Aristophanic Humour: Theory and Practice

Description

This volume sets out to discuss a crucial question for ancient comedy – what makes Aristophanes funny? Too often Aristophanes’ humour is taken for granted as merely a tool for the delivery of political and social commentary. But Greek Old Comedy was above all else designed to amuse people, to win the dramatic competition by making the audience laugh the hardest. Any discussion of Aristophanes therefore needs to take into account the ways in which his humour actually works. This question is addressed in two ways. The first half of the volume offers an in-depth discussion of humour theory – a field heretofore largely overlooked by classicists and Aristophanists – examining various theoretical models within the specific context of Aristophanes’ eleven extant plays. In the second half, contributors explore Aristophanic humour more practically, examining how specific linguistic techniques and performative choices affect the reception of humour, and exploring the range of subjects Aristophanes tackles as vectors for his comedy. A focus on performance shapes the narrative, since humour lives or dies on the stage – it is never wholly comprehensible on the page alone. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Dedication Content List of Illustrations Notes on Contributors Preface by Edith Hall 1 Introduction: Dissecting the Frog(s) Peter Swallow Part One Theory 2 Beyond a Joke: Making Humour Theory Work with Aristophanes N.J.Lowe 3 Play as Shared Psychological Register: Paidiá,Laughter and Aristophanes Edith Hall 4 Aristophanic Incongruities Craig Jendza 5 Laughter, or Aristophanes’ Joy in the Face of Death Mario Telò 6 Laughter and Collective Trauma in Aristophanic Comedy Pavlos Sfyroeras 7 The Satirist as Troll? Sociopathic Strains in Aristophanes Ralph M.Rosen 8 The Hilarious Politics of the Supernatural in Aristophanic Comedy Edith Hall 9 Aristotle on Aristophanic Humour Pierre Destrée Part Two Practice 10 Surface and Deep Aristophanic Parody Athina Papachrysostomou 11 A Grammar of Para Prosdokian Dimitrios Kanellakis 12 Laughing against the Μachine Maria Gerolemou 13 No Laughing Matter? The Comic Potential of Madness in Aristophanes Natalia Tsoumpra 14 Sexual Violence and Aristophanic Humour Peter Swallow 15 Aristophanes,Philosopher: The Comedy of Truth in Nietzsche and Freud Adam Lecznar 16 Melancholia and Laughter: Modern Greek Productions of Aristophanes in the Twenty-First Century Magdalena Zira 17 Saving Classics with the Clouds: A Case Study in Adapting Aristophanes David Bullen Notes Bibliography Index