Molière Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière (; ; 15 January 162217 February 1673), was a French playwright, actor and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and universal literature. His extant works includes comedies, farces, tragicomedies, comédie-ballets, and more. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed at the Comédie-Française more often than those of any other playwright today. His influence is such that the French language itself is often referred to as the "language of Molière". Born into a prosperous family and having studied at
Jean-Baptiste Gaut Jean-Baptiste Gaut Jean-Baptiste Gaut (1819–1891) was a French Provençal poet and playwright from Aix-en-Provence. He was a chief advocate of the Provençal language and the Félibrige movement. He was known as "Félibre Gaut." Jean-Baptiste Gaut was born on April 2, 1819 in Aix-en-Provence, France. His father, Jean-Joseph Gaut, was an arquebus manufacturer. His mother, Marguerite Bastienne Berthon, was the daughter of armourer Jean Berthon. Gaut was encouraged to write poetry in Provençal by a friend, Joseph Desanat. He first wrote poetry for "Lou Bouil-Abaïsso", a literary journal started by Desanat. In 1852, Gaut was a co-author in a collection of