A Cultural History of Comedy in Antiquity (Hardcover)

Drawing together contributions from scholars in a wide range of fields inside Classics and Drama, this volume traces the development of comedic performance and examines the different characteristics of Greek and Roman comedy. Although the origins of comedy are obscure, this study argues that comedic performances were at the heart of Graeco-Roman culture from around 486 BCE to the mid first century BCE. It explores the range of comedies during this period, which were fictional dramas that engaged with the political and social concerns of ancient society, and also at times with mythology and tragedy. The volume centres largely around the surviving work of Aristophanes and Menander in Athens, and Plautus and Terence in Rome, but authors whose plays survive only in fragments are also discussed. Performances and plays drew on a range of forms, including satire and fantasy, and were designed to entertain and amuse their audiences while also asking them to question issues of morality, privilege and class. Each chapter takes a different theme as its focus: form, theory, praxis, identities, the body, politics and power, laughter and ethics. These eight different approaches to ancient comedy add up to an extensive, synoptic coverage of the subject.

General

Imprint:	Bloomsbury Academic
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Series:	The Cultural Histories Series
Release date:	November 2022
Editors:	Michael Ewans
Series editors:	Andrew McConnell Stott • Eric Weitz
Dimensions:	244 x 169mm (L x W)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	248
ISBN-13:	978-1-350-00071-1
Categories:	Books > Arts & Architecture > Performing arts > General Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Encyclopaedias & reference works > Reference works > General Books > Humanities > History > World history > BCE to 500 CE Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > History > History of specific subjects > Social & cultural history Books > History > World history > BCE to 500 CE
LSN:	1-350-00071-X
Barcode:	9781350000711

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