Background on Greek Drama

Sophocles and Greek Drama Sophocles and Greek Drama How was Greek drama born? It developed from ancient rituals honoring Dionysus. The celebrations became a yearly occurrence held in Athens. Difference between tragedies and satyr plays? Tragedies are serious plays about religious or mythic questions. Satyr plays are humorous plays about religious or mythic questions.

Review: Sophocles and Greek Drama Describe the theater of Dionysus. Semicircle Seats carved out of stone on a hillside Performance area in two parts: orchestra and skene

Review: Sophocles and Greek Drama Sophocles surprised Athenians by: Winning first prize for tragedy at the festival of Dionysus, beating Aeschylus. Who was Aeschylus? The leading playwright of the time (think Steven Speilberg) How many tragedies did Sophocles write? He wrote more than 120 tragedies… only 7 still survive today.

Review: Sophocles and Greek Drama What was Sophocles concerned about? He was concerned with the individual’s need to find his/her place in the world within the existing moral/cosmic order. Moral lessons against too much pride and religious indifference. What did Sophocles add to Greek drama? A third actor (originally two- used masks) Painted sets Larger chorus (from 12 to 15 members)

Greek Theatre

Greek Tragedy A Greek tragedy is structures as follows: (each genre has a different structure) I. Prologue: Spoken by one or two characters before the chorus appears. The –prologue usually gives the background information needed to understand the events of the play. II. Parodos: the song sung by the chorus as it makes its entrance III. Episodes/Scenes: the main action of the play

Greek Tragedy Con’t IV. Odes: a song (and often dance) that reflects on the events of the episodes, and weaves the plot into a cohesive whole A. Choragos: the leader of the chorus who often interacts with the characters in the scenes

B. Chorus: the singers/dancers who remark on the action; react as the playwright hopes the audience will 1. strophe: the movement of the chorus from right to left across the stage 2. antistrophe: the reaction to the strophe, which moves across the stage from left to right.

The Chorus The chorus was made up of amateur actors. In Oedipus Rex, the chorus acts like a character as well as a group of citizens. They are used to set the mood and heighten the dramatic effects. The chorus adds movement, song, & dance.

Chorus Con’t They usually entered just after the opening of the play and remained on stage until the end. During their part, they periodically stopped moving to allow the audience to consider what they are saying.

The Actors The chorus usually wore similar masks to unify them as a “group,” but actors wore them to distinguish between various characters. Since all Greek actors were men, it was necessary to wear masks in order to portray female characters.

Since there were only three parts, masks allowed for more characters to be portrayed. Each character had a different mask, so the three actors had to be highly skilled individuals to portray each role appropriately. All performers were men, however, anyone could attend theatre productions.

Greek Dramatic Structure EXODUS: THE CONCLUDING SECTION OF THE TRAGEDY. THE EXODUS ENDS WITH THE CHORUS SINGING THEIR FINAL LINES AS THEY EXIT.

Common in Greek Tragedy: Dramatic irony: When the audience knows something that the characters don’t know Fall of Hubris: Hubris is excessive pride. Many tragedies deal with human pride leading to arrogant behaviors that anger the gods. Thus, man must be punished. Fate vs. Destiny: Many tragedies feature characters who try to escape unfavorable prophecies. This is futile, however, as man does not often have the power or luck to change his/her fate as determined by cosmic forces or gods/goddesses.

Characteristics of a Tragic Hero Must have a fall from greatness (either power, wealth, or social standing) Must be an extraordinary person, yet have a tragic flaw Tragic flaw: often a positive character trait that, when taken to the extreme, causes tragedy Must experience a moment of realization that he/she has erred Must suffer greatly due to his/her actions or flaw (often, but not always, this means death)

What have others said about Tragedy? "We participate in tragedy. At comedy we only look.“ -- Aldous Huxley "I've never thought of my characters as being sad. On the contrary, they are full of life. They didn't choose tragedy. Tragedy chose them.“ --Juliette Binoche

Do Now: "Tragedy is more important than love. Out of all human events, it is tragedy alone that brings people out of their own petty desires and into awareness of other humans‘ suffering. Tragedy occurs in human lives so that we will learn to reach out and comfort others“ --C. S. Lewis