<DIV><p>&ldquo;A mischievous new translation by the poet Richard Wilbur, [<I>The Bungler</I>] is great good fun and should open the gate for the play to be presented with the regularity it deserves.&rdquo;&mdash;Bruce Weber, <I>The New York Times</I></p> <p>&ldquo;My notion of translation is that you try to bring it back alive. Speak-ability is so important. . . . I came to see that a line that simply says &lsquo;I love you,&rsquo; at the right point in the show, is entirely adequate, that a great deal of verbal sophistication is not necessarily called for.&rdquo;&mdash;Richard Wilbur</p> <p>Poet Richard Wilbur&rsquo;s translations of Molière&rsquo;s plays are loved, renowned, and performed throughout the world. This volume is part of Theater Communications Group&rsquo;s new series (with cover designs by Chip Kidd) to complete trade publication of these vital works of French neoclassical comedy. <I>The Bungler</I> is Molière&rsquo;s first recognizably great play, and the first to be written in verse. The charming farce is set in Sicily and born of the great Italian tradition of the commedia dell&rsquo;arte: Loyal valet Mascarille schemes to win the lovely Celie away from rival Leadre, and into the arms of his master Leslie. Molière himself originated the role Mascarille, self-described as &ldquo;the rashest fool on earth,&rdquo; who naturally bungles the job along the way.</p> <p><B>Richard Wilbur</B> is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and a former Poet Laureate of the United States. His publications include six volumes of poetry and two collections of selected verses, a collection of prose, and two books for children.</p></DIV>