Dancourt, Florent Carton

Dancourt, Florent Carton (1661–1725), French dramatist and actor who, like Molière, was a man of the theatre. In 1680 he married Marie Thérèse Lenoir (1663–1725), giving up the study of law to join her on the stage. He had a good face and figure, and a natural liveliness of disposition which was an asset in comedy, though in tragedy he was judged cold and monotonous. After some years in the provinces he and his wife joined the Comédie-Française and remained there until 1718. During this time he wrote more than 50 comedies based on small scandals or other topical events, his better plays showing some skill in etching the contemporary scene. He was particularly good in his delineation of the rising middle class. There is no bitterness in Dancourt's writing, but under the superficial wit and good humour much brutality and selfishness. His best play is Le Chevalier à la mode (1687), a portrait of contemporary life with much satire at the expense of parvenu financiers. Others are La Maison de campagne (1688) and the one-act Les Vendanges de Suresnes (1695), the most frequently revived of all his works.