The Imaginary Invalid is a comedy both in the classical sense of the word (a story with a happy ending) and in the sense that it is meant to be humorous. Seventeenth-century audiences found the play quite humorous. Explore the differences in humor between seventeenth-century France and twenty-first-century America, and explain why certain parts of the play would have been humorous then, but are not as humorous now. What techniques and sources does Molière use to amuse his audience, and which comedic traditions are the most important to The Imaginary Invalid?

Molière was a masterful actor as well as a playwright, and he played the role of Argan for the first four performances of The Imaginary Invalid. Research Molière's life and discuss the reasons he might have chosen to write this role for himself. Consider how...