Guide to the Greek Chorus: 3 Examples of the Greek Chorus

A Greek Chorus is a theatrical device originating in ancient Greek theater involving a small group of performers—who are usually unrelated to the central action of a story—commenting on the central action of a play. The chorus speaks directly to the audience and may not interact with the main characters of a story at all. Their purpose is to underscore the moral themes, actions, character development, and messages of a story to the audience.

The Greek chorus was prevalent in classical Greek drama of the 5th century BCE. Classical tragedy originated in Ancient Greek theater, with the chorus acting as a guiding voice to the audience, cluing them in on shifts in the plot or a character’s inner state. The chorus also would typically pronounce judgment on the fate of the characters in the drama, heightening the tragic elements of the play. The Greek chorus appears in famous Greek tragedies and dramas such as Oedipus Rex, Electra, and The Eumenides.

Greek choruses originally had anywhere between 12 and 50 singers and dancers, but many modern iterations of the Greek chorus are smaller. There is always a chorus leader, called the coryphaeus, who speaks for the rest of the group.

Typically, the chorus enters after a principal character has explained part of the action. From there, the chorus appears after scenes in the play to perform choral odes commenting on the action, and imagining where the story might go. The chorus will also typically close out the action of a play with an epilogue reflecting its message.

The role of the chorus is to provide context, summary information, and commentary on the drama of the play for the audience. Here is a general overview of some of the functions of a Greek chorus.

• Provides commentary on the action of a play: Chorus members commenting on the themes, messages, and unseen action of a play helped to guide audiences to understand the intended progression of a narrative. Ancient Greek theater typically involved one actor playing many different roles, and the Greek chorus helped to clarify what was going on.
• Draws the audience in: The Greek chorus addresses the audience directly, often engaging in wry commentary seeking to let the audience in on privileged information.
• Expresses a characters’ inner thoughts: The Greek chorus is able to reveal a main character’s emotions and motivations to the audience, even when they are trying to hide them.
• Gives principal actors a moment offstage: Choral interludes allowed actors in ancient Greece a moment to change backstage, often with actors playing multiple characters needing a breather.

The ancient Greek chorus is still used in some modern plays and films, and often in modern musicals. Here are a few examples of the Greek chorus being used outside of Greek plays.

1. 1. Little Shop of Horrors (1982): The twentieth-century musical black comedy Little Shop of Horrors follows a group of down-and-out residents of urban Skid Row, namely a nebbish florist named Seymour who discovers a menacing plant that promises to fulfill his wildest dreams. The three “urchins”—styled after a 1960s girl group—narrate Seymour’s cautionary tale through a series of Motown-inspired songs.
2. 2. Disney’s Hercules (1997): The “muses” in Disney’s 1997 animated version of Hercules are a prime example of the modern Greek chorus. These five characters come to life from the painting on a Grecian urn to clue us in on Greek mythology to help contextualize this hero’s journey.
3. 3. Do the Right Thing (1989): Spike Lee’s 1989 film Do the Right Thing focuses on the bubbling over of racial tensions in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn. Three elderly men from the neighborhood—Coconut Sid, ML, and Sweet Dick—form the story’s Greek chorus, as they hold court on a street corner and humorously discuss the goings-on of the neighborhood.

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