satyr drama
satyr drama,a humorous piece with a chorus of satyrs that authors in the 5th and 4th cents BC were expected to append to tragic trilogies offered for competition. This practice, which had the incidental virtue of providing light relief, may have been due to the fact recorded by Aristotle (Poetics, ch. 4) that tragedy had its origin in performances by actors dressed as satyrs. The surviving fragments of Aeschylus ' Diktyoulkoi (The Net-Drawers) and Sophocles ' Ichneutai (The Trackers) reveal sympathy for the promptings of animal impulse and a lyrical feeling for nature. They were both probably superior to the one extant satyric drama, Euripides ' Cyclops. J. C. Scaliger (Poëtice, 1561 ) sparked off a controversy when he claimed that Roman satire was descended from Greek satyric drama. The claim was contradicted by Casaubon who demonstrated that the Latin ‘satire’ had no connection...
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