Thursday, March 17, 2016

The role of the chorus

        The Greeks only had three actors to work with when writing their plays and it was difficult for each character to get his point across in so few words. The way that both tragedians and comedians solved this problem was through a chorus with many actors. The chorus added their opinions into the play and stated things to the audience that may have been missed. In the story Lysistrata, the chorus has a main roll backing both the opinions of the men and women.

        This play utilizes the chorus in the fight between the sexes. There is a chorus for the men and for the women. Each side is able to argue their point through the songs of the chorus. For example, on page 36 the first chorus of men represents all of the men of Greece when they exclaim "What a catastrophe- MATRIARCHY! They've brought Athene's statue to heel." The chorus is also able to help the audience relate to other past events and give context on how severe the issue at hand is. The chorus of men relates the problem with the women to a battle between the Athenians and the Spartans many years ago. This shows the audience how difficult the women are to deal with and that they are doing a great job in angering their men. The chorus of women has a similar effect in that they can compel the audience to join the feminist movement . They condemn men by shouting out "Fanned into slag by hoary typhoons. By flatulent, nasty, gusty baboons" (page 41). Their deep disgust of men and their sing-song rhymes boost the spirits of the audience. Having two conflicting choruses in a comedy like this forces the viewers of the play to take a side on the issue.

1 comment:

  1. The chorus is a very important aspect of Greek plays, but it's cool how you noted the use it serves in the play. It's true that the chorus plays for the both the males and females points of view, and engages the audience to pick a side, but also expresses the opinions of the actors themselves. This makes the chorus a useful bridge between the audience and play for interaction.

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