role of chorus in greek tragedy

Topic: Role of the Chorus in Greek Tragedy: The chorus is a conventional element in all Greek tragedies, butits function is not always clear (or necessarily always the same). Is the chorus simply an additional, generic character in the story? Or does it have special functions as a theatrical device? The chorus provides a distinctly poetic, lyrical component to tragedy: What contribution to the performance is made by the choral odes, i.e. songs sung by the chorus during regular musical interludes? How do these poetic performances reflect the underlying themes of a play? What significance is there to the social identity of the chorus, its relationship to characters in the drama, or its contribution to the action? Base your discussion on one, two or three of the tragedies we have read; due to space limitations, do not discuss more than three texts.
WANT TO HAVE A PROFESSIONAL WRITER WORK ON THIS PAPER? CLICK HERE TO ORDER THIS PAPER
Tips: As always, have a clear and specific thesis backed up by a well-organized argument based on specific details of the text(s). Avoid focusing on banal or obvious ideas (e.g., "the chorus provides a running commentary on the action of the play"). Choose your texts carefully: Make sure that the texts you choose are indeed ones where you think the role of the chorus is interesting. If you choose more than one text, figure out how they will complement each other in your argument. If you feel strongly that the function of the chorus is not the same in all plays, compare and contrast two plays, not three (three-way comparison is too complicated). If you choose to write on more than one play, even with the intention of contrasting the role of the chorus in two plays, you must have a single unitary thesis (not a unitary thesis: "I will argue that the chorus of the Ajax does one thing, but the chorus of the Medea does something completely different"). Maintain a clear focus on the chorus; do not drift off into summarizing the action of the play or the role of other characters under the guise of providing background information ("Ajax does this, and then he said that, and then Tecmessa does that, and then the chorus says…."). Since the chorus typically contributes very little to the actual action of the play, it will not be possible to base your argument merely on a bare outlines of the narrative – you must discuss actual passages from the text. As implied in the instructions, a major contribution of the chorus is to be found in its poetic performances, so this topic cannot be addressed without looking closely at some choral odes.

WANT TO HAVE A PROFESSIONAL WRITER WORK ON THIS PAPER? CLICK HERE TO ORDER THIS PAPER