lesson 25- the nature of old comedy Flashcards

1
Q

where did comedy originate from?

A

Comedy seems to have emerged out of the worship of dionysus- a key element in festivals of Dionysus was the Komos, or ‘revel’, during which men came out into the streets of the city, drinking, singing and dancing in honour of the god.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

what was the Komos (‘revel’) ?

A

A key element in the festival of Dionysus during which men came out into the streets of the city, drinking, singing and dancing in honour of the god.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

what was another key element of the Komos?

A

the icon of the human phallus: during their song and dance, revellers held aloft leather phalluses as a way of giving thanks to Dionysus.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Why did worshippers in the Komos hold human phalli?

A

To give thanks to Dionysus- Dionysus was commonly associated with the life force, so that the phallus was a symbol of his power and ability to bring new life. Human fertility was a key concern in ancient Greece, since human life was precarious, particularly when it involved pregnancy and childbirth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

it is generally agreed that comedy emerged from…

A

the songs and dance of the Komos, In Greek, Komoidia, from which we derive ‘comedy’, literally meaning ‘the song of the Komos’.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

How did the Phallus from the Komos remain a prominent symbol in comedy?

A

It was worn on the costumes during comedy performances

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

what was the first record entry for comedy?

A

The first recorded entry for comedy at the city Dionysia was 486 BC, but we know little about comedies in the early decades of the fifth century

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

where does our only detailed knowledge of fifth century comedy come from?

A

the playwright Aristophanes, who lived between 450 and 386 BC; his first recorded comic play was presented in 427 BC. However, we do have reference to other comic playwrights as well as fragments from their plays

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

what other playwrights do we have reference to from the fifth century BC other than aristophanes?

A

Cratinus, who was active between 454 and 423 BC and we know the titles of twenty four of his plays. Then there is Eupolis, a friend of Aristophanes, who is often thought of as his main rival. Eupolis was writing between 429 and 411 BC and we know the titles of fifteen of his plays; he was very successful, winning three times at the city Dionysia and four times at the lenaia.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

when was Cratinus active between?

A

454 and 423 BC

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

How many titles of Cratinus’ plays do we have?

A

24

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

what years was Eupolis active between?

A

429 and 411 BC

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

How many titles of Eupolis’ plays do we have?

A

15

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

how many times did Eupolis win at the city dionysia and the Lenaia?

A

He won three times at the city Dionysia and four times at the Lenaia

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

other playwrights such as Aristophanes, Eupolis and Cratinus were treated with equal importance by scholars in the great library of Alexandria during the second and third centuries, however…

A

for reasons that remain unclear, only the plays of Aristophanes were preserved into late antiquity, in this case only one copy of his eleven plays, although he wrote 40 in all.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

when did Aristophanes begin his career and what was significant about this time period?

A

He began his career in the early 420s, but he was writing at the same time as both Sophocles and Euripides for about twenty years.

17
Q

How many of Aristophanes’ plays survive?

A

Only 11 of his plays have survived intact, but we have fragments of many others

18
Q

When were the majority of Aristophanes’ plays written?

A

during the years of the peloponnesian wars (431-404 BC), fought between Athens and Sparta, as well as their respective allies, and these years were a time of particularly lively political life in Athens

19
Q

Aristophanes plays were intensely what…?

A

Satirical, making fun of public life and public figures; although he was writing to entertain, his work offers an insight into the political issues of the day

20
Q

what happened during the fourth century?

A

Comedy changed a great deal in nature- for example, the importance of the chorus was significantly reduced. By the 320s, a new form of comedy emerged which was far less political than the plays of the 5th century BC; this is conventionally referred to today as ‘New comedy’, and so the plays of the fifth century are therefore known as ‘old comedies’

21
Q

Comedies and tragedies were different when it came to acting; what are some of the differences?

A
  1. it is likely that comedy allowed a fourth leading actor to appear on stage (although most scholars dispute this)
  2. a comic chorus consisted of 24 members rather than the 12-15 of tragedy.
  3. In some plays, a chorus was divided into two semi-choruses of twelve, each of which supported a different side of the argument in a play
  4. comic actors sometimes broke the dramatic illusion by acknowledging the presence of spectators and at times even addressing them directly
22
Q

what were costumes for comedy designed to do?

A

Make the actors look ridiculous and build up the element of farce

23
Q

what did comic actors wear?

A

a short tunic, a cloak reaching just below the waist, and tights. The whole costume was thickly padded, especially around the mid drift and backside, which made the actor seem shorter and rounder than he actually was. It also enabled him to fall and roll around, since comedy often contained physical humour and slapstick.

24
Q

How were phalli a key element in comedy?

A

Oversized leather Phalli would be attached by a string to the tunic of a costume so that the actor could stimulate an erection. The phallus could be a source of humour; for example, In wasps, the old man Philocleon offers his to the music girl as a hand rope for her to pull herself up onto the stage

25
Q

what is an example of Phalli being used as a source of comedy?

A

In the play wasps, the old man Philocleon offers his to the music girl as a hand rope for her to pull herself up onto the stage

26
Q

what did the costumes in comedy sometimes appear like?

A

especially colourful or ridiculous- plays with titles such as Birds, Clouds, frogs and Wasps suggests that the costume designers were given entertaining challenges- in the case of birds, the text makes it clear that the chorus consisted of 24 different types of bird

27
Q

How were comic masks different from tragedy masks?

A

In comedy, facial features were grossly exaggerated and mouths often ridiculously large. Some plays satirised public figures (most notable the politician Cleon in the play ‘knights, and the philosopher Socrates and playwright Euripides) and the masks of these characters must have parodied their real looks. The real socrates, who was present to watch himself portrayed in clouds, is said to have got to his feet during the performance so that the audience could compare the likeness to his stage character

28
Q

what were the other marked differences between comedy and tragedy?

A

Tragedy had carefully developed plots, those of comedy were far looser. Unlike tragedies, comedies are also usually finished with a happy ending, often involving a banquet or a wedding. A further difference between the two genres was the context; whilst tragedy was typically set in the world of myth and centered on popular myths that the audience would typically know (such as Oedipus the king, which would have been familiar to an audience), comedy included characters from everyday Athenian life, either public figures or character stereotypes. Consequently, the audience were not usually familiar with a comic story-line in advance, and comic prologues were longer so that they could introduce the plot and main characters.

29
Q

how is humour shown in Aristophanes’ choice of language?

A

On one hand, he can be crude and even obscene, using the Greek equivalents of English swearing to describe sex, bodily functions and for his characters to abuse each other. On the other hand, he also composed beautiful monodies and choral lyrics.

30
Q

How is Aristophanes choice of comedic language a direct contrast to tragedy?

A

Tragedy’s and satyr plays had very formal language to connote the seriousness / severity of the situation

31
Q

How was Aristophanes very inventive?

A

he would often make up new words for the purpose of the play; for example, when the two leading characters in birds think about a name for the utopian city they propose to establish in the sky, they come up with nephelococcygia’ which gives us the term ‘Cloud-cuckoo land’.