Comic Fools To create humor in drama, one must either make witty wordplay, create an amusing situation, or use physical comedy. Often jokes may be incorporated into a play, or a comic situation may result in a series of complicated antics. The tradition for some of these comic devices has been carried over for hundreds of years, dating back to Shakespeare in the 1600's.…
Now Aristophanes wrote two plays called the Ecclesiazusae and The Cloud. In these plays, he also uses the Socrates character where he tries to make Socrates look foolish in his ideas of a just political state. In the Ecclesiazusae (woman in assembly), it tells a story a story about women…
Still imaging is another technique that would explore the women’s relationships. After looking at page 19, when Lampito agrees to Lysistrata’s plan to renounce sex, the actors could create two separate still images highlighting the differences between the attitudes of Myrrhine and Calonice in comparison to Lampito and Lysistrata. The separation of the characters into two groups would assist the actor in rehearsals as it shows the report between the latter two characters and the distance between the others’ ideas.…
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 few enjoyable moments all had one thing in common, humor. The college students incorporated their 21st century comedy into the ancient drama, in a way through which the audience members could relate. From dancing to modern music in their archaic garb to chanting “orgy” at the audience, the actors did not miss a comedic beat. The amusement the actors brought lightened the mood without interrupting the play’s tragic tone.…
As seen above, Doonesbury is a terrific example of comedic satire in newspaper comics. Garry Trudeau’s comics make his audience think about the issues in society, including the more uncomfortable topics, yet Trudeau’s audience enjoys his comics and discover the shortcomings of American society. Though his comics, Trudeau effectively satirizes the U.S. government and other failings of society, revealing their faults and mistakes to the…
Both the “Miller’s Tale” and the “Nun’s Priest’s Tale” in the Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, can be categorized as comedy. As defined in the Oxford dictionary, comedy is a form of professional entertainment consisting of jokes and sketches, intended to make an audience laugh. However, it may be confusing for some audiences when they find another definition of the word comedy. Also as defined by the Oxford dictionary, comedy is a category of theater characterized by its humorous or satirical tone and its depiction of amusing people or incidents, in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity. The first definition is broad and fails to characterize the complexity of the comedy found in the Canterbury Tales. The second…
When dwelling upon the main developments of the theatre, one turns to look at the origins of its birth, therefore focusing upon the Ancient Greeks. A lot of the theatre in which is established today comes from the activities of Greek Worship. The Greeks worshipped their Gods, including ‘the worship of Dionysus; the God of fertility and wine.’ (Gascoinge; History of Theatre, 2001 ongoing.) The Greeks worshipped their Gods through the use of sculpting, painting, music and literature, alongside this they incorporated dance, music and drama. As many of the Athenian’s were illiterate, Greek Theatre was used to explain to the communities the literature in which was written, allowing them through ‘reading artistic signals’ (Michael Walton, J; The Greek Sense of Theatre, Pg.4) to understand ‘the world about them, their fellow men and their Gods.’ (Michael Walton, J; The Greek Sense of Theatre, Pg.4)…
In ancient Greece plays became important. There were two kinds of plays written and performed, comedy and tragedy. A comedy back then usually made fun of a certain topic. A tragedy in ancient Greece usually dealt with a social or moral issue, or human suffering. In a tragedy play a girl named Antigone goes against the king’s orders and buries her brother, who was killed while leading a rebellion (Doc 6) shows an example of a tragedy play. In this play many Greeks values were expressed which is the same purpose of the majority of western civilizations plays today which was to express certain…
A prosecutor and a defense attorney are different in a lot of ways. In all cases, the prosecution is the lawyer that acts on behalf of the state and victim(s) in a case. The defense counsel is the lawyer who represents the party being accused in the legal matter that they are charged in. Both are present in court and debate back and forth against the evidence being presented, proving that the defendant is to be found guilty or innocent. One major difference is that the prosecution is to seek justice, not just to convict for the state or victim. The defense is usually hired by the accused and act on behalf of the accused. In any legal matter both of these sides have equal rights. Both the prosecution and the defense serve many functions throughout…
Aristophanes wrote plays to express his political opinion. Known to be the fifth century BC, “Father of old comedy.” Aristophanes would write comedies targeting political or historical figures of his day. One target Aristophanes would often criticize in his plays was Cleon; an Athenian general and statesman during The Peloponnesian War who had been an opponent of Pericles. Aristophanes used several of his plays to target Cleon, such as; The Babylonians, The Wasps, and, The Knights. Aristophanes may have even had…
Lysistrata was the director and the head of the sex-strike, she convinced Myrrhine to seduce her husband. Her direct orders is what created the climax of satire in the play. Myrrhine teases her husband beyond belief and by the end of her seduction she leaves him. Aristophanes uses humor in this scene to show the power of seduction. The sexual desires of a man can make some one crazy a lot like this scene. "Yes you’re loyal but to what, my sister? You’re loyal to the war what bleeds us white, that ruins Attica and ruins Greece, that maims our husbands and destroys our city. Do you doubt I’m loyal, Myrrhina, loyal to peace and to the good of Athens"(Aristophanes). This once again is a quote by Lysistrata scheming in order to manipulate the men. She changed the nation and caused an end to the Peloponnesian…
Greek dramas and the Olympics have contributed to the different forms of entertainment. Greek plays were originally either tragic or comedic. Greek plays were universally themed. They were based on problems such as the conflict between spiritual values and the demands of the state or family, the nature of good and evil, the rights of the individual, the nature of divine forces, and the nature of human beings. Greek comedies made fun of politicians and intellectuals. Greek dramas also taught…
Sophocles a Greek poet and a writer was famous for his tragedies. All of his plays and tragedies consisted of a very distinctive style called dramatic irony - a situation of drama which is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the story. This not only brings suspense and tension in the play, but it also makes audience feel that they are a part of the play.…
Sophocles influenced the development of drama. His most famous plays are Antigone and Oedipus Rex. He lived during the Classical Period (500 to 400 B.C.). During this time Greece was transitioning, when political and cultural events were shaping and changing Athenian culture. By Sophocles being a dramatists, he played an important part in this creation of a civilization. It included going back to ancient traditions and some of the first poetry of Greece, written by Homer. The earliest Greek literature was poetry. Some of the well-known and famous philosophers during ancient Greece were Plato and Socrates, among others. Sophocles’ work consisted of Greek theatre, and provided insight into a lot of social and political aspects of ancient Greece. This includes Greek religion, culture, and traditions. His modernization in theatre later contributed to basics for future western dramatic performance. Sophocles' plays are still being performed today, all around the…