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Euripidean Paracomedy

Jendza, Craig Timothy
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1385998375

Abstract Details

2013, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Greek and Latin.
This dissertation explores the relationships between the dramatic genres of Greek comedy, tragedy and satyr drama in the 5th century BCE. I propose that Athenian tragedians had the freedom to appropriate elements and tropes drawn from comedy into their plays, a process that I call paracomedy. While most scholars do not admit the possibility of paracomedy, I suggest that frequent examples of paracomedy exist in all three major tragedians (Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides), and I provide numerous examples of paratragedy and paracomedy between Euripides and Aristophanes. In Chapter 1, I demonstrate the extent of paracomedy in tragedy, explore the theoretical background behind these appropriations of genre, and provide a methodology for determining paracomedy based on distinctive correspondences, the priority of the comedic element, and the motivation for adopting features from outside the genre. In Chapter 2, I explore the rivalry between Euripides and Aristophanes concerning plots involving "sword-bearing" and "razor-bearing men", arguing that Aristophanes parodied the "sword-bearing men" escape plot in Euripides’ Helen by staging a "razor-bearing man" escape plot in Thesmophoriazusae, and that Euripides responded to this parody by increasing the amount of "sword-bearing men" in his subsequent play Orestes. In Chapter 3, I suggest that the parodos to Euripides’ Orestes is modeled on the parodos of Aristophanes’ Peace, due to the adoption of the comedic element "varying levels of choral volume in a madness scene". Furthermore, I analyze the evidence from satyr drama, ultimately proposing the possibility of a two-pronged response to Aristophanes in 408 BCE in Euripides’ Orestes and Cyclops. In Chapter 4, I analyze the tragedic and comedic traditions of hostage scenes developing from Euripides’ Telephus, arguing that in Thesmophoriazusae, Aristophanes innovated the addition of an incineration plot to the hostage scene tradition, which Euripides subsequently adopted into the hostage scene at the conclusion of Orestes. In Chapter 5, I treat the paratragedic and paracomedic use of costume dealing with rags and cross-dressing, proposing a back-and-forth rivalry between Aristophanes’ Acharnians, Euripides’ Helen, Aristophanes’ Thesmophoriazusae, and Euripides’ Bacchae.
Tom Hawkins (Advisor)
Fritz Graf (Committee Member)
Dana Munteanu (Committee Member)
203 p.
Classical Studies
Euripides; Aristophanes; Greek Tragedy; Greek Comedy; Intertextuality; Paracomedy; Paratragedy; Satyr Drama; Satyr Play; Thesmophoriazusae; Acharnians; Helen; Orestes; Bacchae;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Jendza, C. T. (2013). Euripidean Paracomedy [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1385998375

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Jendza, Craig. Euripidean Paracomedy. 2013. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1385998375.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Jendza, Craig. "Euripidean Paracomedy." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1385998375

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1385998375
793
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.