Commedia Dell' Arte was a distinctive form of stage art in the 1600s and the famous playwright Molière fostered its acceptance and importance throughout his life. Originating in Italy, this popular art form quickly spread thanks to traveling troupes. France is a region strongly affected by this form of theater. The French loved this theater and adapted it to their culture. This can be seen in an essay by Gustave Lanson when he states: "In Paris, the Italian farce had replaced the French farce." The success of Commedia Dell' Arte during the reign of Charles IX is well known” (Lanson, 137). This effect can be observed through one of the country's most famous playwrights, Molière. Molière was a renowned playwright and actor who continues to be so today. He was greatly influenced by Commedia Dell' Arte. "Well-known definitions of Commedia Dell' Arte are that it was a semi-literary form of theatrical performance based primarily on effective gestures and quirks, and involving a limited number of generally accepted types which, in their contrasting relationship, provide the framework for a light and fragile action linked in some way by the eternal theme of love” (704). His demonstration of this art form can be seen through his three most famous plays, Tartuffe, Le Misanthrope and Le Malade Imaginaire. As Lanson says: “To defile the noble and pure conception of comic genius that The Misanthrope and Tartuffe have given us” (Lanson, 134). With the progression from an earlier play to his final play, we can see where Molière used aspects of Commedia Dell' Arte and where he deviated to suit his personal and French tastes. Molière was born Jean-Baptise Poquelin in 1622 to a father who was an upholsterer for the...... middle of paper ......Moliere has been seen applied the Commedia and were made to fit the French form in the Imaginary Invalid. The French had a strong hold on the theater in the 16th and 17th centuries. This was considered political propaganda and everything staged was heavily criticized. Molière, being an eminent playwright, had to endure these criticisms. Molière was heavily influenced by this form of theater, and we can see where he used it and where he applied neo-classicism, the other popular art form. Looking at his three most famous plays, Tartuffe, Le Misanthrope and Le Malade Imaginaire, through the Commedia Dell' Arte, with the characters, the plot, the authorship or the structure, we can see where Molière had his influence and when it was applied. “The tradition of Molière’s play is preserved in France by the Comédie Française” (Bertram-Cox, am-cox, 301).