The Wasps and Old Comedy
The Wasps has been thought to exemplify all the conventions of Old Comedy at their best - structural elements that are common to most of Aristophanes' plays are all found in this play in a complete and readily identifiable form. The table below is based on one scholar's interpretation of the play's structural elements and the poetic meters associated with them.
| Elements | Lines | Metres | Summary | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| prologue | 1-229 | iambic trimeter | dialogue setting the scene | conventional opening line 1 |
| parodos | 230-47 | iambic tetrameter catalectic | Chorus enters escorted by boys | (trochees are more usual in early plays e.g. Acharnians, Knights, Peace) line 230 |
| 248-72 | Euripidean 14 syllables/line | dialogue between juror and boy | a quicker form of iambic rhythm line 248 | |
| 273-89 | complex meter | Chorus wonders about Philocleon | a strophe/antistrophe pair based on ionic metron but with many variations line 273 | |
| 290-316 | as before but simpler | dialogue between juror and boy | strophe/antistrophe, ionic but with fewer variations. line 290 | |
| song | 317-33 | complex | solo lament by Philocleon | mainly choriamb to 323 then anapests, reflecting a change in mood. line 317 |
| symmetrical scene (possibly an agon) | 334-64 & 365-402 | trochaic and anapestic tetrameter catalectic | angry dialogue between actors and chorus | each half beginning with trochaic tetrameter e.g.334-45 and ending with anapestic tetrameter e.g. 346-57 but with 1 anapestic pnigos added (358-64) line 334 |
| symmetrical scene | 403-460 & 461-525 | mainly trochaic tetrameter catalectic | denunciations and skirmish | trochaic tetrameters but with trochaic dimeters or 'runs' added. line 403 |
| agon | 526-630 & 631-724 | songs and anapestic tetrameter catalectic | debate between father and son | strophe (526-45) and antistrophe (631-47) with iambic and choriambic metra; spoken sections in anapestic tetrameter ending in anapestic pnigoi (546-630 and 648-724) line 526 |
| song | 725-59 | anapests, iambs and dochmiacs | reflections on debate | anapestic lines 725-8, 736-42, 750-9, other lines in iambs and dochmiacs or line 725 |
| episode | 760-862 | iambic trimeter | setting up a court at home | dialogue in iambic trimeter line 760 |
| song | 863-90 | mostly anapests | prayer consecrating the new court | iambic trimeter in 868-9 and 885-6; short strophe (870-4) and antistrophe (887-90) largely in iambs; anapests in 863-7 and 875-84 line 863 |
| episode | 891-1008 | iambic trimeter | the dog's trial | dialogue in iambic trimeter line 890 |
| parabasis | 1009-14 | mixed | kommation | anapestic (1009–10), iambic (1011–12) and trochaic (1013–14) - an unusual lead into a parabasis line 1009 |
| 1015-59 | anapests | parabasis proper with pnigos | anapestic tetrameter catalectic ending in anapestic pnigos line 1015 | |
| 1060–1121 | trochees | symmetrical scene | trochaic strophe (1060–70) and antistrophe (1091–1101); epirrhema (1071–90) and antepirrhema (1102–21) in trochaic tetrameter catalectic line 1060 | |
| episode | 1122–1264 | iambic trimeter | preparations for dinner party | dialogue between actors in iambic trimeter line 1120 |
| second parabasis | 1265–1291 | trochaic | symmetrical scene | trochaic strophe(1265–74) but missing an antistrophe; epirrhema (1275–83) and antepirrhema (1284–91) featuring variation on trochaic tetrameter catalectic (paeonic tetrameter) line 1265 |
| episode | 1292–1449 | mostly iambic trimeter | farcical consequences of the dinner party | dialogue in iambic trimeter but with trochaic passages (1326–31, 1335–40) spoken by the drunken Philocleon line 1292 |
| song | 1450-73 | mostly iambs and choriambs | Chorus congratulates father and son | first half of strophe and antistrophe iambo-choriambic lines (1450–56, 1462–68), the second half more complex line 1450 |
| exodos | 1474–1537 | iambic and archilochean | Philocleon in dancing mode | dialogue in iambic trimeter ending in a dance (1518–37) in archilocheans line 1470 |
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—Christopher Fry (b. 1907)