Drama and the origin of Greek Literary criticism

Abstract

The paper explicitly examines the validity of considering Greek Old Comedy as an agent of introducing Literary Criticism to the ancient West. Had Aristophanes been aware of the revolution he was making in putting on stage two poets? Or was it just the product of his usual characteristics he indulged in producing comedies? He had made prominent Greek tragedians, namely Aeschylus and Euripides indulge in a contest in Hades, where only the essence of man was allowed to exist. The evaluation criteria as well as the reference to the responsibility of a poet in a war torn nation is highlighted. However there also remains the fact that he had criticized existing methods of evaluating literature, Bringing on to stage yard sticks and weighing machines.