In this piece the plot is carried on, partly in imitation of the Spanish taste, by a servant, Mascarille, who is the first original personage Moliere has created; he is not a mere imitation of the valets of the Italian or classical comedy; he has not the coarseness and base feelings of the servants of his contemporaries In the month of November 1658 The Blunderer was played for the first time in Paris, where it obtained a great and well-deserved success. It is chiefly based on an Italian comedy, written by Nicolo Barbieri, known as Beltrame, and called L'Inavvertito, from which the character of Mascarille, the servant, is taken, but differs in the ending, which is superior in the Italian play. An imitation of the classical boasting soldier, Captain Bellorofonte, Martelione, and a great number of concetti, have also not been copied by Moliere. The fourth scene of the fourth act of l'Etourdi contains some passages taken from the Angelica, a comedy by Fabritio de Fornaris, a Neapolitan, who calls himself on the title-page of his play "il Capitano Coccodrillo, comico confidente." Some of the scenes remind us of passages in several Italian Commedia del' arte between Arlecchino and Pantaleone the personifications of impudence and ingenuity, as opposed to meekness and stupidity; they rouse the hilarity of the spectators, who laugh at the ready invention of the knave as well as at the gullibility of the old man.

Author Biography

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Moliere (1622 - 1673), was a French playwright, actor and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and universal literature. His extant works includes comedies, farces, tragicomedies, comedie-ballets and more. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed at the Comedie-Francaise more often than those of any other playwright today. Born into a prosperous family and having studied at the College de Clermont (now Lycee Louis-le-Grand), Moliere was well suited to begin a life in the theater. Thirteen years as an itinerant actor helped him polish his comic abilities while he began writing, combining Commedia dell'arte elements with the more refined French comedy.