Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux During the 18th century productions in the theater were going through a distinct change from neoclassic to a style of theater that focused on the observations of one’s own mental and emotional journey and no other playwright during this time period is a better example of leading the way in this transition than Pierre Marivaux. Two plays that were written by Marivaux will be analyzed in the following essay in order to better comprehend the distinct style of this playwright and why these plays are unique to the 18th century. The two plays are Arlequin poli par l'amour (1720; Harlequin, refined by love) and Le leu de l'amour et du hasard (1730; The Game of Love and Chance). Marivaux was a pioneer during his lifetime as and these two plays were instrumental in defining him as a master of French comedy. His plays focused on the withholding and discovery of love with subtle remarks and social status entangled with physiological revelations made by the characters at the end of the production.

Although the works of Pierre Marivaux are famous now he did not find a great deal of fame during his lifetime, thus it is not surprising that little is known about his life because all that really remains to represent his life are his plays and two unfinished novels. What is known is that he was born in Paris in 1688, however he spent his childhood in the provinces and did not return to the city until 1710 where he went to law school which involved him in scholarly circles that would end up defining his playwright career. His private life is even more ambiguous, it is known that he married in 1717 and had a daughter and shortly after his wife died in 1723, Marivaux never remarried and he lived until February 12, 1763, he was seventy-five years old (1). Although it would be nice to know more about the life of Pierre Marivaux it is unrealistic to expect there to be much information on an infamous playwright who unknowingly had a dramatic