The Concept of Comedy in Aristophanes’ Acharnian

Abstract: By analyzing the idea of cl admiting that Aristophanes described in his japery Acharnians, and comparing it with that of Aristotle and Horace, I am trying to develop a revolution of the speculation of sports macrocosmniness as the basic musical entitle in western belles-lettres. Key Words: Theory of prank, Aristophanes, Aristotle, goal Greek drollery genuine by dint of three phases: 1) gray-headed Comedy, popular at capital of Greece during the fifth century BC, characterized by the prominent role of the chorus, the use of obscenity in deuce manner of speaking and gesture, an emphasis on political and social satire, and a vigorous concern with current up to nowts; 2) center(a) Comedy, a engagement used to refer to comedies writ ten between 400 and 320 BC, characterized in the master(prenominal) by the decline in importance of the chorus; 3) alert Comedy (320 to ab step up mid-third century BC), a non-political found of japery that ignores curr ent events and has young love as a first-string theme, with a chorus that does non federal agencyicipate in the while. core and impudent Comedy were everyplace ofttimes(prenominal) less obscene. Greek radical Comedy is demonstrateed that by unmatched most comp permite play of Menander and nigh large portions of six separate plays. Of Old Comedy, we lead solitary(prenominal) ten plays of Aristophanes, and his Plutus as the hardly surviving example of Middle Comedy. biography contains few nonices of Aristophanes lifespan, though he has been praised now as the sterling(prenominal) comedian of his age, and whitethornhap of completely the ages. Even the dates of his birth and last r bug step to the fore out all be inferred from his works, the former existence estimated at 456 B.C. and the latter at 380. He was said to be solely an adopted citizen of Athens, was doubtlessly educated at Athens. Traditionally, frivolity has to do with the concerns and exploit s of ordinary mess. The characters of harl! equinade therefore tend to be plain, cursory figures (e.g., lower or middle-income husbands and wives, students and teachers, children and pargonnts, unlesschers, bakers, and arousedlestick-makers) kind of of the kings, queens, heroes, plutocrats, and heads of atomic number 18a who form the funtis personae of catastrophe. suspicious plots, accordingly, tend to be about the kind of problems that ordinary state ar typi recollecty involved with: winning a impudently boyfriend (or recl looking an wholenesstime(a) oneness), succeeding at a job, handout an exam, defecateting the coin needed to pay for a medical operation, or obviously coping with a bad day. A pee, the dead on target hallmark of frivolity isnt unceasingly gag. More very much, its the simple satiscircumstanceion we feel when we escort deserving concourse succeed. Unlike guileless Eastern suppositious works on romp Aristotles work makes only minor passing observations on the forcible rattli ngization of the prominent text, therefrom establishing an orientation essentially unchanged until the past century. Aristotle considers twain the spirit of tragedy (an idealized imitation of hu objet d fraud action) and its blend in (the katharsis of much(prenominal) emotions as pity and c atomic number 18). This argument for the psycho-social win of purging may have been at least deduct in response to Platos distrust of art as a comment to the passions and as an inferior imitation of the world of appearance. The separate politic most influential classical theorist was Horace, whose nontextual matter of numbers contains specific buckram directions and the often quoted forked aim of poetry, to entrance and to instruct. Comp ared with the theory of tragedy, the customs of harlequinade has long been regarded as a lower form of drama. According to Aristotle (who speculates on the matter in his Poetics), the function of drama is katharsis, usually interpreted as p urifying. further it is in skilfulness a counters! ign of whose meaning scholars allow neer background an agreement. Aristotle obviously believed that tragedy could reach that goal much easier. And he even did not discuss drollery with to a largeer extent details in his Poetics. The medical purification ( purging as purgation) of political relation is also expected in the tragical performances, as both(prenominal) Poetics and administration deal of the catharsis of pity and fear and Politics has go a representation the fuller news report of the catharsis in universal to Poetics. Tragic catharsis, however, send wordnot be reduced to the purgation of the emotions. As Aristotle model the catharsis clause at the end of the definition of tragedy, catharsis must(prenominal) be the final brace of making tragedies and represent the proper essence of the tragedy. The item that the fuller discussion is left to Poetics also suggests that the catharsis in Poetics is not restricted to the lotion of the musical catharsis of Politics. In the explanation of tragedy, the word catharsis has been generally translated as purification, a process through which the audience may get rid of the bad from their head word. This recitation has been wide accepted in Europe as straightfor state of ward as in China until very recent time. The one conclude is that Aristotles idea of comedy can be seen as the reasonable derivation from Aristophanes expression in his comedy Acharnians. Dicaeopolis, an Athenian citizen, who was sick and tired of the ill-success and miseries of the labor down, made up his mind to stir the heap to adopt his policy of peace at either price, and said in the play, I b one-time(a)ness in a Comedy to speak before the people of Athens of the unexclusive weal; Comedy too can sometimes discern what is right. In the following chorus, Aristophanes explanation of comedy comes: refrain: As for you, neer lose him [Dicaeopolis], who will unendingly fight for the cause of judge in his Com edies; he promises you that his precepts will third! you to happiness, though he uses neither flattery, nor bribery, nor intrigue, nor deceit; instead of essence you with praise, he will point you to the better way. (Aristophanes, Acharnians) It seems that Aristophanes displace the aspiration of comedy as to Fight for the cause of fair(a)ice is a defending team of his comedy, as people had been thought that comedies can only flirt with by joking language, dressing as a fool, etc., without both serious thoughts or justness in it. Aristophanes act to crook the people he could also speak before the people of Athens of the public weal. that I would like to pass Aristophanes defense of comedy is real not the only truth of comedy, precisely an evaluation of comedy using the standard of tragedy. cataclysm has long been accepted as a form of cat valium story with heroes, and serious interpretative purpose. Tragedy has established it military position before comedy developed into a complete form. just comedy is indeed a diametrical occasion. If Comedy is to fight for the cause of justice just as tragedy does, comedy is only an appendix. Comedy is to lead people to happiness, and point out the better way of life. These travel words of the quoted divulge are actually much relevant to the truth of comedy. Aristotle didnt reserve a full look of comedy, partly because he could not use the same transcription of catharsis to relieve comedy. provided his followers never failed in trying to restore his imagination of tragedy into comedy. In Tractanus Coislinianus (The draught of Theory on Comedy as the Chinese displacement reaction by Luo Nian-sheng) which is at least influenced by Aristotles Poetics stop up us a reconsideration of comedy in the accomplished binary star system of drama. Comedy was explained in a way just parallel to Aristotles words on tragedy in Poetics. Though the author tried his best in imitating Aristotle, he still can not ignore one thing of comedy. That is, using his own word, laughter. Without laughter there would be n! o comedy.. By examining Aristophanes happiness, Aristotles catharsis and laughter in Tractanus Coislinianus, we may see the evaluation of the concept of comedy. Aristophanes talked on comedy from his theatre experience. He could learn everything from Euripides, that is, from tragedy, just now in a very different way. He did speak of war and peace, of the public weal, but he had to do it in his suspicious way. Jokes, puns, fools, resists are not only additional move of his comedy, they are always the most important. Dicaepolis in Acharnians spoke in cardinal different tones. When he was borrowing filthy dress and otherwise things from Euripides, he was a joker. DICAEOPOLIS: Euripides.... EURIPIDES: What words strike my ear? DICAEOPOLIS: You get glum aloft to soothe tragedies, when you might just as force do them on the ground. I am not astonish at your introducing cripples on the stage. And why dress in these deject tragic rags? I do not wonder that your heroes are beggars. just now, Euripides, on my knees I beseech you, give me the tatters of some senescent piece; for I have to treat the Chorus to a long speech, and if I do it ill it is all everyplace with me. EURIPIDES: What rags do you prefer? Those in which I rigged out Aeneus on the stage, that unhappy, miserable old man? DICAEOPOLIS: No, I call for those of some hero still more ill-starred. EURIPIDES: Of Phoenix, the blind man? DICAEOPOLIS: No, not of Phoenix, you have some other hero more unfortunate than him. EURIPIDES: Now, what tatters DOES he need? Do you mean those of the beggar Philoctetes? DICAEOPOLIS: No, of another far more the mendicant. EURIPIDES: Is it the filthy dress of the weak drop downow, Bellerophon? DICAEOPOLIS: No, tis not Bellerophon; he, whom I mean, was not only lame and a beggar, but boastful and a fine speaker. EURIPIDES: Ah! I know, it is Telephus, the Mysian. DICAEOPOLIS: Yes, Telephus. crock up me his rags, I beg of you. (Aristophanes, Acharnians) As a Chinese lector of this part and the following ! of the play, I would say it is familiar to the Chinese conventional comic form Xiangsheng, the comic dialogue presented by two comedians. But Chinese comic dialogues are good sense with a special plot named Baofu (meaning package in Chinese) by which a unpredictable comic surprise is revealed. Aristophanes comedy is not only of comic language, but also performance, which is actually one main joyfulness of comedys appreciation, but the tradition theory from Aristotle never paid much attention to. In fact the Greek word komoidia means the song of the komos. A komos is a communal ritual carouse: on a runty scale it is the antiquated equivalent of party-crashing and bar-hopping rolled into one, but as part of a communal festival of Dionysus it recalls ripe carnivals such(prenominal) as that of Mardi gras (although the ancient rites were usually more carefully compose and ordered) a time when normal social rules and inhibitions are affirm aside and people party in the streets, s inging, dancing, and (often) drinking. [ ] The following part of the play tells that Dicaeopolis wanted to borrow the diminutive Mysian hat, a beggars staff, a junior-grade basketball hoop with a lamp alight inside, a little broken cup, a small pipkin stop up with a sponge, a few small herbs for the basket, and even some of the chervil Euripides pose left in her will! It is a great fun even reading those lines of the play, but we can call back the fake who acting Dicaeopolis wearing that Mysian hat, holding all those things.

It must be a great scene on the stage, awful do laughter of the audience. DICAEOPOLI S: Oh, my soul! You see how you are goaded from this ! house, when I still need so many accessories. But let us be pressing, obstinate, importunate. Euripides, give me a little basket with a lamp alight inside. EURIPIDES: Whatever do you want such a thing as that for? DICAEOPOLIS: I do not need it, but I want it all the same. DICAEOPOLIS: Ah! you do not know all the pain you cause me. Dear, good Euripides, nothing beyond a small pipkin stoppered with a sponge. EURIPIDES: Miserable man! You are robbing me of an entire tragedy. Here, spot it and be off. (Aristophanes, Acharnians) In those parts Dicaeopolis was not indeed to be yucky to Euripides, while Euripides was also joking with him, and the audience encounter this sort of well. zip would take it seriously as a pink of Euripides, as they know it just for fun. But those parts support the most significant character of the play, Acharnians would be no interminable a real comedy without those apparently vain parts. Aristotle tried using the idea of catharsis in explaining why p eople like notice tragedy. But as I mentioned previously, the word catharsis has always been a confusing idea. Nobody can give the definite meaning of the word. Purification is the widely-accepted relevant. By watching the heroes suffering from great pain, the audience could recognize their own suffering, and light up the dreadful declarations of their good errors. From this point, Horace developed his often quoted double aim of poetry, to delight and to instruct, or wage and interest to mix with art as he wrote in his trick of Poetry: Poets would profit or delight mankind, And with the pleasing have th instruction joined Short be the precept, which with ease is gained By docile minds, and forcefully retained. If in dull length your deterrent example is expressed, The tedious learning overflows the breast. Would you divert? The probable maintain, Nor force us to belief the big scene, That shows a child, by a fell witch devoured, Dragged from her entrails, and to life re stored. Grave age approves the solid and the wise; Ga! y offspring from too austere a drama flies; dough and joy, then, to mix with art, To inform the judgment, nor offend the heart, Shall gain all votes. (Horace, The Art of Poetry) It seems that Horaces consideration is preferably true to comedy, as it unite comic factors with the serious topic of war and peace. The problem is joy is still a confusing word. The joyfulness of watching a tragedy is obviously different from that of a comedy. If we take the pleasure in a moral vision, that is, the pleasure after purification from the bad intentions; then it would be not fit in comedy. People gain pleasure from comedies right away from the language and performance. But Horace has long been respected as the model in Aristotles tradition, his concept of pleasure is actually quite questionable. It is more possible that Horace take pleasure as the result of catharsis in stead of the pleasure from comic language and performance, especially of the so-called old comedy representing by A ristophanes, which was cognize for its obscenity. To conclude, I would say the theory of comedy in classical world is actually not well developed and established. Aristotle mentioned he would have an explication on comedy in his Poetics, but it never appeared. Aristotle did recognize the real cause of the pleasure of watching comedy, much of which comes from the performance as well as the language. He was not a formalist. The form, that is the language, the plot and performance, is only subordinate to the topic, or the moral insight. Horaces double aim seemed to have the two aspects in the same light, but it is nothing different from Aristotles theory. It is a mono-system centered on contents only. It is not able to account all literature forms, especially comedy. Being situated on a telephone line between literature and physical performance, comedy from its head start was not developed beneath the guide traditional literary theory. Aristophanes work revealed this quite well. The fact that comedy developed in a vacuum of hypoth! etical guide can explain why the idea of comedy vary so much in modern times. each nation has its own comedy, and even in the same culture, people disagree with each other on what should be a good comedy. Bibliography [1] hypertext transfer protocol://www.theatrehistory.com/ancient/comedy001.html Aristophanes, Acharnians. English exposition e-text: http://classics.mit.edu/Aristophanes/acharnians.html Aristotle, Poetics. English translation e-text: http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poetics.html Horace, The Art of Poetry. English translation e-text: http://classicpersuasion.org/pw/horace/horacepo.htm Marvin Carlson, turn Theory, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997 Robert Storey, Comedy, its theorists, and the evolutionary perspective, 1996. E-text: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2220/is_n3_v38/ai_18796173 Masahiro Kitano, Aristotles Theory of Comedy, Pubished in Bulletin of Gunma prefectural Womens University, 22, 2001 John Porter, Aristophanes and Greek Old Com edy, http://duke.usask.ca/~porterj/CourseNotes/Aristophanes.html If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: BestEssayCheap.com

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