Greek comedy Flashcards
What is Aristotle’s definition of comedy? c
Imitation of the worst kind of man. Worse in the sense that ridiculous is a species of ugliness or badness
What does the ridiculous consist of? c
Form of error or ugliness that is not painful or injurious
What is the comic mask? c
Distorted and ugly because there is no pain
What type of mocking do they use in comedy? c
Imitate and mock bad people. Mark people they want to mark
What was comedy later developed from? c
Tragedy
When was comedy recognised as part of festivals? c
In about 487 BCE
What was the home of the comic contests? c
Lenaia
What did Aristotle say that comedy was developed out of? c
Improvisation is of the leaders of the phallic songs
Where were comic rituals performed? Phallic songs c
Fertility celebrations in which a cause of peasants, carrying an artificial phallus would sing and dance in procession through the town
What word does comedy come from and what does it mean? c
Comoedia meaning song
What did comedies always conclude with? c
Happy ending
How is man viewed in comedy versus tragedy? c
Man is ridiculous while in tragedy man is elevated
What would comedy is mock? c
Society. Actors might dress up as animals, ride on animals or carry animals as a representative of the time being lampooned
What did animals become a symbol of? c
Those they mock
What were plays of old comedy always like?
Always topical and were set in contemporary times
What where the plots? oc
Plus with fictional and not based on mythology as was the case with tragedy
What happened in comedy to do with normality? oc
The impossible or the improbable happened and normality was reversed
What was comedy working from? oc
The past and was relevant to audiences
What was mythology seen as? oc
Nonfictional
Comedies were inhibited. What does this mean? oc
Or aspects of sex worried explored. Lavatorial humour, insoles, jokes about physical handicaps, ugliness, poverty, family misfortune, perversions and incompetence
What type of humour was included in old comedy? oc
Crude and toilet/slapstick humour
What were the certain taboo is in comedy? oc
Jokes were not made about the plague, the Eleusinian mysteries and menstruation
Why were jokes not made about menstruation? oc
Linked to the fertility God being on it which was Dionysus. It was dissing the God of fertility
What happened to intellectuals and other poets during old comedy? oc
Caricatures were common in comedy. Frequently attacked or lampooned
How was comedy very physical in nature? oc
Visual gags and characterisation were paramount
What was the most important comedy playwright? oc
Aristophanes
What was Aristophanes work? oc
Clouds, Wasps, Birds, Lysistrata, Frogs, Peace
When did middle comedy occur? mc
404 BC to 360 BC
Who lost the Persian war? What happened? mc
Athens is lost the Persian war and the Macedonians overran Greece.
Who lend the main wars against Greek states? mc
Alexander the great lend the main wars against the Greek states. He took over Greece
What did the severe rulers not allow in middle comedy? mc
Did not allow playwrights the freedom to criticise political leaders
Why will playwright not allowed to criticise political leaders? mc
When a country is conquered and a new rulers cannot allow descends from those it now rules
What is theatre influence by? mc
Socio-political environment
What did play rise have to move away from and what did it move to during middle comedy? mc
Moved away from social and political subjects and to mythology or domestic matters and day-to-day life in Athens
What are safe plays? mc
Could no longer mock officials. It was now about entertainment value
Why did the chorus become less important? mc
Less focus on the analysis of society and more on the entertainment value of pace
When was new comedy? nc
360 BC onwards
When did the form of new comedy become settled and fixed? nc
When Alexander the great conquered Greece
What was the popularity of new comedy? nc
Very popular and hundreds of players are written
What was the only play of new comedy that survive? nc
The Grouch
Who was The Grouch written by? nc
Menander
Why was Menander the most important playwright from this period? nc
Wrote more than 100 New Comedies
What was the order of Greek Theatre nc
Religion, Tragedy, Comedy
Place were not able to touch politics all social matters instead what did they focus on? nc
Doubt with relationships, finances and love among the Athenian middle classes
What was the structure of new comedy based on? nc
Tragedy
What was a prologue to follow by in new comedy? nc
Prologue was followed by a series of episodes separated by Choral passages also called interludes
What was the purpose of coral passages?nc
Had very little to do with the plot of the play but was simply there to entertain. Tiny stories
What comment theatrical were used? nc
Concealed or mistake in identity, coincidence and recognition
What was the language of new comedy? nc
More colloquial than old comedies
Where was the greater realism in new comedy? nc
Staging and characterisation
What are the characters type as a new comedy? nc
Old man, young men, slaves, young woman and very are soldiers and parasites
What did the stereotype characters in new comedy represented by? nc
Specific masks and costumes which were more realistic than in old comedy
What did New Comedy have a great influence on?
Roman comic playwrights who adapted of many plays
Where were the comic costumes adapted from?
Worn in everyday Greek life
For theatrical purposes what happened to the chiton?
Too short/tight to emphasise comic nudity
Who wore the phallus?
Male characters except the chorus
What type of masks did they wear? comedy masks
Exaggerated features
What were the rituals performed at?
Fertility celebrations
When was the Aristophanes?
448 - 380 BCE
During new comedy when were the male characters not allowed to wear a phallus?
During the chorus
During which century did all performers wear masks?
5th century
Who did not wear masks?
The flute players
What were the masks made out of?
Perishable linen, cork, lightweight wood
What did the mask cover and include?
The entire head and included appropriate hairstyle, beard and ornaments
Why were masks necessary?
- Each actor played multiple roles
- All the actors were mail and sometimes they were female characters
- Range of age
- Range of character typed played
What part of the mask was open and why?
The mouth. To facilitate the carrying sound, not necessarily exaggerated
