Greek Chorus
It is uncertain why the Greeks starting using
the chorus in plays. The Greeks may have
used them due to their application to religion, art, expressiveness, and their
effectiveness in storytelling. The
origins of the chorus could even possibly owe its existence to ancient rites
and rituals.
To better understand the purpose of the
chorus, it is important to remember that when the first Greek dramas were
performed there was only one actor. Even
during later stages in the development of Greek drama there were no more than
three actors and each of them played many different roles.
In Greek drama there was a need to distract
the audience. This distraction was needed
while the actors went off-stage to change clothes and costumes, and perhaps
prepare for their next role. Finally,
the function of the chorus may have had more to do with necessity, then for any
artistic reason.
In addition to being practical, the chorus
would have had numerous functions in providing a complete and uninterrupted
artistic piece. First, according to a
view accepted by many scholars, the chorus would provide commentary on action
and events. This helped create a deeper
and more meaningful connection between the characters and the audience. The chorus also would allow for the creation
of an environment only attainable by controlling the atmosphere and
expectations of the audience. Lastly,
the chorus would allow for the preparation of the audience for certain key
moments in the play and to build up momentum or slow down the tempo.
The functions of the chorus in Greek comic and
tragic drama are basically the same.
They both were used to sing and dance choral odes and engage in dialogue
with the actors. However, there were
some minor differences between the comic and tragic chorus. The comic chorus had 24 members, whereas the
tragic had 15 members. The major
difference was that people in a comic chorus often impersonated non-human
characters such as clouds, wasps, birds, and Frogs. Additionally, many times the play was named
after the chorus. Despite these minor
differences, the function of the comic and tragic chorus was fundamentally the
same.
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