Parody, Politics and the Populace in Greek Old Comedy

Description

This book argues that Old Comedy's parodic and non-parodic engagement with tragedy, satyr play, and contemporary lyric is geared to enhancing its own status as the preeminent discourse on Athenian art, politics and society. Donald Sells locates the enduring significance of parody in the specific cultural, social and political subtexts that often frame Old Comedy's bold experiments with other genres and drive its rapid evolution in the late fifth century. Close analysis of verbal, visual and narrative strategies reveals the importance of parody and literary appropriation to the particular cultural and political agendas of specific plays. This study's broader, more flexible definition of parody as a visual - not just verbal - and multi-coded performance represents an important new step in understanding a phenomenon whose richness and diversity exceeds the primarily textual and literary terms by which it is traditionally understood. Cover page Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page Contents Illustrations Abbreviations Acknowledgements Introduction I. Studying parody in Old Comedy II. Expectations, seriousness and society III. Why is parody? Genes and genres IV. General overview 1 Mysian Telephus and the Aristophanic Brand Introduction I. The prop shop: Acharnians 395–479 II. The biography of Telephus III. Euripides’ Telephus IV. Telephus and Trugôidia Conclusion 2 Visualizing the Comic Introduction I. Signature scenes II. Epic reversals III. Cross-generic confrontations Conclusion 3 Members Only? Satyrism and Satire in Late Fifth-Century Comedy Introduction I. Comic modes II. Cratinus’s Dionysalexandros III. Aristophanes’ Peace IV. Acting the satyr Conclusion 4 Poetic Failure and Comic Success in Aristophanes’ Peace Introduction I. Openings II. Comic renewal Conclusion 5 Old Comedy and Lyric Poetry Introduction I. The decline of ‘classic lyric’ II. The New Music and Greek tragedy III. Tragic monody Conclusion 6 The Feminine Mistake: Household Economy in Aristophanes’ Thesmophoriazusae Introduction I. Democratizing tragedies II. At home with Euripides III. My two dads IV. Comedy exceeding expectations Conclusion Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index Locorum Index