Jump to content

Sock and buskin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by JHunterJ (talk | contribs) at 13:41, 5 June 2019 (clean up). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Comedy and tragedy masks

The sock and buskin are two ancient symbols of comedy and tragedy. In Greek theatre, actors in tragic roles wore a boot called a buskin (Latin cothurnus). The actors with comedic roles only wore a thin soled shoe called a sock (Latin soccus).

Melpomene, the muse of tragedy, is often depicted holding the tragic mask and wearing buskins. Thalia, the muse of comedy, is similarly associated with the mask of comedy and comic’s socks. Some people refer to the masks themselves as "Sock and Buskin."[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ Charles Mackay (1887). A Glossary of Obscure Words and Phrases in the Writings of Shakspeare and His Contemporaries Traced Etymologically to the Ancient Language of the British People as Spoken Before the Irruption of the Danes and Saxons. S. Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington. p. 48.