Cratinus and the Art of Comedy

by Emmanuela Bakola

Cratinus, one of the lost great poets of fifth-century Athenian comedy, had a formative influence on the comic genre, including Aristophanes himself. Using a methodologically innovative approach, Emmanuela Bakola studies the surviving fragments of Cratinus' plays and offers a thorough analysis
of the multifaceted art of this poet and his place in the history of comedy. Issues which she addresses include the creation of a poetic personality within a performative tradition of fierce interpoetic rivalry; the play at the boundaries of the comic genre and the interaction with satyr drama and
tragedy, especially Aeschylus; stagecraft and dramaturgy; comic plot-construction and characterization; the author's reflection on his immediate political, social and intellectual context. As well as providing insight into Cratinus, her book enriches our understanding of fifth-century Athenian
comedy in a dynamic evolving environment.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0199569355
• ISBN13: 9780199569359
• Release Date: February 2010
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.5"