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Moliere's Influence On Congreve, Mildred Atkins Stern

Masters Theses

Conclusion:

Congreve owes a debt to Moliere - a debt which varies with the different plays but which can be traced in all four comedies. Plots, characters, and dramatic style recall Moliere. Many of the similarities between Congreve and Moliere may be accidental and allowances must be made for these. But after all allowances are made, the great indebtedness of Congreve to Moliere is evident. We may conclude with Swinburne that "a limb of Moliere would have sufficed to make a Congreve" and yet that "no English writer, on the whole, has so nearly touched the skirts of Moliere."