In The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro, Beaumarchais uses a variety of comic techniques, such as parody of forms existing, comedy of intrigue, satire and farce. However, Beaumarchais's comedy is intertwined with more serious and often tragic overtones, which often come through in revealing character monologues. In both plays, through characters, plot and form, Beaumarchais demonstrates that human life is characterized by its unpredictable nature. Even with the greatest willpower, we often do not control our destiny because chance, accidents, interference from others and even the rigidity of society act as obstacles that disrupt the path of life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayFigaro, as the protagonist who tends to connect the narratives of the three plays more than any other, and who is indeed the eponymous "hero" of the second and most famous play, is characterized above all by his will. It is he who comes up with the cunning plan to have the Count dress as a soldier and drunkenly ask Bartholo for a place to enter his house, and shows more urgency than the Count himself in carrying out the plan; “Monseigneur, the difficulty of succeeding only adds to the need to undertake.” This is the first in a series of complicated conspiracies and schemes that dominate the plot of all three plays, presenting us with the comedy of intrigue that Beaumarchais often seems to prefer over other comic variations. Indeed, this first ridiculous role-playing game of the Count fits into the genre definition according to which “the complex plots and subplots of these comedies are often based on ridiculous and artificial situations”. Beaumarchais tells us a lot about Figaro's strong-willed character before we even get halfway through the first act. In a 19-line sentence from Act I, scene 2, he reveals to the Count the extent of the misfortunes he has experienced since the last time they saw each other in a semi-tragic monologue, speaking of "all insects, mosquitoes, cousins, critics... mourners, booksellers, censors, and everything that attaches to the skin of unfortunate men of letters. However, he displays a resilient optimism in the face of so much misfortune and is shown to be able to quickly adapt to the changes occurring around him, moving from town to town and almost characterized by perpetual change. Even if Figaro implicitly admits from the outset the unpredictability of human life, saying "I hurry to laugh at everything, to be forced to cry about it", he remains deliberately optimistic and continues to strive to each time asserting control over chance. individual opportunity, such as taking the opportunity to help the Count. In a sense, the first time we see Figaro, as he composes a song alone on his guitar, foreshadows the plot of the Trilogy. Here, Figaro is totally master of what he composes; he is uninterrupted and is able to make undisturbed decisions about the direction in which the song is going, until a chance event occurs and stops him; that is to say the improbability of seeing an old employee, the count, in Seville. Thus, from the beginning of the first play of the Trilogy, Beaumarchais reminds us that life does not always follow the course we might wish it to, and also introduces the complexities of the Comedy of Intrigue, which will continue to characterize his pieces. The plot of The Marriage of Figaro is essentially a battle of wits between Figaro, Suzanne and the Countess on one side, and the Count and his band of allieson the other. However, the main storyline is usually not driven by these main characters themselves, but by a number of incidents and accidents, as well as the actions of other characters such as the Cherub. For example, the armchair scene in Act I shows Cherub as actually representing the unexpected, given that we had never heard of him before and he is not involved in either of the Count's plans. nor of Suzanne. Cherub was banished from the castle by the Count because he was found hiding in the kitchen, so the Count would have been surprised or disconcerted by him and wanted to banish the "unpredictability" that seemed to accompany the pageboy's presence. However, the farcical scene that follows makes the Count look ridiculous in front of the Cherub, who unexpectedly emerges from his hiding place again. Scherer highlights how Beaumarchais uses “the third place” here, a third “place” on the stage linked to hiding places, surprise and disguise. The result of the two improbable hiding places on the almost bare stage is the instability of the scene; the audience knows that the Cherub cannot remain hidden for long, so maximum comic effect is achieved when he emerges through the explosiveness of the situation. This use of the "third place" is common in Beaumarchais' plays and has the effect of showing the unstable nature of human life in a hyperbolic way, while making the audience laugh at the same time. These surprises often lead to plays characterized by extreme plot volatility; characters will pursue a course of action, only to completely reverse their plan or change their mind based on an event. These are often presented through prank tricks; techniques such as misunderstandings sometimes based on mistaken identity. The farcical comedy of Act V, where the Countess and Suzanne trick their respective partners by disguising themselves as each other, is not only hilarious for the audience, but is also used to emphasize the unpredictability of life. Figaro’s painful monologue in Act V, scene 3 in which he believes that Suzanne, a “weak and disappointing creature” has betrayed him, contrasts sharply with Figaro who says: “That is right; on his knees, well bent, prostrate, stomach on the ground'. Beaumarchais cleverly demonstrates how the course of life can change so quickly simply because of the misinformation of others; This seems to be a lesson in how we gather information and draw conclusions often too quickly, as Marceline sarcastically warns her son: “Come to a conclusion!” However, these variations on the Comedy's plot are not without tragic undertones; in Le Figaro's monologue, the mask of gaiety is lifted as he tells a rather tragic life story, although interspersed with satire ("All I had left to do was steal; I became the pharaoh's banker"), on media censorship. and the injustice of the class system. This arguably detracts from Beaumarchais's apparent mission of representing life as unpredictable, as this commentary on the rigid class system in France shows that there is little mobility and that the opportunities available are based largely on birth, as Figaro sarcastically says, “you took the trouble to be born, and nothing more. This is perhaps why the character of Figaro is so remarkable; he constantly tries to assert his mastery over both chance and the social constraints that have hampered him in the past. Beaumarchais therefore presents us with a character who has succeeded in taking revenge on the vagaries of life and seems to suggest that optimism and recourse to action are necessary in a life which does not seek to accommodate our desires.The style Beaumarchais regarding his use ofThe language and rhythm of his works is also crucial in creating the image of lives that fluctuate and change direction in unexpected ways, often in comic ways. As Robert Niklaus maintains, what characterizes his works is a “frantic rhythm”, particularly well suited to the “daytime madness” of The Marriage of Figaro. The term "madness", in addition to meaning madness, can also mean extravagance or exaggeration. Therefore, the title foreshadows a piece about accumulation and excess; there's too much happening and things get out of control, that's when things get hilarious for the audience. This fast-paced speech and action is often reinforced by staging; the directions which alert the actor to a change in tempo or atmosphere are numerous, such as the evolution of Bazile's character from "amazes", to "looking at everyone" to "stunned" in the act III, scene 11 from The Barber of Seville. What also underlines the rapid pace of these works is the number of scenes; in Act II of The Barber there are 12 scenes, while in Act II of The Wedding there are 26. This has the effect of emphasizing the forward movement of the action; for example, in The Marriage of Figaro at the end of Act II, scene 5, the Countess says “they were in such a hurry that they forgot to put her stamp on it”. Immediately at the start of the next scene, the action of the previous one is repeated; Suzanne enters and asks “The stamp, for what?” ". This frequent repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of scenes keeps the play focused on the action that is relevant to the plot, while ensuring that it constantly builds into the next action. This crazy fast tempo combined with the complexity of the plot leads to moments of confusion that make the viewer laugh on the one hand, but also demonstrate the uncertain and unstable nature of life on the other. In his monologue in scene 3 of act V, Figaro says “we are struggling: it’s you, it’s him, it’s me, it’s you; no, it's not us: eh but who?', which even exposes all the possibilities that could present themselves to the protagonist, and all he has the power to do is to question them. The use of prominent question marks is prevalent in Beaumarchais's plays, and is arguably in itself an implicit way of describing the lack of control we have over our lives. Although we are free to control our lives to the extent that we can strive to assert our freedom, as Figaro does, chance and the decisions of others will always put obstacles in our path, causing confusion and unpredictability which characterize human life. Beaumarchais seems to assert this even in his style, with constantly fluctuating rhythms and an almost frenzied tempo which demonstrate the characters' inability to follow the twists and turns that life brings. Beaumarchais uses several variations of comedy in these two plays, using innovative techniques like third place but also revivals of existing techniques like farce and plot comedy, although these are often combined with more serious ideas and the emotional nature of drama and tragedy. These comic variations are in fact based on the theme of the unpredictability of life, and this theme is represented in the fast-paced action of the plays, the plots motivated by chance and incomprehension, but arguably especially through the protagonist eponym of Le Figaro. Even this character, willing enough to transgress social barriers, admits that he is upset by chance; 'Chance did it better than all of us, my little one: this is how the world goes; we work, we plan, we arrange on one side; the complicit fortune of the other. However, in the character of, 1954