Tartuffe
Moliere · 1664
A religious hypocrite worms his way into a wealthy household and nearly destroys it. Louis XIV loved it. The Church banned it for five years. Moliere fought to get it staged, and the character's name became a synonym for sanctimonious fraud in every European language.
The case against
Molière paints himself into a corner and the King of France climbs through the window to fix it: Tartuffe holds every legal card until a royal officer arrives, unforeshadowed, to arrest him. It is the most famous deus ex machina in French comedy and also a thank-you note to Molière's patron. Tartuffe himself doesn't even appear until the third act.
Drama · the Pro canon
The case for it and the rest of the canon open with Pro.
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