Le Barbier de Séville Pierre Beaumarchais

Role of wit in the dialogue and character of Figaro one in the same- he drives the plot forward, instrumental in Le Compte’s plan. Mocking of the normal conventions of romance in le Drame- serious character of Le Compte vs. comedy of Figaro. Seeing the comparison of opposites tragedy and comedy. Idea of comédie larmeuse- Acte 1 Scène 2- Figaro: L’habitude du malheur. Je me presse de rire de tout, de peur d’être obligé d’en pleurer.

Wit used to satire contemporary values and foreign culture- Acte 1 Scène 2, Figaro: …la république des Lettres étoit celle des loups…tout ce qui s’attache à la peau des malheureuses Gens de Lettres achevoit de déchiqueter et fucer le peu de substance qui leur restoit…’ Robert Niklaus writes: ‘By seeming to satirize foreign ways Beaumarchais is able to call French prejudices to account, a duality that would delight his audiences as it revealed the relativity of moral values.’

Acte 1 Scène 1 Count Almaviva’s speech: first profession of his love for Rosine ‘Il est doux d’être aimé pour soi- même…. Mais quoi! Suivre une femme à Seville quand Madrid et la Cours offrent de toutes parts des plaisirs si faciles?’ Here also mocking the popular values of the court- sarcastic tone.

Acte 1 Scène 2 Figaro and Le Compte are reunited. Figaro’s back story. The way his song’s so disjointed important stylistically- critical of contemporary comic opera- confirmed when he says- ‘Aujourd’hui ce qui ne vaut pas la peine d’etre dit’ But satire of Madrid from Figaro shows importance as moral figure also.

Acte 1 Scène 3 Important as Bartholo critiques contemporary drama and Enlightenment ideas- also the interlexical reference to La Précaution inutile as similar plot to Le Barbier de Séville- play within a play- Bartholo: ‘Quelque drame encore! Quelque sotisse d’un nouveau genre! ….Sotisses de toute espèce: la liberté de penser, l’attraction, l’electricité, le tolerantisme, l’innoculation…’

Acte 1 Scène 4 Importance of wit from Figaro in comparison to seriousness of Le Compte, for example in his imitation of Rosine. Figaro: C’est bien là un propos d’amant! Est-ce que je l’adore, moi? Puissez- vous prendre ma place? Acte 1 Scène 5 Bartholo revealing his plan to marry Rosine obvious and possibly clichéd dramatic feature

Acte 1 Scène 6 Figaro’s wit as a reaction to Bartholos plan, undermines any serious tone and instead adds to comedy Figaro: Monseigneur la difficulté de réussir ne fait qu’ajouter à la necessité d’entreprendre.

Acte 2 Scène 1 Rosine’s speech of being imprisoned by Bartholo and scene description emphasise the difference in the two settings. Acte 2 Scene 2 Figaro as moral figure in helping Rosine and Le Compte- possible contrast to him stating his self-interest earlier?

Acte 2 Scènes 4/5 Stage directions and the servant named L’Eveille add to comic element of the scene. Comparative/binary aspect of plays structure with L’Eveille and La Jeunesse as servants. Reversing roles of morality as Bartholo says to his servants- ‘De la justice! C’est bon entre vous autres misérables la justice! Je suis votre maitre moi, pour avoir toujours raison.’

Acte 2 Scène 13 Le Compte’s song towards Bartholo is mocking and influenced by Figaro. Acte 2 Scène 14 Bartholo: Allez toujours si j’avois ce crédit-là fur la mort- Le Compte: Sur la mort? Ah Docteur vous faites tant de choses pour elle, qu’elle n’a rien à vous refuser. Sarcasm towards Bartholo as a real doctor.

Acte 2 Scène 15 Bartholo: Nous ne sommes pas ici en France ou l’on donne toujours raison en femmes… Beaumarchais making the audience reflect on criticisms of contemporary French culture through this comic statement. Acte 2 Scène 16 Rosine ends her speech with ‘Mais un homme injuste parviendront à faire un rusée de l’innocence même’- making even Rosine act against her moral judgement.

ACT 3 Scene 2- Opens with the count in disguise again, ‘Que la paix et la joie habitent toujours céans!’. Ironic, tongue-in-cheek as he is trying to steal Bartholo’s wife. Emphatic, first line of Scene. - Dynamic between Bartholo and Count. Stages directions suggest suspicious of each other, Count takes advantage and uses quick-wit to trick Bartholo ‘La Signora Rosine lui a écrit....Mais la manière dont vous prenez les choses...’ and gain an apology. Comte : ‘Oui! Vous croyez donc que mon air peut aider à la tromperie?’ Ironic as he is already in disguise to Bartholo.

Scene 5 - The ‘lazzo’ of Bartholo Fallin asleep, Count and Rosine trying to talk/kiss. Lazzi (from the Italian lazzo, a joke or witticism) is an improvised comic dialogue or action commonly used in the Commedia dell'arte - Figaro - ‘je dirai à celu qui éternue, Dieu vous bénisse; & va te coucher à ce-lui quie baille. C’est n’est pas cela, Monsieur, qui groffira la memoire’. Quick witted response to Bartholo’s hostile questions, shows his intelligence and confidence. - Bartholo : ‘Quand je dispute avec un fat, je ne lui céde jamais‘ Figaro: ‘Nous différons en cela, Monsieur; moi je lui céde toujours’. Entire scene similar tone, Figaro ‘one-ups‘ Bartholo. Shows his intelligence afterwards ‘j’ai travaillé de la plume à Madrid’.

Scene 7 - Figaro - ‘La peste. il y feroit bon, méfiant comme vous êtes Scene 7 - Figaro - ‘La peste! il y feroit bon, méfiant comme vous êtes!‘ Voyez comme le ciel protége l’innocence’. Almost farcical as he is trying to trick Bartholo, emphatic positioning of l’innocence adds to humour/irony. Scene 11 - Arrival of Bazile, Count manages to convince Bartholo it is all their plan, Bartholo implicates himself ‘N’allez pas nous démentir, Bazile, vous gâteriez tout’.

Scene 13 - Figaro interrupts twice consecutively Scene 13 - Figaro interrupts twice consecutively. The Count first ‘Oui, une jeune femme, & un grand âge; voilà ce qui trouble la tête d’un vieillard’. Then, immediately after interrupting to insult Bartholo, he interrupts Bartholo - ‘Je me retire, il est fou‘. Doesn’t miss an opportunity to offend Bartholo with his sharp wit, and also has the last word.

ACT 4 Act 4 Scene 8 - Bazile ‘Que voulez-vous? Ce diable d’homme a toujours des poches pleines d’arguments irrésistible‘ - Humorous use of ‘diable‘ as Bazile was not forced to accept the bribe. His attitude is confirmed after, ‘l’argent vous reste‘.

71 - John Dunkley ‘Just as rapid movement marks the characters’ actions, it also marks the dialogue. A result of the author’s conscious and sustained effort to achieve concision. - Due to concision and characters speaking broadly in the same way, songs used to give personal images, eg Contrast between Rosine‘s song longing for freedom (Act 4, Scene 3) and her actual situation (169-70, 205, 545-46) - Punctuation to add to wit. Reduplicated ellipsis for economy and to amuse. (Act 4 Scene 1 : Bartholo and Bazile.) 73 - Beaumarchais allows himself increased spread where a further comic effect/characterisation is possible, eg ‘sentence hi-jacking’. (Act 4 Scene 1 Bartholo and Bazile.) The interruption is reinterrupted immediately, further illustrates Bazile’s chracter (gleeful cynicism) and makes for amusing wordplay. 75 - Short symmetrical exchanges when one interlocutor is being rude to another eg Act 2 Scene 13 - The count and Bartholo (Bartholo : Un art dont le soleil s’honore d’éclairer les succès - Et dont la terre s’empresse de couvrir les bévues’. Generates sharpness and concision. 77 - First song of Figaro, associates his character with traditional comic-servant traits (intemperance, idleness), which he is not at all. Clever from Beaumarchais, a false trail? 84 - Gabriel Conesa ‘Beaumarchais fais flèche de tout bois‘ - To really make the most of it. (not sure about this, just thought it might slot in somewhere!)

85 - Mimicry - Figaro parodies Rosine’s feigned dismay at dropping her song (186-88), repeats some of her words exactly (217-218), followed by laugh and reflection about women in general. Intended to show an amused sympathy with Rosine. - Similar sentiment of sympathetic playfulness, Figaro parodies Almaviva’s ‘Que de Grâces, que d’esprit‘ with ‘Que de Ruse! que d’amour! (syntactically + rhythmically identical. Benign Laughter. - Lines (742-43) Bartholo mimics Rosine’s thoughts of Act 2 scene 1. Based on his shrewd guesswork, it underlines power disparity between the two characters. (Not sure if applicable but thought it was a good point!) - Act 3 Scene 5 - Figaro parodies Bartholo’s song (accompanied with burlesque dance) behind his back. This underlines the distance in age, social competence, attractiveness which separates the two sides of this contest.