Reading Moliere

[dcmarti1]

(A comic kyrielle)

 

Though you, J. B., were really hot,

I could never summon a laugh

Until I heard and saw the plot

Of Tartuffe – the impostor's gaffe.

 

Your Schools are not for academe,

And Scapin is naught but riffraff;

Can't forget my busted inseam

At Tartuffe – the impostor's gaffe.

 

Dom Juan may be just a male slut

And the Impromptu just your staff;

Reading you now I know you're nuts

In Tartuffe – the impostor's gaffe.

[eclipse]

very amusing

[dcmarti1]

Thanks again, Eclipse.

 

In case some do not know, because I actually had to look it up myself, Moliere's REAL name was Jean Baptiste Poquelin. Hence, the J.B. in the poem. After I saw Tarftuffe in Georgetown (D.C.), set in Cajun Louisiana, I then understood his satire. I am pretty dense at humor. For anyone who has not read him, the Donald Frame or Richard Wilbur translations are great. Some of his plays' titles are nested in the stanzas, obviously.

 

I want to remember that I actually did have a rip in my jeans that night.

[David W. Parsley]

Welcome to our house, DC. I also have a ticklish spot for Moliere (or should I say, JB), getting some nice laughs from Tartuffe and The Precious Damsels. Thanks for sharing your particular way of experiencing it.

 

- Dave