SEMINAR PROFILE

H11 -
Athenian Tragedy and Comedy

We will look at the Greek origins of both the tragic and the comic theater by examining two plays written at nearly the same time, both of which star the god Dionysus, Euripides' "Bacchae" and Aristophanes' "Frogs". Although the "Bacchae" takes over many motifs from comedy, such as cross-dressing, an imaginative play with time and space and even elements of slapstick, it is one of the most chilling tragedies ever written. In contrast the "Frogs" takes one of the most basic of tragic motifs, the descent into the Underworld to rescue the dead, and makes a contemporary political and literary comedy out of it. Our discussion will attempt, as these plays do, to explore the distinctions between comedy and tragedy and see if there is really, in the end, any clear and fast difference between the two.

Scholar:

Stephanie Nelson

Location:

Harvard Hillel

Dates:

11/4/2015, 11/12/2015

H11 -	Athenian Tragedy and Comedy

	We will look at the Greek origins of both the tragic and the comic theater by examining two plays written at nearly the same time, both of which star the god Dionysus, Euripides' "Bacchae" and Aristophanes' "Frogs". Although the "Bacchae" takes over many motifs from comedy, such as cross-dressing, an imaginative play with time and space and even elements of slapstick, it is one of the most chilling tragedies ever written. In contrast the "Frogs" takes one of the most basic of tragic motifs, the descent into the Underworld to rescue the dead, and makes a contemporary political and literary comedy out of it. Our discussion will attempt, as these plays do, to explore the distinctions between comedy and tragedy and see if there is really, in the end, any clear and fast difference between the two.

		Scholar:	Stephanie Nelson
		Location:	Harvard Hillel
		Dates:	11/4/2015, 11/12/2015