Old Comedy
Proper noun
Meaning
Old Comedy
The first period of the Ancient Greek comedy, according to the canonical division by the Alexandrian grammarians, often involving political commentary and sexual innuendo, and typified by Aristophanes.
Related terms
Examples
Aristophanes and the Definition of Comedy M.S.Silk, Oxford University Press 2002, page 418 * Inclusive comedy: Old Comedy provided a variety of entertainments for a diverse audience.
Influences Greek Old Comedy In order to understand the Greek New Comedy of Menander and its similarities to Plautus, it is necessary to discuss, in juxtaposition with it, the days of Greek Old Comedy and its evolution into New Comedy.
It was conventional in Old Comedy for the Chorus to speak on behalf of the author during an address called the ' parabasis ' and thus some biographical facts can be found there.
However, Old Comedy was in fact a complex and sophisticated dramatic form incorporating many approaches to humour and entertainment.
Perhaps Socrates attracted a lot of attention in Old Comedy because his face lent itself easily to caricature by mask-makers.