Google Celebrates Life, Works Of French Playwright Moliere With A Doodle

Google Doodle celebrates the life and works of French actor and playwright, Moliere. The doodle lets you peep into Moliere's most memorable scenes from The Imaginary Invalid and other classics like School for Wives, Don Juan, and The Miser.

Son of a successful furniture maker and upholsterer to the royal court, Moliere refused to take up family trade and began his career in the theatre in 1640. He always insisted that his plays were made for the stage. In his opinion, comedies were made to be acted.

Moliere's first Paris play, Les Precieuses ridicules (The Affected Young Ladies) was performed in 1660 and premiered at the Theatre du Petit-Bourbon, a great house adjacent to the Louvre.

Known as the greatest of all writers of French comedy today, Moliere premiered his final play, Le Malade Imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid) on this day in 1673, satirizing the medical profession.

He starred in the title role of Argan, a severe hypochondriac who tries to convince his daughter to forsake her true love and marry his doctor's son, so as to save on medical bills.

His satirical plays criticized human folly and also blended ballet, music, and comedy into a new genre.

The playwright's religious satire Tartuffe was first performed in 1664, but was immediately banned by the court of King Louis XIV.

Five years later after the ban was lifted and Tartuffe came to be considered one of his masterworks.