Presenter:
This presentations looks at how voice was used in ancient Greek comedy and tragedy to explore the outer limits of human experience by focusing on moments in fifth-century drama when language (logos) breaks down and leaves the inarticulate utterances of voice (phônê) to carry on alone. First we will consider what is at stake in such instances of voicing through works of Plato and Aristotle. The we will explore several instances of the intrusion into language of nonverbal vocal sounds in plays of Aristophanes, Aeschylus and Sophocles. What is gained on the stage when language is lost?