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I suggest that the title of the article be "greek tragic chorus", because the range of the topic of greek chorus is much larger, involves all greek poetry in different ways and is all the matter of lyric poetry from Hesiode to Callimaque. Besides, comedy involves as much as tragedy a chorus, and Aristophane the best defender of its privileges. The dyonisiac origin of the chorus is indeed a common place, but it do not resist this question "where and when Artemis do not gather her chorus?" that is 4 time quoted in greek litterature at various epochs.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.123.50.57 ( talk • contribs) 15:52, 15 January 2007 (UTC)
I suggest that the title of this aricle be "Chorus of Ancient Greek Theatre." This, in my opinion, would be a precise title for the article. Tragic choruses and comedic choruses should be chapters within this article until the page becomes too large. ML Saturn ( talk) 19:21, 30 January 2008 (UTC)
Forgive my ignorance, but I'd appreciate some guidance from the scholarly among you. It is unclear to me whether all 15 members of a chorus speak simultaneously? I'm reading a Ted Hughes translation of Oresteia, and the stage directions simply indicate "chorus." This has me imagining 15 old men uttering their lines at the same moment. Or is it understood that the various chorus members alternate their lines?
I would appreciate any light shed on the subject.
68.252.109.210 20:57, 6 March 2007 (UTC)W.P. Norton
The chorus all speak together as one, apart from occasionally when the chorus leader speaks on his own.
"The poet" should not be referred to by the male pronoun. The author is speaking of poets in general not of Greek tragedians in particular. See MLA guidelines for gender neutral language. Mlle.LeRenard 13:40, 28 August 2007 (UTC)
"The poet" should not be referred to by the male pronoun. The author is speaking of poets in general not of Greek tragedians in particular. See MLA guidelines for gender neutral language. Mlle.LeRenard 13:40, 28 August 2007 (UTC)
A good portion of this article is taken verbatim from a 1908 article, available here. Regardless of whether or not it's in public domain, the article itself is not encyclopedic, IMO. If anything, I think it's better suited for wikisources. I could be wrong. Scandalous 00:16, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 70.21.53.250 (Talk) at 21:16, 28 December 2005. It may differ significantly from the current revision.
In tragic plays of Ancient Greece, the chorus (choros) is believed to have grown out of the Greek dithyrambs and "tragikon drama". In early tragedy, all parts were played by a single actor; because the actor left the stage often to change roles, the chorus was especially dominant. It is thought to have numbered approximately 50 singing and dancing members (choreutai) circa 508. Tragedy came to be composed of episodes separated by choral odes. In these odes, the chorus would chant rhythmically, so they could be viewed as one entity rather than individuals.
Although Aeschylus reduced the chorus to 12 members, it remained critical to his productions. Under Aeschylus, the chorus played such key roles as the protagonist in The Suppliants, and the antagonist in The Eumenides. Sophocles increased the chorus to 15 members, although the choral odes became only tenuously related to the dramatic action. The Sophoclean chorus was divided into two sub-choruses of 6 (hemichoria) and a leader (koryphaios); the number of actors increased from two to three. The leader of the chorus interacted with the characters in the play, and spoke for the general population (the play's public opinion). This change favoured the interaction between actors and thus brought ancient greek tragedy closer to the modern notion of dramatic plot. The size of the tragic chorus continued to waver, settling for a time at 3 members.
The chorus usually communicated in song form, but sometimes the message was spoken. It was the author's job to choreograph the chorus. The chorus offered background and summary information to help the audience follow the performance, commented on main themes, and showed how an ideal audience might react to the drama as it was presented. They also represent the general populace of any particular story. In the second generation of Athenian tragedy the chorus often had a more substantial role in the narrative; in Euripedes's Bacchae, for example, the chorus, representing the frenzied female worshippers of Dionysus becomes a central character in itself.
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Vary (Talk | contribs) at 17:03, 7 March 2006. It may differ significantly from the current revision.
In tragic plays of Ancient Greece, the chorus (choros) is believed to have grown out of the Greek dithyrambs and tragikon drama. The chorus offered background and summary information to help the audience follow the performance, commented on main themes, and showed how an ideal audience might react to the drama as it was presented. They also represent the general populace of any particular story. The chorus usually communicated in song form, but sometimes the message was spoken. It was the playwright's job to choreograph the chorus.
In early tragedy, all parts were played by a single actor; because the actor left the stage often to change roles, the chorus was especially dominant. It is thought to have numbered approximately 50 singing and dancing members (choreutai) circa 508. Tragedy came to be composed of episodes separated by choral odes. In these odes, the chorus would chant rhythmically, so they could be viewed as one entity rather than individuals. In the second generation of Athenian tragedy the chorus often had a more substantial role in the narrative; in Euripedes's Bacchae, for example, the chorus, representing the frenzied female worshippers of Dionysus becomes a central character in itself.
Although Aeschylus reduced the chorus to 12 members, it remained critical to his productions. Under Aeschylus, the chorus played such key roles as the protagonist in The Suppliants, and the antagonist in The Eumenides. Sophocles increased the chorus to 15 members, although the choral odes became only tenuously related to the dramatic action. The Sophoclean chorus was divided into two sub-choruses of 6 (hemichoria) and a leader (koryphaios); the number of actors increased from two to three. The leader of the chorus interacted with the characters in the play, and spoke for the general population (the play's public opinion). This change favoured the interaction between actors and thus brought ancient greek tragedy closer to the modern notion of dramatic plot. The size of the tragic chorus continued to waver, settling for a time at 3 members.
Use of the chorus can be seen not only in Ancient Greek tragedies, but also in more recent works such as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Unfortunately, I think one couldn't add the link to the article, but I'll leave it here for those lucky enough to check this talk page.
If you want to have an idea about how it sounds, you may heard to a modern Greek chorus performance at Jamendo. It's a Creative Commons-licensed album. :) -- 200.234.64.54 ( talk) 08:30, 27 September 2008 (UTC)
Can we expand this section to include the many modern examples? Look at Ed and Larry in "The West Wing" who were introduced around season 4. There are many other examples. 65.29.107.128 ( talk) 06:48, 25 October 2009 (UTC)
I dont quite understand the difference between greek chorus and general minor actors and background actors ie. extras, because as it sounds to me (probably wrong - please help me understand) it is a topic that, if more widely understood, would be noticed enough to be merged into a wider article eg. Theatre of ancient Greece or simply Theatre ☭ мдснєтє тдлк ЅТЦФФ 04:19, 8 December 2010 (UTC)
The article states that the Chorus "consisted of fifty members which were later reduced to twelve by Sophocles, then increased to fifteen members by Euripides in tragedies" I can't access the source cited for this (as it is offline and I don't have access) however I have this source: Norwood, Gilbert. 2009. Greek Tragedy Which states that Sophocles 'raised the number of the chorus from twelve to fifteen' (p.15-16). Since I can't see the original cited source, and I also cannot find the ancient anonymous 'Life of Sophocles' I will leave this, however if someone can check these facts that would be great.
82.46.134.213 ( talk) 18:06, 10 January 2013 (UTC)
There was a Star Trek Next Generation episode with a Greek chorus. Someone should add a reference (and maybe a link, I bet the estate would approve use of a clip for educational/informational purposes). My principle reason for suggesting this is that, the current example would make the concept more accessible to youth and children.
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Loud_As_A_Whisper_(episode)
Apparently there was one in Star Trek Voyager too, but I never saw that one.
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Muse_(episode) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.103.247.23 ( talk) 17:05, 4 February 2013 (UTC)
I'll be working on filling in the missing pieces of this article. Yona M. Corn ( talk) 04:34, 28 October 2013 (UTC)
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 16 April 2024 and 11 June 2024. Further details are available
on the course page. Student editor(s):
Diegetic,
Kaileydm,
Lovelydanae (
article contribs). Peer reviewers:
Adler512.
— Assignment last updated by Isabelap03 ( talk) 20:46, 1 June 2024 (UTC)
![]() | Greek chorus received a peer review by Wikipedia editors, which is now archived. It may contain ideas you can use to improve this article. |
![]() | This article is rated Start-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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I suggest that the title of the article be "greek tragic chorus", because the range of the topic of greek chorus is much larger, involves all greek poetry in different ways and is all the matter of lyric poetry from Hesiode to Callimaque. Besides, comedy involves as much as tragedy a chorus, and Aristophane the best defender of its privileges. The dyonisiac origin of the chorus is indeed a common place, but it do not resist this question "where and when Artemis do not gather her chorus?" that is 4 time quoted in greek litterature at various epochs.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.123.50.57 ( talk • contribs) 15:52, 15 January 2007 (UTC)
I suggest that the title of this aricle be "Chorus of Ancient Greek Theatre." This, in my opinion, would be a precise title for the article. Tragic choruses and comedic choruses should be chapters within this article until the page becomes too large. ML Saturn ( talk) 19:21, 30 January 2008 (UTC)
Forgive my ignorance, but I'd appreciate some guidance from the scholarly among you. It is unclear to me whether all 15 members of a chorus speak simultaneously? I'm reading a Ted Hughes translation of Oresteia, and the stage directions simply indicate "chorus." This has me imagining 15 old men uttering their lines at the same moment. Or is it understood that the various chorus members alternate their lines?
I would appreciate any light shed on the subject.
68.252.109.210 20:57, 6 March 2007 (UTC)W.P. Norton
The chorus all speak together as one, apart from occasionally when the chorus leader speaks on his own.
"The poet" should not be referred to by the male pronoun. The author is speaking of poets in general not of Greek tragedians in particular. See MLA guidelines for gender neutral language. Mlle.LeRenard 13:40, 28 August 2007 (UTC)
"The poet" should not be referred to by the male pronoun. The author is speaking of poets in general not of Greek tragedians in particular. See MLA guidelines for gender neutral language. Mlle.LeRenard 13:40, 28 August 2007 (UTC)
A good portion of this article is taken verbatim from a 1908 article, available here. Regardless of whether or not it's in public domain, the article itself is not encyclopedic, IMO. If anything, I think it's better suited for wikisources. I could be wrong. Scandalous 00:16, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 70.21.53.250 (Talk) at 21:16, 28 December 2005. It may differ significantly from the current revision.
In tragic plays of Ancient Greece, the chorus (choros) is believed to have grown out of the Greek dithyrambs and "tragikon drama". In early tragedy, all parts were played by a single actor; because the actor left the stage often to change roles, the chorus was especially dominant. It is thought to have numbered approximately 50 singing and dancing members (choreutai) circa 508. Tragedy came to be composed of episodes separated by choral odes. In these odes, the chorus would chant rhythmically, so they could be viewed as one entity rather than individuals.
Although Aeschylus reduced the chorus to 12 members, it remained critical to his productions. Under Aeschylus, the chorus played such key roles as the protagonist in The Suppliants, and the antagonist in The Eumenides. Sophocles increased the chorus to 15 members, although the choral odes became only tenuously related to the dramatic action. The Sophoclean chorus was divided into two sub-choruses of 6 (hemichoria) and a leader (koryphaios); the number of actors increased from two to three. The leader of the chorus interacted with the characters in the play, and spoke for the general population (the play's public opinion). This change favoured the interaction between actors and thus brought ancient greek tragedy closer to the modern notion of dramatic plot. The size of the tragic chorus continued to waver, settling for a time at 3 members.
The chorus usually communicated in song form, but sometimes the message was spoken. It was the author's job to choreograph the chorus. The chorus offered background and summary information to help the audience follow the performance, commented on main themes, and showed how an ideal audience might react to the drama as it was presented. They also represent the general populace of any particular story. In the second generation of Athenian tragedy the chorus often had a more substantial role in the narrative; in Euripedes's Bacchae, for example, the chorus, representing the frenzied female worshippers of Dionysus becomes a central character in itself.
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Vary (Talk | contribs) at 17:03, 7 March 2006. It may differ significantly from the current revision.
In tragic plays of Ancient Greece, the chorus (choros) is believed to have grown out of the Greek dithyrambs and tragikon drama. The chorus offered background and summary information to help the audience follow the performance, commented on main themes, and showed how an ideal audience might react to the drama as it was presented. They also represent the general populace of any particular story. The chorus usually communicated in song form, but sometimes the message was spoken. It was the playwright's job to choreograph the chorus.
In early tragedy, all parts were played by a single actor; because the actor left the stage often to change roles, the chorus was especially dominant. It is thought to have numbered approximately 50 singing and dancing members (choreutai) circa 508. Tragedy came to be composed of episodes separated by choral odes. In these odes, the chorus would chant rhythmically, so they could be viewed as one entity rather than individuals. In the second generation of Athenian tragedy the chorus often had a more substantial role in the narrative; in Euripedes's Bacchae, for example, the chorus, representing the frenzied female worshippers of Dionysus becomes a central character in itself.
Although Aeschylus reduced the chorus to 12 members, it remained critical to his productions. Under Aeschylus, the chorus played such key roles as the protagonist in The Suppliants, and the antagonist in The Eumenides. Sophocles increased the chorus to 15 members, although the choral odes became only tenuously related to the dramatic action. The Sophoclean chorus was divided into two sub-choruses of 6 (hemichoria) and a leader (koryphaios); the number of actors increased from two to three. The leader of the chorus interacted with the characters in the play, and spoke for the general population (the play's public opinion). This change favoured the interaction between actors and thus brought ancient greek tragedy closer to the modern notion of dramatic plot. The size of the tragic chorus continued to waver, settling for a time at 3 members.
Use of the chorus can be seen not only in Ancient Greek tragedies, but also in more recent works such as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Unfortunately, I think one couldn't add the link to the article, but I'll leave it here for those lucky enough to check this talk page.
If you want to have an idea about how it sounds, you may heard to a modern Greek chorus performance at Jamendo. It's a Creative Commons-licensed album. :) -- 200.234.64.54 ( talk) 08:30, 27 September 2008 (UTC)
Can we expand this section to include the many modern examples? Look at Ed and Larry in "The West Wing" who were introduced around season 4. There are many other examples. 65.29.107.128 ( talk) 06:48, 25 October 2009 (UTC)
I dont quite understand the difference between greek chorus and general minor actors and background actors ie. extras, because as it sounds to me (probably wrong - please help me understand) it is a topic that, if more widely understood, would be noticed enough to be merged into a wider article eg. Theatre of ancient Greece or simply Theatre ☭ мдснєтє тдлк ЅТЦФФ 04:19, 8 December 2010 (UTC)
The article states that the Chorus "consisted of fifty members which were later reduced to twelve by Sophocles, then increased to fifteen members by Euripides in tragedies" I can't access the source cited for this (as it is offline and I don't have access) however I have this source: Norwood, Gilbert. 2009. Greek Tragedy Which states that Sophocles 'raised the number of the chorus from twelve to fifteen' (p.15-16). Since I can't see the original cited source, and I also cannot find the ancient anonymous 'Life of Sophocles' I will leave this, however if someone can check these facts that would be great.
82.46.134.213 ( talk) 18:06, 10 January 2013 (UTC)
There was a Star Trek Next Generation episode with a Greek chorus. Someone should add a reference (and maybe a link, I bet the estate would approve use of a clip for educational/informational purposes). My principle reason for suggesting this is that, the current example would make the concept more accessible to youth and children.
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Loud_As_A_Whisper_(episode)
Apparently there was one in Star Trek Voyager too, but I never saw that one.
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Muse_(episode) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.103.247.23 ( talk) 17:05, 4 February 2013 (UTC)
I'll be working on filling in the missing pieces of this article. Yona M. Corn ( talk) 04:34, 28 October 2013 (UTC)
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 16 April 2024 and 11 June 2024. Further details are available
on the course page. Student editor(s):
Diegetic,
Kaileydm,
Lovelydanae (
article contribs). Peer reviewers:
Adler512.
— Assignment last updated by Isabelap03 ( talk) 20:46, 1 June 2024 (UTC)