parabasis

Noun

Meaning

parabasis (plural parabases)

(historical, Ancient Greece) The part of an Ancient Greek comedy in which the actors leave the stage and the chorus addresses the audience directly.

Examples

Aristophanes himself refers to the parabasis proper only as 'anapests'. Source: Internet

Aristophanes: Wasps Dougles MacDowell, Oxford University Press 1978, page 261 The selection of elements can vary from play to play and it varies considerably within plays between first and second parabasis. Source: Internet

The Wasps is thought to offer the best example of a conventional approach Aristophanes:Wasps Douglas M.MacDowell, Oxford University Press 1978, note 1283 page 298 and the elements of a parabasis can be identified and located in that play as follows. Source: Internet

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. Source: Internet

Parabasis The parabasis is an address to the audience by the chorus or chorus leader while the actors leave or have left the stage. Source: Internet

The elements of a parabasis have been defined and named by scholars but it is probable that Aristophanes' own understanding was less formal. Source: Internet

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