Differences between Tragedies and Comedies:

Question 1

How were comedies and tragedies different in relation to the staging?

Answer 1

In Tragedy, the stage building represented the palace of the royal family whom the entire plot is centred around. (e.g in Sophocles’ ‘Oedipus’ in which the plot is centred around the king, Oedipus and his palace in Thebes. Similarly, Euripides ‘bacchae’ plot is centred on the house of Cadmus and the palace of Thebes). In comedy however, the setting is usually a house which characters storm in and out of in an exaggerated manner or comically pop in and out of doors and windows.

Question 2

What is the difference between Tragedies and comedies in relation to the mention of the human body?

Answer 2

Tragedy is not interested in the basic human needs and there is generally no mention of the body in a sexual manner (such as masturbation). However, comedy and particularly ‘Frogs’ focuses on the body as a form of comedy

Question 3

what did tragic plots focus on in comparison to comedies?

Answer 3

In tragedies, the plots generally centred around a known myth, so the plot was familiar. In comparison, comedy centred around everyday situations and an unknown plot, so there was an element of surprise.