Robson, James
(2017).
| DOI (Digital Object Identifier) Link: | https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139871402.003 |
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| Google Scholar: | Look up in Google Scholar |
Abstract
This chapter explores the idea of Old Comedy as popular culture, by examining (i) the size, make-up and seating arrangements of the original audience, (ii) the ways Aristophanes’ plays interact with different social groups within this audience, and (iii) Aristophanes’ distinction makes between ‘good’, sophisticated comedy and ‘bad’, phortikos (‘vulgar’) comedy. The conclusion is that Old Comedy displays both popular and elite – inclusive and exclusive – tendencies. That is, while Aristophanes acknowledges and caters for a broad audience, his comedies are nevertheless geared towards various ‘elite’ in-groups: the ‘auditorium elite’ (those who, owing to their civic roles, occupy the front rows of the theatre), the ‘social elite’ (the rich and powerful), and the ‘cultural elite’ (those who identify as sophisticated spectators).
| Item Type: | Book Section |
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| Copyright Holders: | 2017 Cambridge University Press |
| ISBN: | 1-107-07489-4, 978-1-107-07489-7 |
| Keywords: | Aristophanes; audience; elite; Greek theatre; Old Comedy; phortikos; poor; popular; rich; Roselli |
| Academic Unit/School: | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) > Arts and Humanities > Classical Studies Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) > Arts and Humanities Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) |
| Related URLs: | |
| Item ID: | 50613 |
| Depositing User: | James Robson |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Aug 2017 14:00 |
| Last Modified: | 06 Aug 2019 08:50 |
| URI: | http://oro.open.ac.uk/id/eprint/50613 |
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