Jul 30, 2022
I argue the Bacchae was the first if not among the first tragecomedy. Most view this as stories that contain elements of both tragedy and comedy. And it does (Dionysus is the straight up Eric Cartman of the Greek pantheon fucking fight me.) But the reason it is the prototypical example is because of WHY it is one. Plays like these were written to be performed not just for the human audience but for the gods believed to be in attendance. The Bacchae is absolutely, to the human listeners, meant to be taken as a tragedy.
The gods, however, clearly would have found that shit hilarious.
