Greek Chorus - Modern Plays

Modern Plays

Modern plays, especially Broadway musicals and grand operas, sometimes incorporate a contemporary version of the chorus, although they serve a different purpose. Per Six Plays by Rodgers and Hammerstein:

The singing chorus is used frequently to interpret the mental and emotional reactions of the principal characters, after the manner of a Greek chorus. —Rodgers and Hammerstein.

Read more about this topic:  Greek Chorus

Famous quotes containing the words modern and/or plays:

    Sir Walter Raleigh might well be studied, if only for the excellence of his style, for he is remarkable in the midst of so many masters. There is a natural emphasis in his style, like a man’s tread, and a breathing space between the sentences, which the best of modern writing does not furnish. His chapters are like English parks, or say rather like a Western forest, where the larger growth keeps down the underwood, and one may ride on horseback through the openings.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    Language makes it possible for a child to incorporate his parents’ verbal prohibitions, to make them part of himself....We don’t speak of a conscience yet in the child who is just acquiring language, but we can see very clearly how language plays an indispensable role in the formation of conscience. In fact, the moral achievement of man, the whole complex of factors that go into the organization of conscience is very largely based upon language.
    Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)