Regnard, Jean François

Regnard, Jean François (zhäN fräNswä' runyär') [key], 1655–1709, French comic dramatist. He traveled widely in Europe; captured by Barbary pirates, he was held in slavery (1678–79) until ransomed. His best-known comedies, characterized by verve and mocking gaiety, are Le Joueur [the gamester] (1696), a comedy of character; Les Folies amoureuses [lovers' madnesses] (1704); Les Ménechmes (1705), after Plautus; and Le Légataire universel (1708; tr. The Sole Heir, 1912).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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