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This book offers an interpretation of the handling of costume in the plays of the fifth-century comic poet Aristophanes. Drawing on both textual and material evidence from the fourth- and fifth-century Greek world, it examines three layers of costume: the bodysuit worn by the actors, the characters' clothes, and the additional layering of disguise. A chapter is also devoted to the inventive costumes of the comic chorus. Going beyond describing what costumes looked like, the book focuses instead on the dynamics of costume as it is manipulated by characters in the performance of plays. The book argues that costume is used competitively, as characters handle each other's costumes and poets vie for status using costume. This argument is informed by performance studies and by analyses of gender and the body.
List of contents
1. Introduction: comic costume in action; 2. The comic body as costume; 3. Cloaks, shoes, and societal redress; 4. Disguise, gender, and the poet; 5. Animal costumes and choral spectacle; 6. Conclusion.
About the author
Gwendolyn Compton-Engle is Associate Professor of Classics at John Carroll University. She has taught at Colgate University and St Olaf College. She has published several articles on Aristophanes, including one that was awarded the Gildersleeve Prize from the American Journal of Philology in 2003.
Summary
This book interprets the handling of costume in the plays of the ancient Greek comic playwright Aristophanes, using as evidence the surviving plays as well as vase-paintings and terracotta figurines. This book fills a gap in the study of ancient Greek drama, focusing on performance, gender, and the body.
Report
'This book should be as invaluable for theater historians as for classicists. An illuminating and witty pleasure to read, it marks a great leap forward in our understanding of how costume makes meaning in comedy.' Niall W. Slater, The Classical Journal
