Molière, Le Malade imaginaire (1673) – warum nicht lieber gleich Gegenwartsliteratur?

Abstract

The present essay examines why and how a classic comedy like Molière’s The Imaginary Invalid (1673) could be taught to high school students in the foreign language classroom of today. The didactical focus is both on form and plot: Molière’s brilliant and very efficient poetical techniques still provoke laughter at the beginning of our 21^st century and may thus serve as an exemplary introduction to comic (theory). The plot offers various didactical options as well: With its central conflict of parents and children, it is obviously a “classic” structurally reenacted by every new generation, thus building a bridge to our students’ own reality.