Euripides' "Cyclops"-Let's Start At The Start!
As I was preparing for my job at Breakthrough Cincinnati this summer, and began my research into comedy's history and various dimensions, I thought that I should harken back to my roots and look into Classical samples of comedy. Immediately as I was looking through wikipedia's content on comedy, I came upon one of the oldest known examples of dramatic comedy in Europe: Satyr Plays. You can almost think of these guys as the original Adam Sandler movies. They were crude, with over sexual references alongside drunkenness and general immorality. These plays were out of control. Sadly, the only Satyr play that survives is a one-act piece by Euripides-The "Cyclops". Once I saw this, I knew it was a sign that this is where I should start my search into what "funny" is.
Euripides is not typically known for his comedies. He is known for his ancients works such as "Medea", which is almost an archetype of what it means to be depressing. I looked into "Cyclops" with a critical eye, making sure to underscore what I found the most amusing, and also comb the sands for any hint of tragedy. People getting devoured by a massive Cyclops monster is probably not where most of the laughs came in. The scene of the play is on Sicily, where a group of satyrs (go figure for a satyr play) are trapped as they were trying to track down their master, the god of wine, Dionysus. The most prominent satyr is the old Silenus-surrogate father to Dionysus. Silenus loves his wine almost as much as he loves his god. When a mysterious group of travelers end up trapped by wind on Sicily, Silenus almost immediately informs them that wine is not known on the island, and because of this "It is a joyless land they dwell in". I am not sure if I would exactly agree with the sentiment, but he is the expert here, so I will bow to his opinion.
There is sexual innuendo galore in this story! I can see that the private regions of humanity has always been a source of humor, since the main purpose of drinking seems to be fondling breasts and becoming intimate with the fairer sex...or the less fairer sex as the Cyclops seems to do in the middle of the play with poor little Silenus. Serves him right for the comical betrayal he performs to the stranded Odysseus and his men as soon as the Cyclops approaches. Sexual deviance is a major source of the comedy here, and so is drunkenness. The Cyclops gets so drunk that he believes Odysseus when he says his name is "no-man". What a smart fellow! Merriment is encouraged among the ancient greek chorus, who encourages the audience to get so drunk that they must ask another person to open a door for them. Stupidity is the source of the Cyclops' downfall, since he believes that drinking alone is the greatest source of joy for a monster such as himself. While he is sleeping, Odysseus and his men pluck out the eye of the beast (the satyrs do not help out of a fit of cowardice despite their promise to do so). Clown comedy even makes an appearance when the Cyclops runs into the wall of the cavern and cracks open his skull. This was definitely a charming bit of the performance. The monster than proceeds to declare that "No-Man has blinded me!". I hope that the wordplay is evident enough to not merit explanation.
In the end, the comedy ends on a light note. A happy ending is present, and both the travelers and cowardly satyrs escape the island. The mostly virtuous hero is successful, and the more debauched companions turn to their god as they escape the island. I can see how this play was funny, but there is a lot more to explore.
I suppose that to summarize my findings with this play, I should indicate that I found physical comedy, sexual hintings (and not so indirect sexual acts), immorality, drunkenness, and a happy ending. This was an ancient text, yet I was startled to find myself actually laughing at this. I would recommend it, but I am too busy for that. Onto to the next stage of my research!
On a more serious note, I do have a favorite quote from this play!-"forego thy ravenous greed and choose piety rather than wickedness; for on many a man ere now unrighteous gains have brought down retribution". How quaint!
Euripides is not typically known for his comedies. He is known for his ancients works such as "Medea", which is almost an archetype of what it means to be depressing. I looked into "Cyclops" with a critical eye, making sure to underscore what I found the most amusing, and also comb the sands for any hint of tragedy. People getting devoured by a massive Cyclops monster is probably not where most of the laughs came in. The scene of the play is on Sicily, where a group of satyrs (go figure for a satyr play) are trapped as they were trying to track down their master, the god of wine, Dionysus. The most prominent satyr is the old Silenus-surrogate father to Dionysus. Silenus loves his wine almost as much as he loves his god. When a mysterious group of travelers end up trapped by wind on Sicily, Silenus almost immediately informs them that wine is not known on the island, and because of this "It is a joyless land they dwell in". I am not sure if I would exactly agree with the sentiment, but he is the expert here, so I will bow to his opinion.
There is sexual innuendo galore in this story! I can see that the private regions of humanity has always been a source of humor, since the main purpose of drinking seems to be fondling breasts and becoming intimate with the fairer sex...or the less fairer sex as the Cyclops seems to do in the middle of the play with poor little Silenus. Serves him right for the comical betrayal he performs to the stranded Odysseus and his men as soon as the Cyclops approaches. Sexual deviance is a major source of the comedy here, and so is drunkenness. The Cyclops gets so drunk that he believes Odysseus when he says his name is "no-man". What a smart fellow! Merriment is encouraged among the ancient greek chorus, who encourages the audience to get so drunk that they must ask another person to open a door for them. Stupidity is the source of the Cyclops' downfall, since he believes that drinking alone is the greatest source of joy for a monster such as himself. While he is sleeping, Odysseus and his men pluck out the eye of the beast (the satyrs do not help out of a fit of cowardice despite their promise to do so). Clown comedy even makes an appearance when the Cyclops runs into the wall of the cavern and cracks open his skull. This was definitely a charming bit of the performance. The monster than proceeds to declare that "No-Man has blinded me!". I hope that the wordplay is evident enough to not merit explanation.
In the end, the comedy ends on a light note. A happy ending is present, and both the travelers and cowardly satyrs escape the island. The mostly virtuous hero is successful, and the more debauched companions turn to their god as they escape the island. I can see how this play was funny, but there is a lot more to explore.
I suppose that to summarize my findings with this play, I should indicate that I found physical comedy, sexual hintings (and not so indirect sexual acts), immorality, drunkenness, and a happy ending. This was an ancient text, yet I was startled to find myself actually laughing at this. I would recommend it, but I am too busy for that. Onto to the next stage of my research!
On a more serious note, I do have a favorite quote from this play!-"forego thy ravenous greed and choose piety rather than wickedness; for on many a man ere now unrighteous gains have brought down retribution". How quaint!