During his lifetime, the French dramatist Moliere elevated comedy to a level of respect and importance once exclusively reserved for tragedy. In 2022, the 400th anniversary of the year of his birth, his name is often mentioned in the same breath as William Shakespeare and other literary titans. Moliere was the alias of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, born in 1622 to a upholsterer who served the royal household. He wrote his numerous plays well before the French Revolution, at a time when the authority of the king and the church was intact. Yet in his plays, which are still regularly performed today,...