The nature of old comedy

?
when was comedy incorporated into the city Dionysia?
486 BC
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how did comedy feature at the City Dionysia?
five playwrights entered a separate competition tough the number is though to have reduced to three during Peloponesian war.
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where does the word comedy come from?
was derived by the ancients (Aristotle, Poetics) from either kome (village) or komos (revel)
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what was the main comedy competition?
Lenaia
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discuss Lenaia
winter festival
held in January
mainly attended by Athenians
genre was abuse poetry
participants traded insults with onlookers
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what was a key element of a komos?
the leather phallus
during their song and dance revelers held a leather phallus as a way of giving thanks to Dionysus
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who are the two playwrights that most surviving comedy belongs to ?
Aristophanes and Menander
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what was the time period of old comedy ?
c 486-386 (including period of Aristophanes)
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what was the time period of middle comedy ?
c386-321 (period between Aristophanes and Menander)
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what was the time period of new comedy
c321- 263 BC (the period of Meander and after)
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how many times did Aristophanes win?
3 times at dionysia
4 times at lenaia
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how many plays did Aristophanes write and how many have survived?
wrote 40
11 survived
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what is difference between the setting of tragedy and comedy
Unlike tragedy which is commonly set in Mythical Thebes.
Comedy was often set in Athens and dealt with contemporary issues.
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what is needed to be noted about what we know about Aristophanes ?
contemporary evidence is hard to find
ancient biographies treated the comments made by characters as Aristophanes' own
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when was Aristophanes born?
440s BC
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what was Aristophanes' first play and when was it produced
Banqueters (a satyr on education)
produced in 427
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who did Babylonians Satirise
Cleon
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what was special about lenaia?
the absence of foreigners allowed for negative views of Athens to be shown
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what war happened whilst Aristophanes' was writing
Peloponnesian war
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what was the structure of comedies
often ended in a mood of celebration or triumph - banquet of wedding
not familiar with story-line before watching
often around conflict
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what is Parabasis
This was a speech by the chorus or chorus leader in which the playwright would share his own views to the audience
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language of Aristophanes
incredibly crude
invented new words
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actors in comedy
a fourth leading actor - sometimes 'extras' could have minor speaking roles
chorus had 24 members
costumes and masks made to look ridiculous
acknowledge the presence of audience
chorus frequently played animals (e.g. birds, frogs)
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costume and masks
short tunic
thick tights
short and rounder than in real life
actors playing women would have accentuated female features
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types of humor
scatological
farce
satire
anticlimax - bathos
dark humor
double act
visual humor
irony ,abuse
slapstick , crude
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themes in comedy
war/ pacifism
political
conflict./ resolution
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Card 2

Front

how did comedy feature at the City Dionysia?

Back

five playwrights entered a separate competition tough the number is though to have reduced to three during Peloponesian war.

Card 3

Front

where does the word comedy come from?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

what was the main comedy competition?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

discuss Lenaia

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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