The Lasting Influences of the Classical World on Other Cultures Across Time in Comedic Texts
The Lasting Influences of the Classical World on Other Cultures across Time
Drama and dramatic performances have consistently been present throughout human society, both as a medium for entertainment as well as a forum for education and critique. Aristophanes, the “father of modern drama”, was the first to really successfully amalgamate these two ideas together within his dramatic pieces, as can be seen in his works Wasps and Frogs. Shakespeare was the next great dramatist, and arguably the great dramatist, and he has evolved Aristophanes’ ideas and methods and developed them to greater extent. These can be seen in works such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King Lear and Hamlet, but are present in the large majority of his works. And with the invention of cinema and eventually television, drama diversified so drastically that the different forms of drama vary an astonishing amount. But even within modern comedies, such as Bro’town, South Park and Blackadder, we still find elements of the Aristophanaic drama.
Aristophanes and Shakespeare:
Both Aristophanes and Shakespeare used conventions common to comedy to entertain the audience, and sometimes even used them to convey serious messages. Both were great fans of the Poneros, or loveable rogue: In Wasps, Aristophanes uses Philocleon to great effect, as while he is essentially the antagonist, the wrong-doer in the play, the audience is drawn to his dim charm and his incessant escape attempts. For example, when he attempts to escape Bdelycleons clutches, he first attempts to climb out the chimney as “a puff of smoke”, and then by clinging to the underside of a donkey, with his head in its rear. When Philocleon declares himself “No-man”, the amalgamation of visual humour (Philocleon’s head up the asses behind), parody (the hiding underneath/inside the donkey parodies the escape Odysseus and his men made, avoiding the Cyclops by hiding underneath a flock of rams; and the use of “no-man” parallels the name Odyssseus gave
Drama and dramatic performances have consistently been present throughout human society, both as a medium for entertainment as well as a forum for education and critique. Aristophanes, the “father of modern drama”, was the first to really successfully amalgamate these two ideas together within his dramatic pieces, as can be seen in his works Wasps and Frogs. Shakespeare was the next great dramatist, and arguably the great dramatist, and he has evolved Aristophanes’ ideas and methods and developed them to greater extent. These can be seen in works such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King Lear and Hamlet, but are present in the large majority of his works. And with the invention of cinema and eventually television, drama diversified so drastically that the different forms of drama vary an astonishing amount. But even within modern comedies, such as Bro’town, South Park and Blackadder, we still find elements of the Aristophanaic drama.
Aristophanes and Shakespeare:
Both Aristophanes and Shakespeare used conventions common to comedy to entertain the audience, and sometimes even used them to convey serious messages. Both were great fans of the Poneros, or loveable rogue: In Wasps, Aristophanes uses Philocleon to great effect, as while he is essentially the antagonist, the wrong-doer in the play, the audience is drawn to his dim charm and his incessant escape attempts. For example, when he attempts to escape Bdelycleons clutches, he first attempts to climb out the chimney as “a puff of smoke”, and then by clinging to the underside of a donkey, with his head in its rear. When Philocleon declares himself “No-man”, the amalgamation of visual humour (Philocleon’s head up the asses behind), parody (the hiding underneath/inside the donkey parodies the escape Odysseus and his men made, avoiding the Cyclops by hiding underneath a flock of rams; and the use of “no-man” parallels the name Odyssseus gave
Bibliography: Aristophanes: Wasps, Frogs Shakespeare: Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream Blackadder Goes Forth, Episode 6: Goodbyee Rangitoto College Level 3 Classics Aristophanes Workbook