Asked in TheaterGreek and Roman Mythologies
Theater
Greek and Roman Mythologies
Who are Thalia and Melpomene?
Answer

Wiki User
May 12, 2009 12:29AM
Thalia is the muse of Comedy in greek drama and is shown as a laughing mask and Melpomene is the muse of tragedy and is shown as a crying mask.
Related Questions
Asked in Health, Drama and Acting, Movie Awards and Events
Who Created the faces of drama?

The two masks representative of drama are the two traditional
faces of comedy and tragedy. In ancient times, there were many
masks, each used for a different emotion or appearance. The comedy
mask and the tragedy mask were very common. They are both symbols
of the ancient Greek Muses, Thalia and Melpomene. Thalia was the
Muse of comedy (the laughing face), while Melpomene was the Muse of
tragedy (the weeping face).
Asked in Drama and Acting
What do the drama masks mean?

The two masks associated with drama represent the
traditionalgeneric division between comedy and tragedy. They are
symbols of the ancient Greek Muses, Thalia and Melpomene. Thalia
was the Muse of comedy (the laughing face), while Melpomene was the
Muse of tragedy (the weeping face). Considered as a genre of poetry
in general, the dramatic mode has been contrasted with the epic and
the lyrical modes ever since Aristotle's Poetics (c. 335 B.
C.) the earliest work of dramatic theory.[4]