Art & MusicGreek → English
Parabasis
/pəˈræbəsɪs/noun
The passage in Greek Old Comedy where the chorus turns to the audience and speaks in the poet's own voice.
The Greek roots
παρά
pará
beside, forward
βαίνειν
baínein
to step, to go
Literally: “a stepping forward”
The story of the word
The chorus literally steps out of the play, often shedding its costume cloaks, and delivers a run of anapaests about politics, the judges, or how badly the audience treated the poet last year. Aristophanes used the slot to attack Cleon by name in front of several thousand voters. The device faded with Old Comedy, and critics now borrow the word for any moment when a work turns and addresses the reader directly.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → English
Same family
basisacrobatanabasisdiabetes
In a sentence
The parabasis of the Acharnians is essentially Aristophanes complaining about his reviews.