The Old Comedy proved to be completely a contrast to Tragedy—Parody—
Ideality of Comedy the reverse of that of Tragedy—Mirthful Caprice—
Allegoric and Political Signification—The Chorus and its Parabases.
LECTURE XII.
Aristophanes—His Character as an Artist—Description and Character of his remaining Works—A Scene, translated from the Acharnae, by way of Appendix.
LECTURE XIII.
Whether the Middle Comedy was a distinct species—Origin of the New
Comedy—A mixed species—Its prosaic character—Whether versification is
essential to Comedy—Subordinate kinds—Pieces of Character, and of
Intrigue—The Comic of observation, of self-consciousness, and arbitrary
Comic—Morality of Comedy.
LECTURE XIV.
Plautus and Terence as Imitators of the Greeks, here examined and
characterized in the absence of the Originals they copied—Motives of the
Athenian Comedy from Manners and Society—Portrait-Statues of two
Comedians.
LECTURE XV.
Roman Theatre—Native kinds: Atellane Fables, Mimes, Comoedia Togata— Greek Tragedy transplanted to Rome—Tragic Authors of a former Epoch, and of the Augustan Age—Idea of a National Roman Tragedy—Causes of the want of success of the Romans in Tragedy—Seneca.