Plato on Comedy and Tragedy - The Role of Drama in the Pursuit of Happiness

"This book reconstructs, on Plato's behalf, an original philosophical account of tragedy and comedy, provides a theoretical framework for understanding key passages in Plato's dialogues, and illustrates the interpretive value of reading his dialogues from this perspective. It will be valuable for readers interested in Plato and in Greek drama"-- Provided by publisher.

List of contents

Introduction; 1. Plato's definition of comedy; 2. Comedic characterization in Plato's Euthydemus; 3. Parody in Plato's Cratylus; 4. Plato's definition of tragedy; 5. Tragedy and the best life in Plato's Gorgias; 6. Tragedy and death in Plato's Phaedo; 7. The unity of comedy and tragedy in the symposium.

About the author

Franco V. Trivigno is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oslo. He is the author of Plato's Ion: Poetry, Expertise and Inspiration (Cambridge, 2020), and the co-editor of The Philosophy and Psychology of Character and Happiness (2014), and Laughter, Humor and Comedy in Ancient Philosophy (2019).

Product details

• Authors: Trivigno Franco V.
• Publisher: Cambridge Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 31.07.2025
• EAN: 9781009360135
• ISBN: 978-1-009-36013-5
• Illustrations: Worked examples or Exercises
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: antiquity to present day; PHILOSOPHY / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical, Philosophical traditions and schools of thought, Satirical fiction and parodies, Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500, Comedic plays, Ancient, classical and medieval texts, Tragic plays, Popular philosophy: Meaning of life / finding sense in life