Generally Speaking: Old Comedy

The plots of Old Comedy have certain characteristics in common. They are not derived from traditional myth and legend as is the case in tragedy, but are the concoctions of the comic poet. They are characterized by free comic fantasy. The most outrageous projects are presented as plausible solutions to contemporary problems. For example, in Aristophanes's Lysistrata, a group of Athenian women decide to persuade their husbands to make a truce with Sparta by refusing to have sex with them. Political and social satire along with literary parody are also characteristic of Old Comedy. The Athenian people themselves are sometimes the objects of criticism. With regard to parody, the language of Old Comedy often mimics the high-blown style of tragedy for comic effect.

The Chorus

In Old Comedy the chorus plays an integral part in the drama.

Actors

The comic masks, which represented a variety of human and even animal figures, were comically grotesque. The masks worn by actors impersonating well-known Athenian figures, of course, bore a facial resemblance to those figures. Heavy padding of the costume produced a significant distortion of the human form. The grotesque appearance produced by this distortion and also by the abnormally large leather phallus often worn by comic actors suited perfectly the outrageous action of Old Comedy.

Legacy of Old Comedy Today

The spirit of Old Comedy still survives, for example, in modern political cartoons, occasional musical comedies, and comedyskits on television which satirize political figures and current trends.

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