Sock and buskin

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).

Comedy and tragedy masks

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
  • Sock and Buskin (Brown University)
  • Sock 'n' Buskin Theatre Company, a troupe at Carleton University
  • Theatre of ancient Greece

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.


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