Chorus | Literary Term - Definition, Characteristic and Examples | Learning The Easy Way

Chorus:

Chorus is an important  Figure of Speech in English Literature. 

Originally, the chorus was a group of performers at a religious festivals. Chorus played a vital role in Greek tragedies.

In ancient Greece, the group of dancers and singers who participated in religious festivals and dramatic performances. They were called chorus. and they  sung songs. These songs were called Choral songs.

At first, the choral songs made up the major part of the play, the spoken monologue and dialogue were interpolated. Then, the chorus became subordinate, offering comments between the acts. 

In Elizabethan drama, the role of the chorus was often taken by a single action, who recited the prologue and epilogue and gave inter-act comments that linked the acts and foreshadowed coming events.

In Shakespeare's king Henry V, we find that, the chorus comments on the action, explains scene changes and asks the audience for sympathetic attitude.