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ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

The Good, the Bad, and the Grouch: A Comparison of Characterization in Menander and the Ancient Philosophers

McDonald, Matthew William, McDonald
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1461335881

Abstract Details

2016, Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ohio University, Classics.
The comedic playwright Menander is known for his unique style of characterization. His genre of New Comedy is distinct in its way of using common stock characters, but Menander himself enriched this generic trope through variation of these stock types. Techniques of characterization are naturally found in all genres of literature, but New Comedy places a unique emphasis on character. Similarly, ancient ethical philosophy and rhetoric focuses on human character. The philosophers Aristotle, Theophrastus, and Plato each have notable works that try to answer ethical questions about character and try to depict and explain human behaviors through character elements. This thesis analyzes Menander's method of characterization and compares his style to the techniques of characterization used by Aristotle, Theophrastus, and Plato. The comparison is utilized to answer what aspects of characterization is similar between these two distinct genres and which elements of character these writers saw as important.
William Owens (Advisor)
108 p.
Ancient Languages; Classical Studies; Literature; Philosophy; Theater History
character; characterization; Menander; Aristotle; Plato; Theophrastus; Republic; Nicomachean Ethics; Rhetoric; Characters; Dyskolos; Samia; New Comedy; Greek; drama

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • McDonald, McDonald, M. W. (2016). The Good, the Bad, and the Grouch: A Comparison of Characterization in Menander and the Ancient Philosophers [Undergraduate thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1461335881

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • McDonald, McDonald, Matthew. The Good, the Bad, and the Grouch: A Comparison of Characterization in Menander and the Ancient Philosophers. 2016. Ohio University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1461335881.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • McDonald, McDonald, Matthew. "The Good, the Bad, and the Grouch: A Comparison of Characterization in Menander and the Ancient Philosophers." Undergraduate thesis, Ohio University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1461335881

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ouhonors1461335881
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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University Honors Tutorial College and OhioLINK.