He is considered the founder of ancient Greek comedy. Ancient comedy: concept, history, features

"Aristotle, where the concept of tragedy is discussed, the great thinker's work on comedy did not reach the modern era. His search forms the content of the famous novel “The Name of the Rose”, and the content can be restored in general terms thanks to the so-called. Koalen's retelling. According to Aristotle, ancient comedy was born from Dionysian festivals associated with the cult of fertility, including phallic processions.

Aristotle distinguishes between tragedy and comedy on the following grounds:

• the heroes of tragedy are people of high status, heroes of comedy are all sorts of rabble;
• the subject of tragedy is events of great public significance, comedy is everyday incidents from private life;
• tragedy is usually based on historical events (myths), while the plot of comedy is completely invented by the author.

Ancient comedy

Main article: Ancient comedy

Of all the ancient Attic comedy, only 11 plays by Aristophanes have survived to modern times, although at least fifty comedians working at that time are known by name. The earliest surviving comedy, The Acharnians, was staged in Athens around 425 BC. e. There is no plot as such. In its form, Aristophanes' comedy is a chain of comic situations commenting on issues of political life in Athens. Aristophanes' comedies are stuffed with buffoonery, dances, songs, invective, often of an obscene nature. The choir was often dressed in animal skins, the actors performed in grotesque masks, and the action ended with a general feast.

Obscene ridicule, for which comedies of the 5th-4th centuries were famous. BC e., sometimes they crossed all the boundaries of what was permitted. There are known attempts to limit the freedom of comedians by law.

Average comedy

The younger contemporaries of Aristophanes and the older contemporaries of Menander are usually classified as a transitional stage - the so-called. average comedy. Little is known reliably about this period of development of the genre. Almost no samples have survived. It is assumed that comedy loses its political focus during this period. The importance of the chorus and its role in the development of the plot is reduced. Stereotype characters are becoming widespread - hetaeras, philosophers, boastful warriors, rogue slaves, gluttons, hangers-on. Parodying the plots of famous tragedies and well-known myths is becoming fashionable.

In the 4th century, the popularity of comedy spread far beyond Athens: comedy productions are known to take place in Magna Graecia and Sicily.

Novoattic comedy

Main article: New comedy

The New (Menander) Comedy corresponds chronologically to the first six decades of Hellenism, following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. e. During this period, the comic element itself is given a subordinate significance, the satirical charge is completely dissipated: comedy is degenerated into everyday drama. In connection with the decline of political life in the Attic city-states, all the attention of the authors is focused on the intricacies of conventional intrigue (usually love). The typical characters inherited from the average comedy turn into masks (a stingy father, a young man in love, etc.).

The Neo-Attic comedy has to be judged from a very small number of surviving fragments. It is known that the largest comedians - Menander, Philemon, Defil - wrote more than a hundred plays each. From the neo-Attic comedy in Rome, the Plautian comedy was born, which, in turn, served as the seed for the formation of European comedy of the New Age (Ben Jonson and others).

Structure

According to Coalen's treatise, comedy has the same structural parts as in

28. Ancient Greek comedy.

Comedy, the second branch of Greek drama, received official recognition in Athens much later than tragedy. Initially, comedy was part of the Dionysus festivals only as a folk ritual game, and the state did not take upon itself its organization. The first stages of the formation of Attic comedy as a literary genre were unknown to ancient researchers; they knew it already in the established form that it had in the second half of the 5th century. The comedy of this time is called (in contrast to its later forms) ancient comedy. The “ancient” Attic comedy is something extremely unique. Archaic and crude games of fertility festivals are intricately intertwined in it with the formulation of the most complex social and cultural problems facing Greek society. Athenian democracy raised carnivalesque license to the level of serious social criticism, while maintaining the external forms of ritual play intact. Aristotle (Poetics, ch. 4) traces the beginning of comedy to “the originators of phallic songs, which to this day remain in custom in many communities.” “Phallic songs” are songs performed in processions in honor of the gods of fertility, especially in honor of Dionysus, while carrying the phallus as a symbol of fertility. During such processions, mocking mimic scenes were played out, jokes and swear words were made at the address of individual citizens, these are the very songs from which satirical and accusatory literary iambic at one time developed. All these games and songs were considered to contribute to the main goal of the ritual - to ensure the victory of the productive forces of life: laughter and foul language were seen as a life-creating force, and the usual ideas of decency were removed at this time. Aristotle's indication of the connection between comedy and phallic songs is fully confirmed by consideration of the constituent elements of “ancient” Attic comedy. The term "comedy" (Komoidia) means "song of the komos". Komos is a “gang of revelers” who make a procession after a feast and sing songs of mocking or laudatory, and sometimes even love, content. Komos took place both in religious rituals and in everyday life. In ancient Greek life, komos sometimes served as a means of popular protest against any oppression, turning into a kind of demonstration. They say that Attic peasants, being offended by one of the townspeople, went at night in a gang to the city to the house of the offender and subjected him to public reproach. In comedy, the element of komos is represented by a chorus of mummers, sometimes dressed in very fantastic costumes. Often, for example, animal masquerade occurs. “Goats”, “Wasps”, “Birds”, “Frogs” - all these titles of ancient comedies were given to them based on the costume of the choir. The choir praises, but most often denounces, and its ridicule directed against individuals, usually have no connection with comedic action. The songs of Komos were firmly established in Attic folklore, regardless of the religion of Dionysus, but they were also part of the ritual of Dionysus festivals. Sicilian comedy. Epicharmus. The literary predecessor of the “ancient” Attic comedy was the Sicilian comedy, the most outstanding representative of which was Epicharmus. The activity of this poet took place in Syracuse at the end of the 6th and in the first half of the 5th century. Aristotle attributes to him big role in the history of the development of comedy, indicating that Epicharmus was the first to create comic plays with a holistic and complete action. A significant difference between Sicilian comedy and Attic comedy is that Epicharmus does not use (or almost does not use) a choir. Ancient philologists preferred to call his plays not “comedies”, but “dramas”, since they lacked the element of “komos”. His plays were small in size, with an average of about 400 verses per comedy. Ancient Attic Comedy According to Aristotle, the art of constructing comic action, developed in Sicily, had a certain influence on the development of comedy in Athens. Nevertheless

fundamental for general direction The “ancient” Attic comedy contains precisely those moments whose absence in Epicharmus we have just noted. Attic comedy uses typical masks (“boastful warrior”, “scientific charlatan”, “jester”, “drunken old woman”, etc.); among the works of Athenian comedic poets there are plays with a parody-mythological plot, but neither constitutes the faces of Attic comedy. Its object is not the mythological past, but living modernity, current, sometimes even topical, issues of political and cultural life. “Ancient” comedy is primarily a political and accusatory comedy, transforming folklore “mocking” songs and games into a weapon of political satire and ideological criticism. Another distinctive feature of “ancient” comedy, which attracted attention already in later antiquity, is complete freedom of personal mockery of individual citizens with open naming of their names. The ridiculed person was either directly brought onto the stage as a comic character, or became the subject of caustic, sometimes very rude, jokes and hints made by the choir and comedy actors. For example, in the comedies of Aristophanes, such persons as the leader of radical democracy Cleon, Socrates, and Euripides are brought onto the stage. More than once attempts were made to limit this comedic license, but throughout the 5th century. they remained unsuccessful. The method of ridiculing public order and individual citizens remains caricature. “Ancient” comedy usually does not individualize its characters, but creates generalized caricature images, also using typical masks of folklore and Sicilian comedy. This occurs even when the characters are living contemporaries; Thus, the image of Socrates in Aristophanes to a very small extent recreates the personality of Socrates, but is mainly a parodic sketch of a philosopher (“sophist”) in general with the addition of typical features of the mask of a “scientific charlatan.” The plot of the comedy is mostly fantastic in nature. Most often, some unrealizable project is carried out to change existing public relations. Satire takes on the form of utopia. The very improbability of the action creates a special comic effect, which is further enhanced by the frequent disruption of stage illusion in the form of actors addressing the audience. Combining komos with cartoon scenes within a simple but still coherent plot, the “ancient” comedy has a very peculiar symmetrical division associated with the ancient structure of komos songs. The comic choir consisted of 24 people, i.e. twice as large as the tragedy choir of pre-Sophocles' times. It split into two semi-choirs, sometimes warring with each other. In the past, these were two holiday “gangs” “competing” with each other; V literary comedy, where the “competition” usually falls on the actors, what remains of the duality of the choir is the external form, the alternating performance of “songs by separate half-choirs in strictly symmetrical correspondence. The most important part of the choir is the so-called parabass, performed in the middle of the comedy. It usually does not have any connection with action of the play; the chorus says goodbye to the actors and addresses directly the audience. The parabass consists of two main parts. The first, pronounced by the leader of the entire choir, is an appeal to the audience on behalf of the poet, who here settles scores with his rivals and asks for favorable attention to the play The choir, in a marching rhythm, passes in front of the audience (“parabassa” in the proper sense of the word). The second part, the choir’s song, has a strophic character and consists of four parts: the lyrical ode (“song”) of the first semi-choir is followed by a recitative epirrheme (“ proverb") of the leader of this hemichoir in a dance trocheic rhythm; in strict metrical accordance with the ode and epirrheme, the antodes of the second hemichoir and the antepirrema of its leader are then located. The principle of “epyrrematic” composition, i.e. pairwise alternation of odes and epirrhemes,

permeates other parts of the comedy. This includes, first of all, the “competition” scene, the agon, in which the ideological side of the play is often concentrated. Agon in most cases has a strictly canonical construction. Two “compete” with each other characters ah, and their dispute consists of two parts; in the first, the leading role belongs to the side that will be defeated in the competition, in the second - to the winner; both parts open symmetrically with choral odes in metrical correspondence and an invitation to begin or continue the competition. There are, however, scenes of “competition” that deviate from this type. The following structure can be considered typical for “ancient” comedy. The prologue provides an exposition of the play and outlines fantastic project hero. This is followed by a parod (introduction) by the choir, a live stage, often accompanied by a scrum, in which the actors also participate. After the agon, the goal is usually achieved. Then the parabasa is given. The second half of the comedy is characterized by farce-type scenes in which the good consequences of the project are depicted and various annoying aliens who disturb this bliss are chased away. The choir here no longer takes part in the action and only borders the scenes with their songs; Following them, an epirrhematically constructed part is often found, usually unfortunately called the “second parabassa”. The play ends with a procession of komos. The typical structure allows for various deviations, variations, and rearrangements of individual parts, but the fifth-century comedies known to us, one way or another, gravitate toward it. In this structure, some aspects seem artificial. There is every reason to think that the original place of the parabassa was the beginning of the play, and not its middle. This suggests that at an earlier stage the comedy was opened by the entrance of the chorus, as was the case in the early stages of tragedy. The development of coherent action and the strengthening of the actor's parts led to the creation of a prologue spoken by the actors and the relegation of the parabass to the middle of the play. When and how the structure we examined was created is unknown; we find it already in its finished form and observe only its destruction, a further weakening of the role of the chorus in comedy. Aristophanes Among the numerous comedic poets of the second half of the 5th century. ancient criticism singled out three as the most outstanding representatives of “ancient” comedy. These are Cratinus, Eupolis and Aristophanes. The first two are known to us only from fragments. In Cratinus, the ancients noted the harshness and frankness of ridicule and the richness of comedic invention, in Eupolis - the art of sequential plotting and the grace of wit. From Aristophanes, eleven plays (out of 44) have been preserved in their entirety, which give us the opportunity to get an idea of ​​the general nature of the entire genre of “ancient” comedy. Aristophanes' literary activity took place between 427 and 388. Aristophanes' work completed one of the most brilliant periods in the history of Greek culture. He delivers a powerful, bold and truthful, often profound satire on the political and cultural state of Athens during a period of crisis of democracy and the coming decline of the polis. The most diverse strata of society are reflected in the distorting mirror of his comedy. Since Aristophanes is for us the only representative of the genre of “ancient” comedy, it is difficult for us to assess the degree of his originality and determine what he owes to his predecessors in the interpretation of plots and masks, but he always shines with an inexhaustible supply of wit and the brightness of lyrical talent. With the simplest techniques he achieves the most acute comic effects, although many of these techniques, constantly reminding us that comedy arose from “phallic” games and songs, may have seemed too crude and primitive in later times. Middle Comedy The elimination of the political aspect and the weakening of the role of the chorus led to the fact that Attic comedy began to appear in the 4th century. along the paths outlined by Epicharmus. Ancient scholars called it “average” comedy. The comedy production of this time is very large. The ancients numbered 57 authors, from

of which the most famous were Antiphanes and Alexis, and 607 plays of “average” comedy, but none of them has survived in full. Only a large number of titles and a number of fragments have reached us. This material allows us to conclude that in the “average” comedy great place occupied with parody-mythological themes, and not only the myths themselves were parodied, but also the tragedies in which these myths were developed. The most popular tragic writer at this time was Euripides, and his tragedies were most often parodied (for example, Medea, The Bacchae). Another category of titles indicates everyday themes and the development of typical masks: “Painter”, “Flutist”, “Poetess”, “Doctor”, “Parasite”, etc. The heroes of the comedy are often foreigners: “Lydian”, “Beotian” . The rudeness of ridicule characteristic of “ancient” comedy was softened here. This does not mean, however, that living contemporaries have ceased to be featured in comedy; the old custom has been preserved, but only the figures depicted belong to a different environment, to a different sphere of urban “celebrities”. These are hetaeras, spendthrifts, and cooks. Food and love, the original motives of carnival ritual games, continue to be characteristic of the “average” comedy, but only in a new design, closer to everyday life. By reducing the carnival disorder and the buffoonish, “clown” moment, a more strict and complete dramatic action grew, often based on a love affair. “Middle” comedy constitutes a transitional stage to the “new” Attic comedy, comedy of characters and comedy intrigue, which developed at the end of the 4th century, towards the beginning of the Hellenistic period. NEW ATTIC COMEDY The most significant contribution of the Hellenistic era to world literature is the so-called “new” comedy, the last literary genre created in Athens and completing the development that comedy received in the 4th century. The term “new” comedy is an ancient one; it was created in order to note the profound differences between the type of comedy established by the time of Alexander the Great and his successors, and the “ancient” comedy of the heyday of Athenian democracy; in between them lay the “middle” comedy of the 4th century. For a comedy of the 4th century. two lines were characteristic: parody-mythological and everyday; this latter prevailed at the beginning of the Hellenistic period. On the other hand, the path to everyday drama was outlined in the tragedy of Euripides. From the fusion of these two lines, a “new” comedy was created. The fantastic elements and political topicality characteristic of the “ancient” comedy are now absent. The “new” comedy reacts to political events occasionally and in passing. In accordance with the interest in private life typical of Hellenistic society, she develops themes of love and family relations. Personal mockery of fellow citizens has also been reduced to a minimum. Aristophanes' plays, inextricably linked to the local situation and the current moment, could only be understood in Athens and quickly became outdated; The “new” comedy was accessible to a much wider circle of viewers and subsequently came to the Roman stage in Latin translations and adaptations. Antique literary theory henceforth defines comedy as a “reproduction of life,” and the term “life” means everyday life, private life in its opposition to both the political and the fantastic. comedy received the following definition: it is “an image of an episode from private life not associated with danger.” The difference between comedy and tragedy is established by the composition of the characters; characters of the tragedy - gods, heroes, kings, generals, drama with everyday characters- comedy. The element of the funny that is familiar in comedy is, from this point of view, already derivative, inferential, arising from the attitude towards everyday life as something base; it may even fade into the background completely, giving way to a touching moment. So, the “new” comedy is an everyday drama, according to some bourgeois literary critics, even a “realistic” drama. Deepening into private life here marks a departure from problems more

wide coverage. Not only politics is eliminated from the thematic circle, but along with it the world of work and knowledge, even literary questions that were so often debated by Aristophanes, are also eliminated. The field of poetic vision of the “new” comedy is family conflicts in a wealthy slave-owning environment; even in this narrow area, comedy operates only on a small range of motives and situations and a limited number of typical figures, bearers of certain masks. Both situations and figures reflect actual life, but the materials of modern life are selected and arranged according to traditional patterns without a truly realistic perception of life. The most important elements of the structure of the “new” comedy remain associated with old folklore forms, although they receive new meaning. The monotony of plots also corresponds to stable types. Each character is assigned to a certain typical category, which the viewer can immediately identify by looking at the actor’s mask. This is, firstly, a “young man”, in love and helpless, suffering from the pangs of love and lack of money. A rich rival of a young man often turns out to be a braggart “in o and n”, boasting of his imaginary victories in battles and in love, rude, gullible, but generally good-natured. The object of universal hatred is the “pimp”, greedy, heartless and suspicious; The comedy does not spare this figure caricatures, and he invariably comes out of the play fooled. The female parallel to him is the “pimp,” an old drunkard who sells her own or adopted daughter and teaches her all the tricks of a hetaera. The antagonists of the young man also include the thrifty and grumpy “old man”, the father of the young man, who, however, in some plays is not averse to chasing a beauty and becoming his son’s rival. It is interesting that only “young men” and “old men” perform in comedy, and not middle-aged people; This is where the tradition of the carnival game comes into play, the struggle between “young” and “old”, which always ends in the victory of youth. A very common figure is the resourceful “slave”, the youth’s assistant; sometimes he is contrasted with an honest slave-simple among the antagonists. The heroine also has a lively “maid” (the future “soubrette” of Western European comedy) or an old, faithful “nurse”. Two traditional masks, finally, they remind us of the meaning of “food” in Greek comedy: a gluttonous “parasite” with dog-like habits, a flattering companion to a young man or a warrior, not inferior to a slave in dexterity and resourcefulness, and then a “cook”, an eloquent and thievish priest of his high art, offspring of the “scientific charlatan” mask. This review of typical plots and masks shows the thematic limitations of the "new" comedy. The originality of the “new” comedy is not in the plot and masks, which are largely traditional, but in the way they are developed. The literary achievement here is, firstly, the skillful management of intrigue. This moment, introduced by Euripides into tragedy, was successfully used by comedic authors. As in Euripides, chance plays a huge role in the course of action; The very scheme of “recognition” is based on it. The second feature that distinguishes the “new” comedy is a more in-depth development of characters. The typical mass differentiates and acquires numerous varieties; the characters receive an individually defined appearance. At the same time, some writers develop comedy primarily along the lines of intrigue, while others focus on characters. Further, a relaxed dialogue is created, brisk and witty, free from the crude jokes and obscenities that characterized the early stages of comedy. Finally, and this is the considerable significance of the “new” comedy, its best representatives are bearers of humane and philanthropic ideas. Humane views on family, marriage and education, on women and slaves, put forward at one time by the sophists and artistically embodied in the images of the tragedy of Euripides, are now receiving further development in Hellenistic philosophy and penetrate into the depiction of everyday life. This leads to new understandings of typical figures. Next to the grumpy "wife"

images appear of a downtrodden wife suffering from the oppression of her husband, or of a wife as a faithful and loving friend; the grumpy “old man” - the father - is joined by a liberal old man, condescendingly looking at the hobbies of young people; The “young man” turns out to be not only a young reveler, but also a bearer of a humane view of the family. Even a “hetaera” rejected from official society evokes a new attitude towards herself; Representatives of this profession are endowed with the traits of selflessness and spiritual nobility. Another consequence of the new ideological attitude was the weakening of the directly comic element; comedy developed towards the touching. The most significant representative of the “new” Attic comedy, Menander (about 342 - 292), shows great closeness to the advanced trends of Hellenistic philosophical thought. Two senior contemporaries of Menander, Philemon (about 361 - 263) and Diphilus (born about 350), were also ranked among the outstanding masters of this genre. At present, there are more or less significant excerpts from several works of Menander. The art of “new” comedy has had a very big impact on Western European drama, but the impact was not immediate. Monuments of the “new” comedy were divided common destiny Hellenistic literature. Menander's works lasted longer than others, but they were also lost in the early Byzantine era. Greek everyday drama has survived through the centuries only in the form that Roman poets gave it. And we will again have to meet with neo-Attic comedy and its luminaries when considering Roman drama. Analysis of Aristophanes' comedy “Frogs. This comedy is interesting as an expression of the literary views of Aristophanes. It is directed, of course, against Euripides, portrayed as a sentimental, effeminate and anti-patriotic poet, in defense of Aeschylus, a poet of high and heroic morality, a serious and deep and, moreover, staunch patriot. The comedy is interesting, further, for its acute anti-mythological tendency. The god of the theater - Dionysus, stupid, cowardly and pathetic, descends together with his slave into the underworld. And since it was difficult for the slave to carry his master’s luggage, they ask the dead man who happened to be carried here to help them with this. The dead man demands a high price. Poor Dionysus is forced to refuse. Although Dionysus put on a lion's skin and picked up a club like Hercules in order to inspire confidence in himself, this makes it even funnier. After scenes of an everyday and parodic nature with clown disguises, a competition is arranged between the deceased Aeschylus and Euripides in order to bring to the surface of the earth the tragic poet, who is now missing in Athens after the death of all the great tragedians. A huge agon of comedy, occupying its entire half, is dedicated to this competition between Aeschylus and Euripides. Aeschylus and Euripides perform monody from their tragedies, each with its own characteristic features of content and style. The verses of both tragedians are weighed on the scales, with the solid heavy verses of Aeschylus turning out to be more weighty, and the cup with the light verses of Euripides jumping up. After this, Dionysus returns Aeschylus, as a winner, to earth to create new tragedies. Aristophanes's adherence to the strict forms of poetry, disgust from the contemporary and corrupted urban culture, parody of Dionysus and everything underworld, anti-mythological orientation and masterly mastery of the style of Euripides and the strict manner of Aeschylus are striking in this comedy. The comedy received its name from the choir of frogs performing in it. The struggle between Aeschylus and Euripides depicted here certainly has a political character. Aristophanes justifies the previous strong political system and condemns the contemporary rich, but very unstable democracy with its pathetic, from his point of view, rationalism and enlightenment, with its refined but empty passions and declamation. The parody in this comedy does not diminish at all. Literary critical goals do not weaken the traditional,

farcical style of comedy with constant buffoonery, fights and alteration of an ancient ritual in a comedic way. Even the main storyline of the comedy - the descent of Dionysus into the underworld - is nothing more than a parody of the well-known and ancient myth about the descent of Hercules into the underworld and the bringing of Cerberus from there to the surface of the earth. In addition to the choir of frogs in the comedy there is a choir of so-called mystics, that is, initiates into the Eleusinian mysteries; but he also acts in the context of farcical buffoonery. The famous judge of the underworld, Aeacus, is turned into a pugnacious servant underground gods. And the poems of Aeschylus and Euripides are weighed on scales in the manner of ancient fetishism. The traditional comedy motifs of a feast and the recognition of a new deity are also given (in this case, the election of Aeschylus as king of tragedy). With all this, the large abundance of purely everyday buffoonery and the introduction of amusing but meaningless divertissements with flutes, citharas and rattles, as well as the naturalistic depiction of characters (Dionysus and his slave) indicate the birth of a new style of comedy, not as strictly ideological and anti-naturalistic as in more early comedies of Aristophanes.

This is an antique comedy A cult drama dedicated to Dionysus, performed by a choir and actors. All types of ancient comedy (folk and literary) had a poetic form and were performed accompanied by music; actors and choreographers wore masks. There were two historically and typologically independent forms of literary comedy: Sicilian and Attic. The nature of Attic comedy changed significantly over time, therefore, already in antiquity, three successive stages were distinguished: ancient, middle and new Attic comedy. Southern Italian folk comedy developed under the predominant influence of Attic literary comedy. Roman comedy was created and developed according to the model of exclusively new Attic comedy. From different types comedies in the strict sense should be distinguished from others dramatic genres, which were “comic” in spirit, but were not considered comedy in Greece, since they were not genetically related to strictly defined forms of the cult of Dionysus. These include satyr drama (a type of tragedy) and various small dialogical forms, devoid of genre unity, which were called mimes. Only in Rome, where Greek cult and theatrical formalities lost their meaning, did Latin mime begin to be viewed as a type of comedy.

Sicilian comedy

Sicilian comedy is already known in its developed form from the work of the poet Epicharmus(c. 550-460 BC) from Syracuse. Fragments of 40 of his comedies have been preserved, which show that the original and main theme of Sicilian comedy was travesty depictions of myths (The Wedding of Hebe, Pyrrha and Prometheus, Philoctetes, etc.). However, as Aristotle points out (Poetics, V), Epicharmus and (virtually unknown to us) Formius began to use “fictional”, i.e. Not mythological stories. An example of the development of a purely everyday theme is given by the image of a parasite in a lengthy passage from the comedy “Hope, or Wealth,” but here, judging by the name, personified deities could have participated. Some passages touch on philosophical issues. The comedies of Epicharmus are written in the Dorian dialect in iambic.

Ancient Attic comedy

From 487 BC Official competitions of comic choirs begin in Athens. The first poet of comedy known by name was Chionides. Ancient comedy is known from the work of its latest representative, Aristophanes, from whom 11 comedies, staged in 425-388 BC, have survived. From other poets 5th century BC (Kratin, Kratet, Eupolis) fragments have reached. The ancient comedy opens with a prologue, which, as in a developed classical tragedy, develops into an expanded dialogic scene; Next comes the parod, i.e. a song accompanying the choir's entrance to the orchestra. Behind the people, the agon begins, a competition between the two main characters; The central part of the comedy is occupied by the parabaza, a lengthy performance by the choir (while performing the parabaza, the choruses took off their masks). The parabaza is surrounded by a series of loosely connected small scenes presented by actors, and the comedy ends with an exodus, a song that accompanies the departure of the choir from the orchestra. Parabase is a complex melic composition, built mainly according to the antistrophic principle; it is not directly related to the plot of the comedy and contains declarations by the author on various topical issues. A consistently developing plot was not important for ancient comedy. According to Aristotle (Poetics, V), a coherent comic "myth" (i.e. fabula) was first introduced by Crates (after 450 BC) following the example of Sicilian comedy. The content of the comedy was largely determined by its cult origin: scenes of gluttony, fights, erotic jokes characteristic of rituals associated with the cult of fertility were required, along with abuse (invective) directed against specific individuals. Since Aristotle's Poetics, this personal invective has been seen as a necessary element of ancient comedy. Gods were often depicted either traditionally or personified. There are known comedies whose plot was purely mythological, for example: “Dionysoalexander” by Cratin (after 430 BC), in which the myth of the court of Paris was presented; mythological (albeit outside traditional mythology) are the comedies “The World” (421 BC) and “The Birds” (414 BC) by Aristophanes. Ancient comedy is characterized by an allegorical (mainly political) interpretation of myths, which indicates its important ideological role in a society whose consciousness was still based mainly on mythology. Comedies on “fictional” plots were political pamphlets, not everyday dramas, however, not only politicians, but also philosophers (“Clouds” of Aristophanes, 423 BC), musicians and poets became victims of comedians: attacks on tragedians and rivals -comedians are often found in Aristophanes. A favorite motif was a parody of tragedy. Thus, comedy became one of the first forms of literary and artistic criticism. The characters of ancient comedy are caricatures; if these are real persons, then their characters are narrowed and reduced to one feature, chosen by the poet for ridicule; In general, comedians are not interested in ethical problems. Like other genres of Greek poetry, comedy had its own metrical rules. The main dialogical meters of Greek drama - iambic trimeter and trochaic tetrameter - are interpreted in comedy in many ways differently than in tragedy, and the metrical development of choral parts is also unique; the language of comedy was close to colloquial. The comic choir consisted of 24 people, the number of actors could reach up to five. The masks of ancient comedy were grotesque and ugly; the masks of real faces bore a portrait resemblance.

Middle Attic comedy

The Middle Attic Comedy is tentatively dated to 404-336 BC., represented by the names Platonomics, Antiphanes, Aristophon, Alexis; the preservation of the texts is very poor, but an idea of ​​this period can be formed from the late dramas of Aristophanes - “Frogs” (405), “Women in the National Assembly” (389), “Wealth” (388). There are no significant structural changes, but choral interludes appear to separate comedy scenes; and in the future this becomes the norm. Political topics lose relevance and disappear; in their place comes a political utopia; everyday life is depicted more realistically. Aristophanes is interested in myth either as an allegory or as a pretext for a parody of tragedy, but Plato and other poets use mythological names. Ridicule of philosophers becomes a favorite topic.

New Attic Comedy

In the 330s BC. Attic comedy was radically reformed, and already by 324 BC. refers to the first comedy of Menander, who was later recognized as the best representative of the new comedy. Thanks to the discovery of ancient papyrus manuscripts already in the 20th century, lengthy excerpts from the seven comedies of Menander became known; the text of “The Grouch” (316 BC) has been preserved in its entirety. Other significant poets of the new comedy active in the second half of the 4th century BC. (Diphilus, Philemon, Apollodorus), are known from fragments and from free imitations in the Roman palliata. There is very little information about the later representatives of the genre. The new Attic comedy, neither in form nor in content, is a continuation of the ancient one and is an ethical “comedy of characters”, the model for which was the tragedies of Euripides. The structure of the new comedy is also generally oriented towards the tragedy of the late 5th century BC. The comedy consists of a prologue and an exodus, followed by several acts corresponding to the episodes of the tragedy and separated by choir parts. The choir does not take part in the action; in many cases the poet did not write a text for the choir, but only “left room” for it. Already in Menander the division into five acts is presented; Roman theorists, starting with Horace (“The Science of Poetry”), consider such a division as a necessary structural requirement of comedy. The plot must be complex, but carefully and consistently built, while in the famous neo-Attic comedies (as well as in the Roman palliata), the principles of plot construction formulated in Aristotle’s “Poetics” are quite accurately observed. As in the later tragedy, summary the comedy is presented in the prologue. Fantastic and mythological plots are not allowed in the new comedy; gods are possible only as characters in the prologue. Themes are from the everyday life of ordinary people; and the social status of the characters is also a paramount genre requirement. However the main task And artistic purpose The new comedy was not in a naturalistic depiction of everyday life, but in a poetic study of ethical types, which in the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle were called ethos (ethos - “character”). The familiar meaning of the word “character” appeared precisely in the new comedy (Menander, fragment 72). Action was seen as the outward manifestation of ethos; each comic character was associated with a limited set of plot moves and situations; the appearance and speech of the characters had to be strictly consistent with their character. Artistic method the new comedy becomes largely clear thanks to the collection of ethical essays “Characters”, compiled by Aristotle’s student Theophrastus. Rigid schematism and stereotyping were perceived in ancient times as a virtue, but the poet had to apply plot and ethical schemes with subtlety, without transgressing the boundaries of life-like verisimilitude. An important (for ancient theorists, the main) difference between the new comedy and the ancient one was the complete rejection of personal invective. Comedy should, while entertaining, instruct the audience, so maxims were a necessary element of comedy. The stage representation of the character was a mask with sharp, easily recognizable features. Descriptions of the masks of the new comedy, which are given by a lexicographer of the 2nd century AD, have been preserved. Julius Pollux (Polydeuces).

Southern Italian comedy

In the Greek cities of Southern Italy, performances by wandering Phlias actors, considered servants of Dionysus, were popular. Fliaks represented travesty mythological comedies or parodies of tragedies. A literary adaptation of the drama of the fliacs was made by Rinton from Tarentum (3rd century BC), who reworked the plots of the tragedy in the spirit of neo-Attic comedy. Such a drama was called hilarotragedy (from hilaros - “cheerful”), Roman theorists identified the genre of rhinton drama (rinthonica). The only completely preserved text is the Latin comedy of Plautus (3rd-2nd century BC) “Amphitryon”, which the author himself defines as a tragicomedy. The participation in the action of gods and kings, the necessary characters of the tragedy, was considered as an important genre-forming feature that distinguishes Rinton drama from ordinary comedy, but otherwise “Amphitryon” is a typical New Attic comedy. From the indigenous peoples of Italy, the Osci created a comedy called Atellana. In the 2nd century BC. Atellana appeared in Latin.

Roman comedy

Performances of comedies in Latin in Rome began in the mid-3rd century BC. By the end of the 1st century, an extensive system of comic genres had been created, including togata, palliata, literary atellana and mime.

The word comedy comes from Greek komoidia - “comic song” from komos “bacchanalian procession” and oide, which means “song”

Ancient Attic comedy due to the uniqueness of this genre? one of the most difficult sections of ancient literature to understand.

It is called Attic because of its location in Attica; ancient to distinguish it from later comedy genres: middle comedy (IV century BC) and new Attic comedy (IV-III centuries BC).

The extraordinary originality of ancient Attic comedy is due to the fact that in structure, artistic features and content it was closely connected with ritual games, in which its origins should be sought. Therefore, in order to correctly understand and evaluate the works of this genre, it is necessary to have a good understanding of the question of its origin: the rituals that underlay comedies and were performed during holidays dedicated to the gods of fertility are rooted in ancient times. Translated from Greek, the word “comedy” means “song of komos.” Komos was the name given to processions of people praising God in humorous, sometimes very free songs, interspersed with songs of accusatory content. Sometimes these were farmers who came into the city at night and sang mocking songs near the houses of their offenders? townspeople Thus, the songs of the komos contained an element of social struggle, which turned into comedy, which had in the 5th century. BC. acute political orientation.

“Phallic songs” sung during processions dedicated to the gods of fertility, especially in honor of Dionysus, while carrying a phallus? symbol of fertility, were the source of obscene jokes characteristic of ancient Attic comedy, which, like other violations of everyday norms of behavior, according to the concepts of ancient peoples, had a beneficial effect on the fertility of the land and an increase in the number of livestock. According to the ancients, fertility could also be caused by laughter and struggle? hence the boundless comedy and the presence of agon in comedy? verbal competition? as the main compositional part of the work. In addition to the struggle between hemichoirs, agon can represent a struggle, argument, competition between the characters of the play.

So, komos songs and phallic songs formed the basis for the choral parts of ancient Attic comedy. The dramatic parts of the comedy go back to simple fairground scenes of a farcical nature with squabbles and fights, that is, like the songs of the choir, they are of folklore origin.

One of the varieties of the comedy genre was “Sicilian comedy”, a prominent representative of which was Epicharmus (5th century BC). Only fragments of his comedies have reached us, but they give the idea that these were a series of scenes of everyday life or mythological content. The favorite heroes of the mythological comedies of Epicharmus were Odysseus, portrayed as a clever rogue, and Hercules? not the ascetic and passion-bearer, as he appears to us in the tragedies of Sophocles and Euripides, but a glutton, drunkard and sensualist, as the ancient Attic comedy later portrays him. Epicharmus' comedies responded to modern life. He was also occupied by the philosophical trends of our time, and in this way his works are close to the ancient Attic comedy.

In Athens, comedies began to be staged in the theater later than tragedies (in the 80s of the 5th century - twice a year)? on Dionysia and Lenaia. Usually three comedians performed at the festival, each with one comedy. The actors played in masks depicting laughing or ugly faces, since in the understanding of the ancient Greeks, ugly corresponded to funny. All appearance actor: his costume, equipped with special props, his manner of holding himself and moving around the stage? everything was supposed to make you laugh. Comedy has developed a number of specific characters, which are usually called typical masks: a jester, a learned charlatan, a cowardly dandy, a drunken old woman, a glutton, a warrior, a “barbarian” (a foreigner who distorts Greek language), a clever slave, etc. The images of these characters will find their further development in the new Attic, then in the Roman comedy and, finally, in the European comedy of the New Age.

The close connection of ancient Attic comedy with ritual games is evidenced by the active role of the choir, which occupies a greater place here than in tragedy. If the tragic choir consisted of 12, then 15 people, then the comic choir? of 24 people, and it was divided into two semi-choirs, which made it possible for a choral agon. The names of most of Aristophanes' comedies ("Horses", "Wasps", "Clouds", "Birds", etc.) indicate the composition of the choir and indicate the leading role of the choir in ancient Attic comedy.

The role of the chorus also determines the structure of the comedy. It opened with a prologue: a monologue by one of the characters or a dialogue that introduced the audience into the situation of the performance. This was followed by a parod (entry to the orchestra) of the choir and its first song, designed to arouse the curiosity of the public, interest in the plot being presented, especially since the choir members were often dressed in fantastic costumes of clouds, wasps, frogs, etc. Further action was divided into episodies (acting scenes) and stasima (choir songs). In a comedy, there were always one or two agons, that is, scenes of an argument between semi-choirs or between characters, sometimes leading to fights. Was there a parabassa somewhere in the middle of the comedy? direct appeal of the choir to the audience with reproof statesmen, accusing them of ambition, embezzlement, aggressive military policy (or, conversely, cowardice) or presenting the comedy author’s views on state politics, public life, literature, etc. The content of the parabasa, therefore, was not related to the action of the comedy, but in it the connection between the comedy and the accusatory songs of the komos is especially noticeable. Did the comedy end with an exodus? the last song of the choir and his departure from the stage. At the end of the action, a number of scenes were usually played out, reflecting different moments of the fertility holiday: a feast, a wedding (or an erotic scene), running around with torches (or a fire), etc.

The simplest form of folk farce is a comic skit; it often features fairy-tale characters or contains fairy-tale motifs. Folk farce is characterized by grotesqueness, hence the caricature, fantasy, and buffoonery of ancient Attic comedy.

Unity of action, that is, the consistent development of one storyline, was not always observed in ancient Attic comedy.

Ancient Attic comedy was associated both with cult and with modern social life: it is conservative in form and topical in content; fantasy and crude comedy are combined in it with a discussion of the most serious political and social problems. This inconsistency is the originality of the genre, which changes its character as its connection with ritual weakens. Tendentious, political in content, naturalistic in detail and caricatured in form, ancient Attic comedy was a powerful weapon of social struggle.

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COMEDY- (Greek komodia, from komos cheerful, and ado I sing). A dramatic performance depicting the negative aspects of life, ridiculing the shortcomings and vices of society. Dictionary foreign words, included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910.… … Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

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COMEDY- COMEDY, comedy, women. [Greek comodia]. 1. A dramatic work with a cheerful, funny plot (lit., theater). Ostrovsky wrote many comedies. Comedy of manners. Comedy of characters. || Presentation of such a work on stage (theater). IN… … Dictionary Ushakova

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COMEDY- (from the Greek komodia), a genre of drama in which action and characters are interpreted in comic forms; the opposite of tragedy. Based on the principle of organizing the action, comedies are distinguished: sitcoms, based on a cunning, intricate intrigue (Comedy ... ... Modern encyclopedia

COMEDY- (from the Greek komodia) a genre of drama in which the action and characters are interpreted in comic forms; the opposite of tragedy. Based on the principle of organizing the action, comedies are distinguished: situat... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

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COMEDY- COMEDY, and, female. 1. A dramatic work with a cheerful, funny plot. Musical room 2. trans. Pretense, hypocrisy in any form. actions. Breaking the comedy (colloquial neod.). 3. Same as hilarious (colloquial). | adj. comic, oh, oh (to 1 value) and... ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

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Books

• Comedy of the city of St. Petersburg, Daniil Kharms. “The Comedy of the City of St. Petersburg” is the Daniil Kharms Theater, namely, a collection of the author’s dramatic creations (both poetic and prose), where each text (81 in total) reveals... Buy for 430 rubles
• Comedy. Tragedy, Boris Akunin. "Comedy. Tragedy" is a literary experiment, a turnaround book by Boris Akunin. The book includes two plays: "The Mirror of Saint-Germain" ("Comedy") and "Hamlet. Version" ("Tragedy"),…