Short answers, pulled from the story.
Tartuffe is a 1664 comedy by Moliere about a hypocrite who fakes religious devotion to manipulate Orgon, the head of a household. Tartuffe tries to seduce Orgon's wife Elmire, take his daughter Mariane in marriage, and seize his house and fortune before the King intervenes to arrest him.
Tartuffe was suppressed by King Louis XIV in 1664 and later banned by the archbishop of Paris, Paul Philippe Hardouin de Beaumont de Perefixe, who threatened excommunication for anyone who watched, performed in, or read it. Opponents included part of the Catholic Church hierarchy, upper-class French society, and the Compagnie du Saint-Sacrement, all offended by its portrait of feigned piety.
The main characters in Tartuffe include Orgon, the head of the house, his wife Elmire, and Tartuffe, the hypocritical houseguest, who are counted among the greatest classical theatre roles. Others are Madame Pernelle, Orgon's mother; the maid Dorine; Cleante; the young lovers Mariane and Valere; and Orgon's son Damis.
The word tartuffe means a hypocrite who ostensibly and exaggeratedly feigns virtue, especially religious virtue. Both contemporary French and English use the term, drawn directly from Moliere's character.
Tartuffe ends with a surprise twist when an officer arrives to arrest Tartuffe instead of Orgon. The unnamed King has learned of Tartuffe's treachery and his long criminal history, forgives Orgon for keeping treasonous letters, and invalidates the deed that gave Tartuffe the house. This sudden rescue is a noted example of deus ex machina.
The largely final third version of Tartuffe, titled Tartuffe, ou L'Imposteur, appeared on the 5th of February 1669 at the Palais-Royal theatre and was highly successful. The original three-act version had first been staged on the 12th of May 1664 at the Palace of Versailles' Cour de Marbre.
Tartuffe is written entirely in twelve-syllable lines, called alexandrines, arranged in rhyming couplets, totaling 1,962 lines. It is a comedy, more specifically a farce, by Moliere.