Popular Culture Review Vol. 1, December 1989 | Page 10

the famous (or infamous) “mes gages, mes gages” speech, uttered
in despair over his lost wages, now that his master has been sent to
hell (V.6). If some of the dialogue does show high polish, chalk up
the fact to Molifcre’s audience, often including the nobility o f Louis
X IV ’s co u rt And yet, this play is not even written in the standard
twelve-syllabled Alexandrine verse, but rather in prose, suitable for
a more general audience.
Along with Moli&re’s, the three most important and widely
imitated stage versions of all ar HHޘ\