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According to the text, ancient western comedies were performed at a time associated with wine making, thus linking them to the wine Gods Bacchus and Comus, from which the term comedy derives from. Old comedy tended to focus on broad, raucous, coarse, and sometimes sexual humor, which drives up images of Benny Hill, while new comedy concentrated on more common situations in everyday life. (Martin & Jacobus, 2018, p. 228) The subject matter of comedy is the comicoddball behavior and joy. Comedy has several distinct genres.
Old Comedy revels in broad humor. New Comedy satirizes the manners of a society; its commentary often depends on type and stereotype characters.
Tragicomedy combines both genres to create a third genrethe ambiguity implied by tragedy joined with comedy makes this a particularly flexible genre, suited to a modern world that lives in intense uncertainty. For example, old and new comedies by Plautus and Aristophanes, feature many similar aspects which transcended through their work, such as your fantastical characters and general humor.
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They also have much contrasting between them, like how the narration was presented and the issues raised to overcome. For instance, the plays Pseudolus' and Swaggering Soldier', by Plautus in new comedy, both feature strong and clever slave characters. Pseudolus very much contradicts your average slave at the time, with how he volleys commands like 'Be silent, while I read the letter through.' towards his master.
New comedies usually feature the slaves coming out on top in Greek society, this was done due to Plautus adapting old Greek plays (set in Greece), and using them to depict the inferiority of the Greeks; comically.
Old comedies can relate to this, in plays like Lysistrata', where a strong female protagonist seizes and succeeds a plan of peace. This is fantastical to the likes of women being seen as lesser, or inferior, to men. In fact, the whole play is about all women standing up against war, and withholding sex until the men agree not to wage anymore war. (Martin & Jacobus, 2018, p. 228)
Political messages are another differentiating element between old and new comedies. Old comedies commonly expressed such ideas, with Aristophanes (using humor) criticizing Greek ruling because of their war orientated nature. New comedies on the other hand, kept things to the domestic side of life. This was likely due to stricter emperors at the time, who would not allow any art depicting criticism towards them. The Swaggering Soldier' is a comedy about trying to obtain a damsel. Story lines like these, although pretty clichГ©, were appropriate and relatable to a Roman audience. ("Swaggering soldier (Miles gloriosus), " 2011)
Narrations in old and new comedies were rather contrasting also. Lysistrata' cleverly featured two choruses representing the masses of the division of men and women on the topic. Their songs form an argument between the division, adding extra opinions and filling gaps. New comedies used a much more linear narration technique of having some begin the play with a back story and context (visible in the Swaggering Soldier'). Although this does not feel as clever since the story seems almost irrelevant and unnecessary to how the rest of the play goes. ("Lysistrata, by Aristophanes, " n.d.) In conclusion, the overall structure of the old and new comedies were changed over time, however the comical techniques and content used carried a constant similarity between both old and new comedies.
Ancient Western Comedies. (2020, May 17). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/ancient-western-comedies-essay
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