Ancient comedy. Comedy

Ancient Greek comedy is a dramatic genre that developed in Ancient Greece in the 5th - 4th centuries. The ancients themselves distinguished two varieties in it: Dorian (or Sicilian) comedy, devoid of a chorus and having a predominantly everyday and parodic-mythological character (Epicharmus), and Attic comedy, so named after the region of Attica, where it originated and went through a long path of development. In modern literary criticism, partly following ancient philologists, they designate 3 periods of ancient Greek comedy, differing in content and formal characteristics. The fairly conventional chronological boundaries between them are as follows: 1) from 486 (1st performance of the ancient Greek comedy at the Great Dionysia) to 404 (the comedy of the Peloponnesian War) - “ancient” Attic comedy; 2) from 404 to 323 (the year of the death of Alexander the Great) - “middle” Attic comedy; 3) from 323 the stage of the “new” Attic comedy begins, which formally continues until the times of the Roman Empire.

Aristotle associated the origin of ancient Greek comedy with the singers of phallic songs, the performance of which as part of a fertility ritual made it possible to introduce an element of social invective into them. Thus, when decorated at the beginning of the 5th century. In ancient Greek comedy as a genre, the chorus from the very beginning acquired an accusatory character, which was the main feature of ancient Attic comedy. Another source of it - speech episodes with the participation of 2 - 3 actors - goes back to a folklore everyday scene with squabbles and blows that rain down on the defeated side (cf. Russian Petrushka). As a result of combining an accusatory chorus with dialogic episodes, the peculiar structure of ancient Attic comedy arose: an extensive prologue was followed by a parody of a choir of 24 people, who immediately energetically intervened in the action. Then the episodes alternated with choral parts until the struggle between the two opponents reached the peak in a fire - a dispute on some important social topic.

The string of episodies after the agony was intended to visually present the results of the victory or, less often, its illusory nature. The parabass, its oldest choral core, occupied a special place in ancient comedy. For the times of ancient Attic comedy, about 60 names of authors and excerpts from their works are known, not counting Aristophanes, from whom 11 comedies have been preserved in their entirety. Along with him, Cratinus and Eupolis, currently represented only in fragments, were highly regarded in ancient times. As can be seen from the surviving material, the ancient Attic comedy opposed the Peloponnesian War, from which mainly the Attic peasantry suffered, but had no objections to the very essence of the Athenian state system. Its ideal is in the era of glorious marathon fighters (“Horsemen” by Aristophanes); from this point of view, the ancient Attic comedy ridiculed new trends in the spiritual life of the Athenians, religious skepticism and the critical orientation of the teachings of the Sophists, and the dramaturgy of Euripides (“Clouds”, “Frogs” by Aristophanes). Vigilantly noticing the meaning of conflict in public life, the ancient Attic comedy found its resolution only in the world of fairy tales and social utopia, without stopping to bring out of the world the dead great men of the past (“Demes” by Eupolis).

In artistic terms, ancient Attic comedy was distinguished by a specific way of typification: the negative traits it ridiculed were personified in a real-life person (Cleon, Socrates), whose name gave concreteness to the mask of a demagogue or a learned charlatan. The materialization of metaphors is also characteristic of ancient comedy: the duration of a peace treaty corresponded to the taste of the contents in various bottles, the solidity of a poetic word is tested by weighing it on scales, etc. With the decline in the potential of Athenian democracy, ancient Attic comedy also exhausted itself. The middle Attic comedy that replaced it, without abandoning ridicule of individuals, generally lost its socio-political tendentiousness. This immediately affected the significantly reduced role of the choir, and mythological parody and everyday themes began to predominate in the plots, and already within the framework of the environment of Attic comedy, masks emerged that later became the property of the new Attic and then Roman comedy: a young man in love, a stern father, a boastful warrior, pimp, hetaera, cunning slave, cook, etc. In total, St. worked in the field of average comedy. 50 poets, the largest being Antiphanes and Alexis, currently represented only in fragments.

The loss of ancient texts was especially noticeable for the new Attic comedy. Among its approximately 60 authors, ancient criticism especially singled out Menander, Diphilus and Philemon. The works of the last 2 are known for a few fragments or (sometimes) alterations by Roman authors. Only Menander, thanks to two waves of papyrus finds (at the beginning of the 20th century and in the 50s and 60s), became much better known. In the new Attic comedy, stereotypical situations found in middle comedy were preserved; they were based on such motives as the involuntary connection of a girl with some unknown rapist, children planted and eventually found; in the end, all the threads unraveled, and the matter ended with a wedding. Menander introduced deep psychology into standard plots. motivation, awakened sympathy for victims of violence and deception, varied and individualized constant comedy types. The 5-act comedy was firmly established in his work; the intervals between actions were filled with the dance of the choir, which had lost all connection with the content

Comedy is one of the genres of ancient Greek drama. Along with comedy, tragedy and satirical drama developed. This direction takes its origins from folk ritual events that were held in honor of fertility. Such festivals mainly consisted of cheerful songs, jokes, ridicule and obscenities, which, according to ancient Greek society, were needed to praise and please the productive forces of nature. Dispute played an important role in these ritual actions.

Most often, comedy performances were staged during holidays in honor of the Great Dionysius. They were the final stage of each of the 3 days of the festival. It is worth saying that these days were a real “arena” in which all playwrights, comedians and tragedians organized competitions for superiority and skill. It is believed that the first ancient Greek comedic playwright was Epicharmus. His creations subsequently became the basis for the Roman folk comedy Atellana and the works of Plautus.

New stage

The next stage of maturation was the development of ancient Attic comedy. She already had greater expressiveness and had some features and characteristic features. For example:

The basis of the entire action was a thesis. He became the subject of controversy and was proven at the end of the performance;
An important part of the comedy was the parabase, which consisted of the chorus addressing the audience;
All the plots of the stage action were taken from ordinary everyday life and revealed the problems of the public;
In ancient Greek comedy, not only scenes from life were ridiculed, but also real individuals.

The comic performance was always accompanied by fun and laughter. An integral part of any action were pantomime, dancing, and songs. It is worth noting that the choreography used in the comedy was quite frank, even erotic in nature, which was manifested in movements and facial expressions. Special attention in the performance was given to costumes and masks. The stage comedy attire was quite different from the tragic one. The actors' masks were ugly, disfigured and represented different emotional states. The comedy participants did not wear buskins, but used special pads that enlarged their bellies and buttocks to enormous sizes.

Already in the fourth century BC. The ancient Greek comedy genre was quite developed. The new stage of evolution brought more depth and more attention to the inner world of the characters, who found themselves in various funny life situations.

Ancient Attic comedy due to the uniqueness of this genre? one of the most difficult sections of ancient literature to understand.

It is called Attic because of its location in Attica; ancient to distinguish it from later comedy genres: middle comedy (IV century BC) and new Attic comedy (IV-III centuries BC).

The extraordinary originality of ancient Attic comedy is due to the fact that in structure, artistic features and content it was closely connected with ritual games, in which its origins should be sought. Therefore, in order to correctly understand and evaluate the works of this genre, it is necessary to have a good understanding of the question of its origin: the rituals that underlay comedies and were performed during holidays dedicated to the gods of fertility are rooted in ancient times. Translated from Greek, the word “comedy” means “song of komos.” Komos was the name given to processions of people praising God in humorous, sometimes very free songs, interspersed with songs of accusatory content. Sometimes these were farmers who came into the city at night and sang mocking songs near the houses of their offenders? townspeople Thus, the songs of the komos contained an element of social struggle, which turned into comedy, which had in the 5th century. BC. acute political orientation.

“Phallic songs” sung during processions dedicated to the gods of fertility, especially in honor of Dionysus, while carrying a phallus? symbol of fertility, were the source of obscene jokes characteristic of ancient Attic comedy, which, like other violations of everyday norms of behavior, according to the concepts of ancient peoples, had a beneficial effect on the fertility of the land and an increase in the number of livestock. According to the ancients, fertility could also be caused by laughter and struggle? hence the boundless comedy and the presence of agon in comedy? verbal competition? as the main compositional part of the work. In addition to the struggle between hemichoirs, agon can represent a struggle, argument, competition between the characters of the play.

So, komos songs and phallic songs formed the basis for the choral parts of ancient Attic comedy. The dramatic parts of the comedy go back to simple fairground scenes of a farcical nature with squabbles and fights, that is, like the songs of the choir, they are of folklore origin.

One of the varieties of the comedy genre was “Sicilian comedy”, a prominent representative of which was Epicharmus (5th century BC). Only fragments of his comedies have reached us, but they give the idea that these were a series of scenes of everyday life or mythological content. The favorite heroes of the mythological comedies of Epicharmus were Odysseus, portrayed as a clever rogue, and Hercules? not the ascetic and passion-bearer, as he appears to us in the tragedies of Sophocles and Euripides, but a glutton, drunkard and sensualist, as the ancient Attic comedy later portrays him. Epicharmus' comedies responded to modern life. He was also occupied by the philosophical trends of our time, and in this way his works are close to the ancient Attic comedy.

In Athens, comedies began to be staged in the theater later than tragedies (in the 80s of the 5th century - twice a year)? on Dionysia and Lenaia. Usually three comedians performed at the festival, each with one comedy. The actors played in masks depicting laughing or ugly faces, since in the understanding of the ancient Greeks, ugly corresponded to funny. The entire appearance of the actor: his costume, equipped with special props, the way he holds himself and moves around the stage? everything was supposed to make you laugh. The comedy has developed a number of specific characters, which are usually called typical masks: a jester, a learned charlatan, a cowardly dandy, a drunken old woman, a glutton, a warrior, a “barbarian” (a foreigner who distorts the Greek language), a clever slave, etc. The images of these characters will find their further development in the new Attic, then in the Roman comedy and, finally, in the European comedy of the New Age.

The close connection of ancient Attic comedy with ritual games is evidenced by the active role of the choir, which occupies a greater place here than in tragedy. If the tragic choir consisted of 12, then 15 people, then the comic choir? of 24 people, and it was divided into two semi-choirs, which made it possible for a choral agon. The names of most of Aristophanes' comedies ("Horses", "Wasps", "Clouds", "Birds", etc.) indicate the composition of the choir and indicate the leading role of the choir in ancient Attic comedy.

The role of the chorus also determines the structure of the comedy. It opened with a prologue: a monologue by one of the characters or a dialogue that introduced the audience into the situation of the performance. This was followed by a parod (entry to the orchestra) of the choir and its first song, designed to arouse the curiosity of the public, interest in the plot being presented, especially since the choir members were often dressed in fantastic costumes of clouds, wasps, frogs, etc. Further action was divided into episodies (acting scenes) and stasima (choir songs). In a comedy, there were always one or two agons, that is, scenes of an argument between semi-choirs or between characters, sometimes leading to fights. Was there a parabassa somewhere in the middle of the comedy? a direct appeal by the choir to the public denouncing government officials, accusing them of ambition, embezzlement, aggressive military policy (or, on the contrary, cowardice) or presenting the views of the comedy author on state politics, public life, literature, etc. The content of the parabasa, therefore, was not related to the action of the comedy, but in it the connection between the comedy and the accusatory songs of the komos is especially noticeable. Did the comedy end with an exodus? the last song of the choir and his departure from the stage. At the end of the action, a number of scenes were usually played out, reflecting different moments of the fertility holiday: a feast, a wedding (or an erotic scene), running around with torches (or a fire), etc.

The simplest form of folk farce is a comic skit; it often features fairy-tale characters or contains fairy-tale motifs. Folk farce is characterized by grotesqueness, hence the caricature, fantasy, and buffoonery of ancient Attic comedy.

Unity of action, that is, the consistent development of one storyline, was not always observed in ancient Attic comedy.

Ancient Attic comedy was associated both with cult and with modern social life: it is conservative in form and topical in content; Fantasy and crude comedy are combined in it with a discussion of the most serious political and social problems. This inconsistency is the originality of the genre, which changes its character as its connection with ritual weakens. Tendentious, political in content, naturalistic in detail and caricatured in form, ancient Attic comedy was a powerful weapon of social struggle.

Introduction

The interest of directors in ancient drama has always existed. The longer the theater lives, the more natural it is to rethink its origins. Directors of different generations and aesthetic views turn to ancient works. This is what explains the relevance of the topic of the essay.

Greek comedy appears in the 6th century. BC. from the following four elements: a) noisy and cheerful everyday scenes of a parody and caricature nature (especially common among the Dorians); b) dramatized songs of an accusatory nature among the villagers who went to the city on the holidays of Dionysus to ridicule the local inhabitants; c) the orgiastic-sacrificial cult of Dionysus; d) songs in honor of the gods of fertility at Dionysus festivals.

As a result of the combination of these four elements, cheerful, riotous festive processions and carnival-type scenes arise, filled with farcical buffoonery, witticisms and even obscenities, with songs, dances, dressing up as various animals (goats, horses, bears, birds, roosters), love affairs and feast. The very word comedy comes from komos, that is, a festive and cheerful crowd, party (or, in another way, from sote - “village” and os1e~ - “song”).

These unbridled games of free landowners in disguise acquired a very acute socio-political significance in the struggle against the growing rich urban entrepreneurs, who were pulling the country towards new conquests, towards maritime expansion and ruining the small free producer. The ancient Attic comedy was a sharp dramatic pamphlet against the leaders of democracy and the sophists and a preaching of ancient landowning and agricultural ideals.

Classical comedy developed under the strong influence of the growing antagonism between free private small landowners (both the peasantry and the conservative aristocracy), on the one hand, and, on the other, urban commercial, industrial and militant democracy, which increased in the middle of the 5th century, after the Greco-Persian wars.

To reveal the features of the topic in the abstract, it was decided to reveal the following aspects:

Consider the concept, history and features of ancient comedy;

Pay attention to a more detailed study of the ancient comedies of Aristophanes in modern times;

Reveal the features of the “ancient project” of E. Zhuravkin, which operates in the National Reserve “Chersonese Tauride”.

Ancient comedy: concept, history, features

The term "comedy" goes back to the ancient Greek word comoidia, literally meaning "song of komos", i.e. a song by participants in a festive village procession dedicated to glorifying the life-giving forces of nature.

Its other source was an elementary and equally ancient form of folk farce - a comic skit in which a stupid rich man, a rogue, a thief tries to deceive, infringe on the interests of the main character, but always fails, and leaves the stage in disgrace, accompanied by blows of a stick and a friendly chorus of spectators .

One of the most remarkable features of the structure of ancient Attic comedy is the active role of the chorus, the bearer of the main journalistic idea of ​​the play, although often dressed in fancy costumes of birds, animals, clouds, etc. The participation of the choir created a special compositional structure of the ancient comedy, reflecting the main features and origins of the choral (accusatory) and dialogical (farcical) elements.

Aristophanes is the only representative of ancient comedy whose plays have come down to us (namely 11 plays, but he wrote more than 40 plays). The heyday of his work coincides with the time of the Peloponnesian War. Her hardships fell heavily on the people of Attica, who were going bankrupt. Therefore, the theme of condemnation of war resounded with force in the works of Aristophanes (the comedy “Peace”, “Acharnians”, “Lysistrata”) Kuhn N. Myths and legends of ancient Greece. Edited by E. Rodina. - M.: Olma-MediaGroup, 2011, p.52. Aristophanes played a significant role in the development of satire, laying down its basic techniques, widely using the grotesque, caricature, and fantasy.

The comedy of Aristophanes, this “pronounced tendentious poet,” still amazes with the fearlessness of its satire.

Menander wrote more than 199 comedies, but according to the testimony of ancient authors, he won dramatic competitions only 8 times. Menander is practically the only representative of the new Attic comedy whose works have reached us. He gained fame as a great playwright for his excellent mastery of the art of psychological characterization, allowing him to create individualized human characters, giving traditional masks truly human traits, to diversify and deepen the conventional types of the theater of masks of Corneille Pierre. Discussions on the usefulness and parts of a dramatic work. Translation by N. P. Kozlova // Pierre Corneille. Plays. - M.: BEK, 2010, P.41..

Menander was in great demand in Antiquity; collections of his sayings, also known in Ancient Rus', were very widely distributed.

Menander's comedy had a great influence on the subsequent development of world drama.

Terence (195-159 BC) created 6 comedies, and all of them have reached us. Brief instructions to them have also arrived, from which we learn about the time of production of the comedies and their performers.

Terence's first comedy, “The Andriyanka,” was staged in 166, the second, “The Mother-in-Law,” was staged for the first time in 165, but the performance was disrupted because In the middle of the play, the audience ran away to watch the fist fighters and tightrope walkers. Terence staged the comedy for the second time in 160, but after the first act the audience rushed to watch the gladiator games. In the same 160, he still managed to stage the comedy “Mother-in-Law” Ibid., p.43..

Terence's third comedy, The Self-Tormentor, was staged in 163, the fourth, The Eunuch, in 161, the fifth, Phormion, also in 161, and the sixth comedy, The Brothers, in 160.

Terence raises issues of family, everyday life, education in his plays, and promotes the ideas of humanity and respect for women. Characteristic conflicts in Terence's comedies are conflicts between fathers and children, between husband and wife.

Terence's heroes speak in elegant literary language. There are no rude colloquial expressions in their speech, almost no archaisms, but it also has that richness that is characteristic of the language of Plavtov’s characters.

Terence was highly regarded in the 18th century. Theorists of the so-called “tearful comedy”, they considered him a kind of founder of this genre.

Plautus is the most prominent Roman comedian (mid-3rd century - 184 BC). There is no reliable information about his life. About 130 comedies are attributed to Plautus, but in the 1st century. BC. the famous Roman scholar and literary connoisseur Varro identified 21 comedies from this number, considering them truly Plavtian, and these comedies have come down to us. The most popular of them are “Treasure” (or “Pot”), “Kurkulion” (or “Tricks of the Parasite”), “Menechmas” (or “Twins”), “Boastful Warrior”, “Pseudolus” (or “Trickster Slave” ), "Prisoners" and "Amphitryon" Corneille Pierre. Discussions on the usefulness and parts of a dramatic work. Translation by N. P. Kozlova // Pierre Corneille. Plays. - M.: BEK, 2010, P.49..

Plautus loved to portray dexterous, intelligent, energetic slaves who usually help out their far from intelligent and passive masters. The comedies of Plautus were very popular among the plebeian masses, captivating with their wit, dynamism, and extraordinary richness of language.

28. Ancient Greek comedy.

Comedy, the second branch of Greek drama, received official recognition in Athens much later than tragedy. Initially, comedy was part of the Dionysus festivals only as a folk ritual game, and the state did not take upon itself its organization. The first stages of the formation of Attic comedy as a literary genre were unknown to ancient researchers; they knew it already in the established form that it had in the second half of the 5th century. The comedy of this time is called (in contrast to its later forms) ancient comedy. The “ancient” Attic comedy is something extremely unique. Archaic and crude games of fertility festivals are intricately intertwined in it with the formulation of the most complex social and cultural problems facing Greek society. Athenian democracy raised carnivalesque license to the level of serious social criticism, while maintaining the external forms of ritual play intact. Aristotle (Poetics, ch. 4) traces the beginning of comedy to “the originators of phallic songs, which to this day remain in custom in many communities.” “Phallic songs” are songs performed in processions in honor of the gods of fertility, especially in honor of Dionysus, while carrying the phallus as a symbol of fertility. During such processions, mocking mimic scenes were played out, jokes and swear words were made at the address of individual citizens, these are the very songs from which satirical and accusatory literary iambic at one time developed. All these games and songs were considered to contribute to the main goal of the ritual - to ensure the victory of the productive forces of life: laughter and foul language were seen as a life-creating force, and the usual ideas of decency were removed at this time. Aristotle's indication of the connection between comedy and phallic songs is fully confirmed by consideration of the constituent elements of “ancient” Attic comedy. The term "comedy" (Komoidia) means "song of the komos". Komos is a “gang of revelers” who make a procession after a feast and sing songs of mocking or laudatory, and sometimes even love, content. Komos took place both in religious rituals and in everyday life. In ancient Greek life, komos sometimes served as a means of popular protest against any oppression, turning into a kind of demonstration. They say that Attic peasants, being offended by one of the townspeople, went at night in a gang to the city to the house of the offender and subjected him to public reproach. In comedy, the element of komos is represented by a chorus of mummers, sometimes dressed in very fantastic costumes. Often, for example, animal masquerade occurs. “Goats”, “Wasps”, “Birds”, “Frogs” - all these titles of ancient comedies were given to them based on the costume of the choir. The chorus glorifies, but most often denounces, and its ridicule, directed against individuals, usually has no connection with the comedic action. The songs of Komos were firmly established in Attic folklore, regardless of the religion of Dionysus, but they were also part of the ritual of Dionysus festivals. Sicilian comedy. Epicharmus. The literary predecessor of the “ancient” Attic comedy was the Sicilian comedy, the most outstanding representative of which was Epicharmus. The activity of this poet took place in Syracuse at the end of the 6th and in the first half of the 5th century. Aristotle attributes to him a large role in the history of the development of comedy, pointing out that Epicharmus was the first to create comic plays with a holistic and complete action. A significant difference between Sicilian comedy and Attic comedy is that Epicharmus does not use (or almost does not use) a choir. Ancient philologists preferred to call his plays not “comedies”, but “dramas”, since they lacked the element of “komos”. His plays were small in size, with an average of about 400 verses per comedy. Ancient Attic Comedy According to Aristotle, the art of constructing comic action, developed in Sicily, had a certain influence on the development of comedy in Athens. Nevertheless

Fundamental to the general direction of the “ancient” Attic comedy are precisely those moments whose absence in Epicharmus we have just noted. Attic comedy uses typical masks (“boastful warrior”, “scientific charlatan”, “clown”, “drunken old woman”, etc.); among the works of Athenian comedic poets there are plays with a parody-mythological plot, but neither constitutes the faces of Attic comedy. Its object is not the mythological past, but living modernity, current, sometimes even topical, issues of political and cultural life. “Ancient” comedy is primarily a political and accusatory comedy, transforming folklore “mocking” songs and games into a weapon of political satire and ideological criticism. Another distinctive feature of “ancient” comedy, which attracted attention already in later antiquity, is complete freedom of personal mockery of individual citizens with open naming of their names. The ridiculed person was either directly brought onto the stage as a comic character, or became the subject of caustic, sometimes very rude, jokes and hints made by the choir and comedy actors. For example, in the comedies of Aristophanes, such persons as the leader of radical democracy Cleon, Socrates, and Euripides are brought onto the stage. More than once attempts were made to limit this comedic license, but throughout the 5th century. they remained unsuccessful. The method of ridiculing public order and individual citizens remains caricature. “Ancient” comedy usually does not individualize its characters, but creates generalized caricature images, also using typical masks of folklore and Sicilian comedy. This occurs even when the characters are living contemporaries; Thus, the image of Socrates in Aristophanes to a very small extent recreates the personality of Socrates, but is mainly a parodic sketch of a philosopher (“sophist”) in general with the addition of typical features of the mask of a “scientific charlatan.” The plot of the comedy is mostly fantastic in nature. Most often, some unrealizable project of changing existing social relations is carried out. Satire takes on the form of utopia. The very improbability of the action creates a special comic effect, which is further enhanced by the frequent disruption of stage illusion in the form of actors addressing the audience. Combining komos with cartoon scenes within a simple but still coherent plot, the “ancient” comedy has a very unique symmetrical division associated with the ancient structure of komos songs. The comic choir consisted of 24 people, i.e. twice as large as the tragedy choir of pre-Sophocles' times. It split into two semi-choirs, sometimes warring with each other. In the past, these were two holiday “gangs” “competing” with each other; in literary comedy, where the “competition” usually falls on the actors, what remains of the duality of the choir is the external form, the alternating performance of songs by separate half-choirs in strictly symmetrical correspondence. The most important part of the choir is the so-called parabass, performed in the middle of the comedy. It usually does not stand in any what connection with the action of the play; the chorus says goodbye to the actors and addresses directly the audience. The parabass consists of two main parts. The first, pronounced by the leader of the entire chorus, is an appeal to the audience on behalf of the poet, who here settles scores with his rivals and asks for favorable attention to the play. At the same time, the choir walks in front of the audience in a marching rhythm (“parabassa” in the proper sense of the word). The second part, the choir song, has a strophic character and consists of four parts: the lyrical ode (“song”) of the first half-choir is followed by a recitative epirrema (“saying”) of the leader of this semi-choir in a dance trocheic rhythm; in strict metrical accordance with the ode and epirrhema, the antoda of the second hemichoria and the antepirrema of its leader are then located. The principle of “epyrrematic” composition, i.e. pairwise alternation of odes and epirrhemes,

permeates other parts of the comedy. This includes, first of all, the “competition” scene, the agon, in which the ideological side of the play is often concentrated. Agon in most cases has a strictly canonical construction. Two characters “compete” with each other, and their dispute consists of two parts; in the first, the leading role belongs to the side that will be defeated in the competition, in the second - to the winner; both parts open symmetrically with choral odes in metrical correspondence and an invitation to begin or continue the competition. There are, however, scenes of “competition” that deviate from this type. The following structure can be considered typical for “ancient” comedy. The prologue provides an exposition of the play and outlines the hero's fantastic project. This is followed by a parod (introduction) by the choir, a live stage, often accompanied by a scrum, in which the actors also participate. After the agon, the goal is usually achieved. Then the parabasa is given. The second half of the comedy is characterized by farce-type scenes in which the good consequences of the project are depicted and various annoying aliens who disturb this bliss are chased away. The choir here no longer takes part in the action and only borders the scenes with their songs; Following them, an epirrhematically constructed part is often found, usually unfortunately called the “second parabassa”. The play ends with a procession of komos. The typical structure allows for various deviations, variations, and rearrangements of individual parts, but the fifth-century comedies known to us, one way or another, gravitate toward it. In this structure, some aspects seem artificial. There is every reason to think that the original place of the parabassa was the beginning of the play, and not its middle. This suggests that at an earlier stage the comedy was opened by the entrance of the chorus, as was the case in the early stages of tragedy. The development of coherent action and the strengthening of the actor's parts led to the creation of a prologue spoken by the actors and the relegation of the parabass to the middle of the play. When and how the structure we examined was created is unknown; we find it already in its finished form and observe only its destruction, a further weakening of the role of the chorus in comedy. Aristophanes Among the numerous comedic poets of the second half of the 5th century. ancient criticism singled out three as the most outstanding representatives of “ancient” comedy. These are Cratinus, Eupolis and Aristophanes. The first two are known to us only from fragments. In Cratinus, the ancients noted the harshness and frankness of ridicule and the richness of comedic invention, in Eupolis - the art of sequential plotting and the grace of wit. From Aristophanes, eleven plays (out of 44) have been preserved in their entirety, which give us the opportunity to get an idea of ​​the general nature of the entire genre of “ancient” comedy. Aristophanes' literary activity took place between 427 and 388. Aristophanes' work completed one of the most brilliant periods in the history of Greek culture. He delivers a powerful, bold and truthful, often profound satire on the political and cultural state of Athens during a period of crisis of democracy and the coming decline of the polis. The most diverse strata of society are reflected in the distorting mirror of his comedy. Since Aristophanes is for us the only representative of the genre of “ancient” comedy, it is difficult for us to assess the degree of his originality and determine what he owes to his predecessors in the interpretation of plots and masks, but he always shines with an inexhaustible supply of wit and the brightness of lyrical talent. With the simplest techniques he achieves the most acute comic effects, although many of these techniques, constantly reminding us that comedy arose from “phallic” games and songs, may have seemed too crude and primitive in later times. Middle Comedy The elimination of the political aspect and the weakening of the role of the chorus led to the fact that Attic comedy began to appear in the 4th century. along the paths outlined by Epicharmus. Ancient scholars called it “average” comedy. The comedy production of this time is very large. The ancients numbered 57 authors, from

of which the most famous were Antiphanes and Alexis, and 607 plays of “average” comedy, but none of them has survived in full. Only a large number of titles and a number of fragments have reached us. This material allows us to conclude that in the “average” comedy, parody-mythological themes occupied a large place, and not only the myths themselves were parodied, but also the tragedies in which these myths were developed. The most popular tragic writer at this time was Euripides, and his tragedies were most often parodied (for example, Medea, The Bacchae). Another category of titles indicates everyday themes and the development of typical masks: “Painter”, “Flutist”, “Poetess”, “Doctor”, “Parasite”, etc. The heroes of the comedy are often foreigners: “Lydian”, “Beotian” . The rudeness of ridicule characteristic of “ancient” comedy was softened here. This does not mean, however, that living contemporaries have ceased to be featured in comedy; the old custom has been preserved, but only the figures depicted belong to a different environment, to a different sphere of urban “celebrities”. These are hetaeras, spendthrifts, and cooks. Food and love, the original motives of carnival ritual games, continue to be characteristic of the “average” comedy, but only in a new design, closer to everyday life. By reducing the carnival disorder and the buffoonish, “clown” moment, a more strict and complete dramatic action grew, often based on a love affair. “Middle” comedy constitutes a transitional stage to the “new” Attic comedy, comedy of characters and comedy of intrigue, which developed at the end of the 4th century, to the beginning of the Hellenistic period. NEW ATTIC COMEDY The most significant contribution of the Hellenistic era to world literature is the so-called “new” comedy, the last literary genre created in Athens and completing the development that comedy received in the 4th century. The term “new” comedy is an ancient one; it was created in order to note the profound differences between the type of comedy established by the time of Alexander the Great and his successors, and the “ancient” comedy of the heyday of Athenian democracy; in between them lay the “middle” comedy of the 4th century. For a comedy of the 4th century. two lines were characteristic: parody-mythological and everyday; this latter prevailed at the beginning of the Hellenistic period. On the other hand, the path to everyday drama was outlined in the tragedy of Euripides. From the fusion of these two lines, a “new” comedy was created. The fantastic elements and political topicality characteristic of the “ancient” comedy are now absent. The “new” comedy reacts to political events occasionally and in passing. In accordance with the interest in private life typical of Hellenistic society, she develops themes of love and family relationships. Personal mockery of fellow citizens has also been reduced to a minimum. Aristophanes' plays, inextricably linked to the local situation and the current moment, could only be understood in Athens and quickly became outdated; The “new” comedy was accessible to a much wider circle of viewers and subsequently came to the Roman stage in Latin translations and adaptations. Ancient literary theory now defines comedy as a “reproduction of life,” and the term “life” means everyday life, private life in contrast to both the political and the fantastic. comedy received the following definition: it is “an image of an episode from private life not associated with danger.” The difference between comedy and tragedy is established by the composition of the characters; the characters of the tragedy are gods, heroes, kings, generals, drama with everyday characters - comedy. The element of the funny that is familiar in comedy is, from this point of view, already derivative, inferential, arising from the attitude towards everyday life as something base; it may even fade into the background completely, giving way to a touching moment. So, the “new” comedy is an everyday drama, according to some bourgeois literary critics, even a “realistic” drama. Deepening into private life here marks a departure from problems more

wide coverage. Not only politics is eliminated from the thematic circle, but along with it the world of work and knowledge, even literary questions that were so often debated by Aristophanes, are also eliminated. The field of poetic vision of the “new” comedy is family conflicts in a wealthy slave-owning environment; even in this narrow area, comedy operates only on a small range of motives and situations and a limited number of typical figures, bearers of certain masks. Both situations and figures reflect actual life, but the materials of modern life are selected and arranged according to traditional patterns without a truly realistic perception of life. The most important elements of the structure of the “new” comedy remain associated with old folklore forms, although they receive new meaning. The monotony of plots also corresponds to stable types. Each character is assigned to a certain typical category, which the viewer can immediately identify by looking at the actor’s mask. This is, firstly, a “young man”, in love and helpless, suffering from the pangs of love and lack of money. A rich rival of a young man often turns out to be a braggart “in o and n”, boasting of his imaginary victories in battles and in love, rude, gullible, but generally good-natured. The object of universal hatred is the “pimp”, greedy, heartless and suspicious; The comedy does not spare this figure caricatures, and he invariably comes out of the play fooled. The female parallel to him is the “pimp,” an old drunkard who sells her own or adopted daughter and teaches her all the tricks of a hetaera. The antagonists of the young man also include the thrifty and grumpy “old man”, the father of the young man, who, however, in some plays is not averse to chasing a beauty and becoming his son’s rival. It is interesting that only “young men” and “old men” perform in comedy, and not middle-aged people; This is where the tradition of the carnival game comes into play, the struggle between “young” and “old”, which always ends in the victory of youth. A very common figure is the resourceful “slave”, the youth’s assistant; sometimes he is contrasted with an honest slave-simple among the antagonists. The heroine also has a lively “maid” (the future “soubrette” of Western European comedy) or an old, faithful “nurse”. Two traditional masks, finally, remind us of the meaning of “food” in Greek comedy: the gluttonous “parasite” with dog-like habits, the flattering companion of a young man or warrior, not inferior to a slave in dexterity and resourcefulness, and then the “cook”, an eloquent and thieving priest of his high art, the offspring of the “scientific charlatan” mask. This review of typical plots and masks shows the thematic limitations of the "new" comedy. The originality of the “new” comedy is not in the plot and masks, which are largely traditional, but in the way they are developed. The literary achievement here is, firstly, the skillful management of intrigue. This moment, introduced by Euripides into tragedy, was successfully used by comedic authors. As in Euripides, chance plays a huge role in the course of action; The very scheme of “recognition” is based on it. The second feature that distinguishes the “new” comedy is a more in-depth development of characters. The typical mass differentiates and acquires numerous varieties; the characters receive an individually defined appearance. At the same time, some writers develop comedy primarily along the lines of intrigue, while others focus on characters. Further, a relaxed dialogue is created, brisk and witty, free from the crude jokes and obscenities that characterized the early stages of comedy. Finally, and this is the considerable significance of the “new” comedy, its best representatives are bearers of humane and philanthropic ideas. Humane views on family, marriage and education, on women and slaves, put forward at one time by the sophists and artistically embodied in the images of the tragedy of Euripides, are now further developed in Hellenistic philosophy and penetrate into the depiction of everyday life. This leads to new understandings of typical figures. Next to the grumpy "wife"

images appear of a downtrodden wife suffering from the oppression of her husband, or of a wife as a faithful and loving friend; the grumpy “old man” - the father - is joined by a liberal old man, condescendingly looking at the hobbies of young people; The “young man” turns out to be not only a young reveler, but also a bearer of a humane view of the family. Even a “hetaera” rejected from official society evokes a new attitude towards herself; Representatives of this profession are endowed with the traits of selflessness and spiritual nobility. Another consequence of the new ideological attitude was the weakening of the directly comic element; comedy developed towards the touching. The most significant representative of the “new” Attic comedy, Menander (about 342 - 292), shows great closeness to the advanced trends of Hellenistic philosophical thought. Two senior contemporaries of Menander, Philemon (about 361 - 263) and Diphilus (born about 350), were also ranked among the outstanding masters of this genre. Currently, there are more or less significant excerpts from several works of Menander. The art of “new” comedy had a very great impact on Western European drama, but this impact was not direct. The monuments of the “new” comedy shared the common fate of Hellenistic literature. Menander's works lasted longer than others, but they were also lost in the early Byzantine era. Greek everyday drama has survived through the centuries only in the form that Roman poets gave it. And we will again have to meet with neo-Attic comedy and its luminaries when considering Roman drama. Analysis of Aristophanes' comedy “Frogs. This comedy is interesting as an expression of the literary views of Aristophanes. It is directed, of course, against Euripides, portrayed as a sentimental, effeminate and anti-patriotic poet, in defense of Aeschylus, a poet of high and heroic morality, a serious and deep and, moreover, staunch patriot. The comedy is interesting, further, for its acute anti-mythological tendency. The god of the theater - Dionysus, stupid, cowardly and pathetic, descends together with his slave into the underworld. And since it was difficult for the slave to carry his master’s luggage, they ask the dead man who happened to be carried here to help them with this. The dead man demands a high price. Poor Dionysus is forced to refuse. Although Dionysus put on a lion's skin and picked up a club like Hercules in order to inspire confidence in himself, this makes it even funnier. After scenes of an everyday and parodic nature with clown disguises, a competition is arranged between the deceased Aeschylus and Euripides in order to bring to the surface of the earth the tragic poet, who is now missing in Athens after the death of all the great tragedians. A huge agon of comedy, occupying its entire half, is dedicated to this competition between Aeschylus and Euripides. Aeschylus and Euripides perform monody from their tragedies, each with its own characteristic features of content and style. The verses of both tragedians are weighed on the scales, with the solid heavy verses of Aeschylus turning out to be more weighty, and the cup with the light verses of Euripides jumping up. After this, Dionysus returns Aeschylus, as a winner, to earth to create new tragedies. Aristophanes' commitment to the strict forms of poetry, disgust from his contemporary and corrupted urban culture, parodic depiction of Dionysus and the entire underworld, anti-mythological orientation and virtuoso mastery of the style of Euripides and the strict manner of Aeschylus are striking in this comedy. The comedy received its name from the choir of frogs performing in it. The struggle between Aeschylus and Euripides depicted here certainly has a political character. Aristophanes justifies the previous strong political system and condemns the contemporary rich, but very unstable democracy with its pathetic, from his point of view, rationalism and enlightenment, with its refined but empty passions and declamation. The parody in this comedy does not diminish at all. Literary critical goals do not weaken the traditional,

farcical style of comedy with constant buffoonery, fights and alteration of an ancient ritual in a comedic way. Even the main storyline of the comedy - the descent of Dionysus into the underworld - is nothing more than a parody of the well-known and ancient myth about the descent of Hercules into the underworld and the bringing of Cerberus from there to the surface of the earth. In addition to the choir of frogs in the comedy there is a choir of so-called mystics, that is, initiates into the Eleusinian mysteries; but he also acts in the context of farcical buffoonery. The famous judge of the underworld, Eak, is turned into a pugnacious servant of the underground gods. And the poems of Aeschylus and Euripides are weighed on scales in the manner of ancient fetishism. The traditional comedy motifs of a feast and the recognition of a new deity are also given (in this case, the election of Aeschylus as king of tragedy). With all this, the large abundance of purely everyday buffoonery and the introduction of amusing but meaningless divertissements with flutes, citharas and rattles, as well as the naturalistic depiction of characters (Dionysus and his slave) indicate the birth of a new style of comedy, not as strictly ideological and anti-naturalistic as in more early comedies of Aristophanes.