Eiron
Encyclopedia
In the theatre of ancient Greece
, the eirôn was one of three stock characters in comedy
. The eirôn usually succeeds in bringing his braggart opponent (the alazôn
) down by making himself seem like less than he actually was.
Old Comedy
and can be found in many of Aristophanes
' plays.
The philosopher
Aristotle
names the eirôn in his Nicomachean Ethics
, where he says: "in the form of understatement, self-depreciation, and its possessor the self-depreciator" (1108a12). In this passage, Aristotle establishes the eirôn as one of the main characters of comedy, along with the alazôn.
is derived from the eirôn of the classical Greek theatre
. Irony is the difference between the actual meaning of a something and the apparent meaning. The eirôn would frequently triumph over the alazôn by making himself appear less than he actually was.
' comedy
The Clouds
provides an example of the eirôn in its character Strepsiades. He interacts with Socrates
, an alazôn. Strepsiades defeats the wise and learned Socrates in a debate by appearing foolish and reducing the debate from a highbrow theocratic issue to a scatological matter:
As is clear, Socrates is not having the theological
debate he had anticipated by the end of the conversation. Strepsiades reduces Socrates to an extremely lowbrow conversation by concealing his own intelligence. Note that Strepsiades himself practiced "Socratic irony", which asks apparently naive questions to make the respondents reason the answers for themselves.
Theatre of Ancient Greece
The theatre of Ancient Greece, or ancient Greek drama, is a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece between c. 550 and c. 220 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political and military power during this period, was its centre, where it was...
, the eirôn was one of three stock characters in comedy
Ancient Greek comedy
Ancient Greek comedy was one of the final three principal dramatic forms in the theatre of classical Greece . Athenian comedy is conventionally divided into three periods, Old Comedy, Middle Comedy, and New Comedy...
. The eirôn usually succeeds in bringing his braggart opponent (the alazôn
Alazon
In the theatre of ancient Greece, alazôn is one of three stock characters in comedy. He is the opponent of the eirôn. The alazôn is an impostor that sees himself as greater than he actually is. The senex iratus and the miles gloriosus are two types of alazôn.-Sources:* Carlson, Marvin. 1993...
) down by making himself seem like less than he actually was.
History
The eirôn developed in GreekClassical Greece
Classical Greece was a 200 year period in Greek culture lasting from the 5th through 4th centuries BC. This classical period had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire and greatly influenced the foundation of Western civilizations. Much of modern Western politics, artistic thought, such as...
Old Comedy
Old Comedy
Old Comedy is the first period of the ancient Greek comedy, according to the canonical division by the Alexandrian grammarians. The most important Old Comic playwright is Aristophanes, whose works, with their pungent political satire and abundance of sexual and scatological innuendo, effectively...
and can be found in many of Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
' plays.
The philosopher
Greek philosophy
Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BCE and continued through the Hellenistic period, at which point Ancient Greece was incorporated in the Roman Empire...
Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
names the eirôn in his Nicomachean Ethics
Nicomachean Ethics
The Nicomachean Ethics is the name normally given to Aristotle's best known work on ethics. The English version of the title derives from Greek Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, transliterated Ethika Nikomacheia, which is sometimes also given in the genitive form as Ἠθικῶν Νικομαχείων, Ethikōn Nikomacheiōn...
, where he says: "in the form of understatement, self-depreciation, and its possessor the self-depreciator" (1108a12). In this passage, Aristotle establishes the eirôn as one of the main characters of comedy, along with the alazôn.
Irony
The modern term ironyIrony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
is derived from the eirôn of the classical Greek theatre
Theatre of Ancient Greece
The theatre of Ancient Greece, or ancient Greek drama, is a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece between c. 550 and c. 220 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political and military power during this period, was its centre, where it was...
. Irony is the difference between the actual meaning of a something and the apparent meaning. The eirôn would frequently triumph over the alazôn by making himself appear less than he actually was.
Dramatic appearance
AristophanesAristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
' comedy
Ancient Greek comedy
Ancient Greek comedy was one of the final three principal dramatic forms in the theatre of classical Greece . Athenian comedy is conventionally divided into three periods, Old Comedy, Middle Comedy, and New Comedy...
The Clouds
The Clouds
The Clouds is a comedy written by the celebrated playwright Aristophanes lampooning intellectual fashions in classical Athens. It was originally produced at the City Dionysia in 423 BC and it was not well received, coming last of the three plays competing at the festival that year. It was revised...
provides an example of the eirôn in its character Strepsiades. He interacts with Socrates
Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
, an alazôn. Strepsiades defeats the wise and learned Socrates in a debate by appearing foolish and reducing the debate from a highbrow theocratic issue to a scatological matter:
SOCRATES: These are the only gods there are. The rest are but figments.
STREPSIADES: Holy name of Earth! Olympian Zeus is a figment?
SOCRATES: Zeus? What Zeus? Nonsense. There is no Zeus.
STREPSIADES: No Zeus?
Then who makes it rain? Answer me that.
SOCRATES: Why, the Clouds,
of course. What’s more, the proof is incontrovertible. For instance,
have you ever yet seen rain when you didn’t see a cloud?
But if your hypothesis were correct, Zeus could drizzle from an empty sky
while the clouds were on vacation.
STREPSIADES: By Apollo, you’re right. A pretty proof.
And to think I always used to believe the rain was just Zeus
pissing through a sieve.
As is clear, Socrates is not having the theological
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
debate he had anticipated by the end of the conversation. Strepsiades reduces Socrates to an extremely lowbrow conversation by concealing his own intelligence. Note that Strepsiades himself practiced "Socratic irony", which asks apparently naive questions to make the respondents reason the answers for themselves.
Sources
- Abrams, M. H., ed. 1993. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 6th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College.
- Carlson, Marvin. 1993. Theories of the Theatre: A Historical and Critical Survey from the Greeks to the Present. Expanded ed. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0801481543.
- Frye, Northrop. 1957. Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays. London: Penguin, 1990. ISBN 0140124802.
- Janko, Richard, trans. 1987. Poetics with Tractatus Coislinianus, Reconstruction of Poetics II and the Fragments of the On Poets. By AristotleAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
. Cambridge: Hackett. ISBN 0872200337.