How does the Playwright Introduce comedy in a scene from The Cyclops?
How does the playwright introduce humour in a scene from 'Cyclops'?
In 'The Cyclops', the Euripides parody of an episode in 'The odyssey', humour is introduced thorugh the use of topsyturvydum, inequality and the outright rejection of what the audience perceives to be acceptable and expected by social context.
Topsy-turvy is used many times throughout the scene; although this could be to constantly challenge the general assumptions of social standing of each character in the audience's pre-conceptions, it could also be to repeatedly highlight the distinguishable differences and yet striking similarities between the text and the original episode from Homer's Odyssey.
A particularly effective example of this is Silenus' character; the scene is set suring a tradition ancient Greek banquet, and therefore due to Greek tradition the cupbearer, Silenus, is assumed to be a young, handsome man whom the rich, older men would lust after. However, Euripides presents Silenus as a drunkard. Euripides also uses social constraints here, as, as a cupbearer, Silenus is expected to behave in a certain way, which he is actually continuously rebelling against. Through this same character Euripides also reiterates the general audiences perception of a typical comic, as despite differences in cultures and time periods, humour has been and always will be introduced and accepted by the audience through a drunken, clumsy, crude character. In ancient Greece, this could be due to the fact that Aristotle said that comedy is "defined as an imitation of the actions of men worse than ourselves" and should be relatable to the "universal" so as to be recognized.
The playwright uses Silenus' character as his universal, recognizable figure that rebels agains expectations and surprises the audience; *Silenus pours himself another drink*. This demonstates the point well as not only does it highlight the eagerly drunken side of Silenus, but also illustrates how Euripides has used the
In 'The Cyclops', the Euripides parody of an episode in 'The odyssey', humour is introduced thorugh the use of topsyturvydum, inequality and the outright rejection of what the audience perceives to be acceptable and expected by social context.
Topsy-turvy is used many times throughout the scene; although this could be to constantly challenge the general assumptions of social standing of each character in the audience's pre-conceptions, it could also be to repeatedly highlight the distinguishable differences and yet striking similarities between the text and the original episode from Homer's Odyssey.
A particularly effective example of this is Silenus' character; the scene is set suring a tradition ancient Greek banquet, and therefore due to Greek tradition the cupbearer, Silenus, is assumed to be a young, handsome man whom the rich, older men would lust after. However, Euripides presents Silenus as a drunkard. Euripides also uses social constraints here, as, as a cupbearer, Silenus is expected to behave in a certain way, which he is actually continuously rebelling against. Through this same character Euripides also reiterates the general audiences perception of a typical comic, as despite differences in cultures and time periods, humour has been and always will be introduced and accepted by the audience through a drunken, clumsy, crude character. In ancient Greece, this could be due to the fact that Aristotle said that comedy is "defined as an imitation of the actions of men worse than ourselves" and should be relatable to the "universal" so as to be recognized.
The playwright uses Silenus' character as his universal, recognizable figure that rebels agains expectations and surprises the audience; *Silenus pours himself another drink*. This demonstates the point well as not only does it highlight the eagerly drunken side of Silenus, but also illustrates how Euripides has used the