Pourquoi le français est "la langue de Molière" ? Podcast en français COURANT avec sous-titres.

Hello and welcome to the podcast Fluidité, episode 117. Today we continue the immersion in French culture and in French, because I would like to explain to you why it is called the language of Molière. I'm going to tell you about the life of the most famous actor known in France, Molière. So stay tuned! Do you learn French? Fabien offers you content in current French that talks about culture, history, French geography, but also biographies, dialogues or learning tips. Welcome to the Fluidité podcast! Before starting, I invite you to join our VIP club. This is my Patreon page where you have material to deepen my content and become better in French. For example, for each content I make, you have bonuses like the vocabulary list, bilingual transcriptions, the audio version, and a private group course where I explain the grammar of the contents. The VIP club is also a large community with more than 300 members, 300 learners, and we talk together every day on the Telegram group and on the Discord server. We do different activities to practice French, so you can also practice your French, find or share resources with other students, other learners, and it's very important for you not to feel alone in your learning and to always be motivated. So you have the link on podcast platforms and on YouTube to sign up for the VIP club and you can stay as long as you want. Come with pleasure! In the description of the episode, you also have the YouTube video version, if you listen to me in audio, with subtitles in French or in other languages to improve your oral comprehension. And you also have the free transcription in French in the description. English is nicknamed the language of Shakespeare, and for French, it is said that it is the language of Molière. If you don't know who Molière is, you will immediately discover him, the most famous actor known in France. I will tell you about his biography in common French, his successes, his failures, and the key dates of his life. Molière is a nickname. The person we are talking about was called Jean-Baptiste Pauclin, and Jean-Baptiste is a first name always composed of actuality. Besides, those who are called Jean-Baptiste are nicknamed JB, and the P of Baptiste is silent, and the first name has the same etymological origin as the baptism, the first sacrament at the birth of a Christian. In short, little Jean-Baptiste Pauclin was born in Paris in 1622 in a bourgeois family. His father is tapissier du roi. A tapissier is an artisan who restores or creates furniture or decoration objects. He designs or re-designs all kinds of seats, such as armchairs, chairs or sofas, but also the litter, therefore everything that concerns the bed, or even fabrics such as curtains, cushions, etc. Besides, it's my father's job, and it was also my grandfather's. As a child, Molière particularly liked to walk around Paris to see the saltimbanques. A saltimbanque is an actor who acts in front of an audience, telling jokes, doing different acrobatics, a bit like a clown in fact. In college, Molière studied Greek tragedies, by authors such as Sophocles or Euripides. After class, he and his friends had fun repeating the dialogues of these tragedies. Nowadays, it is useless to say that teenagers do not have the same games at all. Then, he continues his school curriculum by studying law, and since he comes from a family of tapissiers, he wants to take over and become the tapissier du roi in turn. But Molière is passionate about theater, so he hesitates between following his father's path or taking the risk of being an actor. The choice is difficult, especially since at the time, the actors were rejected from the church, so it was very risky to become one. But he will meet the Béjart family, actors from father to son, a meeting that will change his life. Molière still decides to set up his troupe, and in 1643, he founded the illustrious Théâtre avec les Béjarts. It is from this moment that he chooses his nickname of Molière. We are not sure of the origin of this nickname, since he never wanted to say why, but maybe he would come from a meeting with a musician named Louis de Molière. But doing shows is very expensive, so Jean-Baptiste's troupe cannot take place in Paris. The actors therefore decide to go play in the province for about a dozen years. The province is a term always used to talk about France outside of Paris, but it is only the Parisians who say it. As I said, being an actor in the 17th century is very difficult since the church is opposed to theatrical representations, so the troupes have to find protectors, noble and rich people who can help them financially. Molière's troupe manages to find different protectors during this great tour in France, where they pass through several big cities. One day, the Prince of Conti attends a performance and falls in admiration in front of the pieces written by Molière and his troupe. He decides to take them under his wing and will become their only protector for a few years, which will allow the troupe to gain popularity and especially in financial terms. So thanks to their growing success and their experience, the actors decide to retry their luck in Paris. And in 1658, incredible events will take place, since Molière and his friends fall under the protection of Philippe d'Orléans, who is in fact the brother of the king of the time, Louis XIV. In October of that same year, the whole troupe is invited to take place at the Louvre Palace in front of the king and his court. What an incredible chance! Imagine the track that Molière and his friends had to have knowing that they were going to play in front of the king. The track means the fear we have in front of an audience. They play Nicomède, a tragedy of the famous poet Corneille, but the audience gets bored and bails. Molière then follows up on a comedy he wrote, Le Docteur Amoureux. The king and all his court weep with laughter. It's a great success. The king loves it, so the goal is achieved. Louis XIV loves what Molière's troupe is doing so much that he himself becomes their protector, a blessing for the actors. Molière then understands that he is not made to be dramatic, but that he is made for comedy and farce. In 1659, his talent is at its peak when he writes and represents the famous play Les Précieuses Ridicules, where he uses laughter to denounce the transgressions of his time. This is called satire, and he is excellent in this field. L'Ecole des Femmes is another famous satirical play that demonstrates his great talent and his genius. In 1662, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin marries the youngest daughter of the Béjart family, 20 years younger than him, and who is already playing in his plays. Together they will have a child, Louis, of whom King Louis XIV will even be the godfather. Yes, I know, a lot of men were called Louis at the time. But what an honor for Molière that his child is the king's daughter. And that's not all, Louis XIV is so fan that Molière's troupe officially becomes the king's troupe. And particularly fond of dance, the king will even go to dance in some comedy ballets written by Jean-Baptiste Poquelin. Comedy ballet is a new genre invented by Molière that mixes music, dance and comedy. So very appreciated at the time. Molière makes a lot of controversy by criticizing the most powerful, but also by questioning certain aspects of religion, like in his famous play Tartuffe. Moreover, in 1664, this work is considered shocking and is censored. The following year, it is the turn of Don Juan to be also banned. What a hard blow for Molière. But thanks to the king's support, a new version of Tartuffe will be allowed in 1669. That said, the play that is certainly the best known is Le Malade Imaginaire, and I'll tell you why. It is also a comedy ballet that tells the story of a hypochondriac convinced to be sick all the time. In it, he makes fun of doctors who perfectly know how to use Latin terms while speaking, but who treat their patients very badly. The doctor in the play is called Thomas Diafoirus, which is a pun with foireux, a familiar adjective that we use today to say that something is inefficient or not clear. And thanks to this other satirical play, Molière also evokes the theme of forced marriage, and it didn't appeal to everyone at the time, quite the opposite. But Molière was very sick at the time, and in 1673 he died during the night after his fourth performance of Le Malade Imaginaire, which is a paradox. It is said that he died on stage, but it is to say that he continued to play until his death, so he was gifted and passionate about what he was doing. Everyone wanted him to cancel this last performance because of his health, but he preferred to do it, and he even had a beginning of malaise on stage, which he managed to hide by laughing, for better or for worse. We can really say that he was passionate about dying. Molière's works are part of French heritage, and they are often studied at school, so much so that they are cult references. There are many others, very well known, that I have not mentioned, and which are great classics, like the misanthrope, the avare, or the bourgeois gentilhomme. And besides, they are still played in theaters today. He brought in France novelty by creating his own genre and by importing in France the codes of Italian comedy and art. He dared to do what the others had not done, and that's also why he was the king of controversy, of buzz, as we say now. He will remain for us an incarnation of classical French, thanks to the richness of his writing. In Molière's comedies, we find all the styles of language, of the supported, through the familiar, but there are also different accents, so all the diversity of French is represented. This is why you are learning Molière's language. That's all for today. Thank you all for watching or listening to this episode. I hope you have learned a lot of French, vocabulary and grammar. Listen again several times to assimilate well, to improve your oral comprehension in French. And if you have stayed until now, the episode has interested you, so put a little like, and subscribe to my podcast, and on my YouTube channel. Bye and see you soon!