Muthos: Aristotle's Concept of Narrative and the Fragments of Old Comedy

Description

This book presents a new analysis of Aristotle’s concept of narrative in the Poetics. Arguing that the term muthos in the Poetics cannot be understood as equivalent to “plot,” Marsh shows that the muthos concept is instead a useful tool for grouping larger sets of narratives based on specific criteria. The results of this muthos analysis indicate that in the classical period, neither formal structure nor the structure of events was determined by theatrical genre, but by the specific combination of tone and plot type. Marsh concludes that the category of genre itself may be less helpful for classifying these plays than is typically assumed. Cover Title page Copyright Table of contents Body Tables and Figures Tables 1 Parabasis placement in Aristophanes 2 Muthos events in Aristophanes Figures 1 Muthos placement and portion in Aristophanes Acknowledgements Introduction I. Muthos: The Plot Within Summary 1. Beginning After the Start, Finishing Before the End 2. μέγεθος as Relative Size, μῆκος as Absolute Size 3. Muthos Size 4. Muthos Composition 5. What is a Muthos Part? II. The Aristophanic Muthos Summary 1. The Muthos and Narratology Sjuzet Genette’ s récit Ricoeur’ s muthos Propp’ s functions Frye’ s muthoi 2. Guidelines for Outlining the Muthos 3. The Muthos in Aristophanes 4. Wine-Flask 5. Beasts and Fishes 6. Spongers 7. Old Age 8. Demes 9. Frogments Revisited III. The Muthos in Mythological Old Comedy Summary 1. Mythological Comedy and the Parabasis 2. Mythological Comedy and the Agon 3. Muthos Characteristics of Mythological Comedy 4. The Muthos and Epirrhematic Structures 5. Wealth-Gods 6. Dionysalexander 7. Nemesis 8. Odysseus and Company IV. Muthos and the Definition of Genre Summary 1. The Formal Structure of Mythological Old Comedy 2. The Muthos in Tragedy and the Satyr Play Aeschylus Persians Seven Against Thebes Suppliants Prometheus Bound Agamemnon Libation bearers Eumenides Sophocles Ajax Electra Oedipus Tyrannus Antigone Women of Trachis Philoctetes Oedipus at Colonus Euripides Cyclops Alcestis Medea Children of Heracles Hippolytus Andromache Hecuba Suppliant Women Electra Heracles Trojan Women Iphigenia in Tauris Ion Helen Phoenician Women Orestes Bacchae Iphigenia at Aulis Rhesus 3. Comparing the Muthos Across Genres Conclusion Bibliography Indices