Aristotle’s Poetics fuel Ambridge Drama from Sally Knights

Welcome to the fifth series in the annual podcast programme from Academic Archers, bringing you papers from our 2024 conference.

This episode features a single paper that explores how Aristotle and Greek tragedy continue to shape the drama of Ambridge.

Aristotle’s Poetics fuel Ambridge Drama - Sally Knights

This paper demonstrates how The Archers has roots in Greek tragedy, and how knowledge of ancient drama can enrich the listener’s appreciation of the programme.

Using Aristotle’s Poetics, the theatre of Dionysus, and the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, the paper draws clear parallels between Greek theatre and Ambridge. Questions such as “Who is the Ambridge chorus leader?” and “Where do the writers employ deus ex machina?” sit alongside reflections on how pity, fear and family conflict remain central to its storylines.

The comic tradition is also considered, with Greek vase imagery of wine festivals providing a striking link to the Grundys and the cider club.

Delivered with humour, rhetorical questions, and references to both Greek terms and Ambridge plotlines, this paper shows how ancient and modern drama are closely connected.

About the speaker

• Sally Knights taught Classics for 20 years at Filton College, Bristol, including a sabbatical at Newnham College, Cambridge, and also taught at Redland High, Bristol. She has chaired the Bristol Classical Association, supported local schools through the University of Bristol’s outreach network, and produced Greek tragedies at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2010 and 2014. Publications include GCSE Classical Civilisation (OUP, 2009) and The World of the Hero (Bloomsbury, 2017). She is now retired and describes herself as an independent scholar.

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