Moliere's Tartuffe (1669)

Moliere's career reached its peak a generation after the Le Cid controversy, and he was a little less restrained as a writer of comedy. Nevertheless, think about the context of the Academy, neoclassicism and the rise of the absolutist monarchy as you read Tartuffe. What kind of theatrical and dramatic conventions is Moliere playing with here? Is the play in all respects a typical comedy on classical models? How exactly does he manage the risky portrayal of a hypocritical man of God? We usually think of comedy as having "trivial" stakes. Is that true for this one?