by Molière. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Tartuffe, comedy and play, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “comedy play by Molière” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q205875. VIAF identifies the subject as 237272417. The Library of Congress control number is no2013096562. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1664.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “Tartuffe” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.