Plato and Comedy in the Socratic Dialogues

By examining the comic elements in Plato's Socratic dialogues, shows that comedy is intrinsic to Plato's philosophical project.

This is the first extended examination of comic elements in Plato's Socratic dialogues. By establishing their variety and ubiquity through multiple dialogues, the chapters demonstrate that comedy is intrinsic to Plato's philosophical project, such that any understanding of his philosophy must be forever attentive to comic connections.In recent years, studies of the workings of Greek comedy have developed substantially, and the present volume constitutes the first extended examination of comic elements in Plato's Socratic dialogues. Rather than focusing on Plato's theorising about comedy or his aesthetic criticism, the book examines his incorporation of generic features of comedy into his philosophy. By establishing the variety and ubiquity of this practice through multiple dialogues, the chapters demonstrate that comedy is intrinsic to Plato's philosophical project, such that any understanding of his philosophy must be forever attentive to comic connections. This is an important book for scholars of Greek literature as well as ancient philosophy.