parabasis

American  

[puh-rab-uh-sis] / pəˈræb ə sɪs /

noun

parabases plural

1. (in ancient Greek drama) a choral ode addressed to the audience, especially of comedy, and independent of the action of the play: usually following the agon and, in the earliest forms of comedy, serving often to end the play.

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parabasis British  

/ pəˈræbəsɪs /

noun

1. (in classical Greek comedy) an address from the chorus to the audience

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• parabases
  plural

Etymology

Origin of parabasis

1810–20; < Greek parábasis a going aside, digression; see para- ¹, basis

Example Sentences

Isaac Butler of Parabasis went to see it recently and was not impressed.

From The Guardian • Jan. 12, 2011

In a discussion about this on the Parabasis blog, RVC Bard points out that there is a fine line between interaction, which she is not a fan of, and intimacy, which she thinks is vital.

From The Guardian • Oct. 21, 2010

At the more irreverent end of the spectrum, the Parabasis blog has recently discovered a vital tool for any theatre's marketing department.

From The Guardian • Aug. 18, 2010

As Isaac Butler at Parabasis points out, Mamet's piece contains his usual dose of entertainingly written but ultimately silly thinking, which "has the benefit of feeling true without actually being true in the slightest".

From The Guardian • Apr. 22, 2010

In the intervals between the scenes, the chorus sing rollicking topical songs or bits of exquisite lyric, or in the name of the poet directly exhort and admonish the audience in the so-called Parabasis.

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 2 by Mabie, Hamilton Wright