The chorus in classical Greek drama is a homogeneous group of people/actors
who represented society in the plays, they comment with a collective voice of
public opinions on the dramatic action. They might be men & women. The chorus
contained 12 to 50 people, who variously danced, sang or spoke their lines in
agreement and sometimes wore masks to give reaction. In Greek tragedy, chorus
was beginnings with choral performance with a group of man danced and sang dithyrambs
lyric song in praise of The God Dionysus.
The chorus fulfills their very
important role in play. Generally, they do not take the side, if they could
take side, they took communal side. Other function is that they perform the
narrative function of the drama/play. This is technically very important
because Drama/play act the very story in limit time and it has to finish in
that limited time. It is impossible to tell each and every story in act. The chorus
clarifies on the action that has happened and looks forward to the action to
come. Not only narrative elements of the plot, it plays off stage action too.
We do not show such ever action in the stage.
