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Summary Greek theatre - social and political themes in comedy £5.99
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Summary Greek theatre - social and political themes in comedy
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Notes on: - ancient religious concepts, beliefs & practices - including role of the gods and death & the afterlife, representation and satire of tragedy, importance of the polis (city) - including the position & role of men, women and slaves in society and political ideas & ideals

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  • May 17, 2024
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  • 2023/2024
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Social and political themes in comedy

Representation of satire and tragedy

- Comedy’s interest in tragedy – reveals how central tragedy was to Athenian cultural life
- Frogs – plot dominated by personalities of individual tragedians & the idea that tragic poetry can save
Athens
- Tragedy is not just for enjoyment – it has a civic function
- Ancient poetry should fulfil a didactic function – aim was to offer moral guidance and make them
better citizens
- Agon – tragedy is central theme
- Euripides – a tragedian should be admired because he makes the people better
- Aeschylus – ‘children have teachers to instruct them, young men have poets’
 Claims Euripides has corrupted Athenian morals by presenting wicked deeds on stage
 Argues a tragedian should hide bad behaviour
- Satirises tragedians as individuals
 Presentation needs to be viewed with scepticism – personalities of Euripides and Aeschylus
derived from stereotypes about their work
- References to well-known characteristics about contemporary tragedians
- Focus on Aeschylus and Euripides – formation of canon of three great tragedians was underway
 Sophocles died shortly before frogs was performed
 Dionysus – makes I clear these are the only playwrights worth considering truly great
- Sustained and sophisticated parody of the style of individua tragedians – high level of knowledge from
Aristophanes’ audience
- Chorus encourage tragedians not to worry as audience will follow
 Designed to flatter audience

Ancient religious concepts

The role of the gods

- Dionysus of comedy is a buffoon
- Mocking gods in context of comedy was not considered blasphemous by the Athenians
 Especially Dionysus – comedy uses his unusual status to make him the target of mockery
- Aristophanes’ presentation of Dionysus – draws on tradition of finding humour at the god’s expense
- Comedy gives license to make jokes that would otherwise be considered inappropriate
- Aristophanes overturns traditional attributes of Dionysus
 Dionysus feels as much pain as his slave
 Forced to row himself to hades and does not know how to do it properly
 He is a coward
 Out of shape
- Dionysus represents a kind of everyman figure – audience can sympathise with and laugh at
- Dionysus – reflects traditional idea of gods as saviours
- Torchlight procession that play ends with – creates a mood of holiness
 Reminiscent of real-life rituals

Death and the afterlife

- Depicts a traditional poetic view of the afterlife
 Portrays dead as ghosts with their own personalities and memories
- Frogs – dead live the same way as they lived when alive
 Both playwrights keen to return to the world of above
- Charon as ferryman is traditional
- Allusions to other myths about thee underworld
- Many elements are gently parodied – bleak waters of underworld filled with singing frogs

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