Aim is catharsis of spectators, to arouse in them fear and pity and then purge them of these emotions
PPrologue – opening OOde – dignified, lyrical verse or choral song chanted by chorus as they enter EEpisode – acts EExodos – final action
Festival for Dionysus – 3 Days, 3 poets, 4 plays each, 3 tragedies and 1 satire, winner Thespis – father of drama, preformed first tragedy Story lines – from mythology, a collective social, political, and religious history; therefore, the audience was already familiar with them.
All male Wore masks – detailed enough so character was identified, generic enough to represent every man robes in symbolic colors platform shoes Dramatis Personae – list of characters
Introduce and question new characters Point out significant events and facts Voice outlook of citizens Cover passage of time Separate episodes Do not wear masks Used megaphones
Author and philosopher Man’s external pursuit of knowledge Audience Knew the story so kept involved using irony and allusions Expected to learn about motives and forces that moved characters
Aristotelian tragic hero : Aristotle once said that "A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." An Aristotelian tragic hero must have four characteristics. 1.Nobility (of a noble birth) or wisdom (by virtue of birth).wisdom 2.Hamartia (translated as flaw, mistake, or error, a flaw of character).Hamartia 3.A reversal of fortune (and being stupid) (peripetia) brought about because of the hero's Hamartia.peripetia 4.The discovery or recognition that the reversal was brought about by the hero's own actions (anagnorisis).Flaw is recognized too late to save the hero from his fall.anagnorisis
Hero must be noble in nature, but imperfect so that the audience can see themselves in him. Hero must see and understand his doom, as well as the fact that his fate was discovered by his own actions. In other words, the fall is not pure loss. There is some increase in awareness, some gain in self-knowledge, some discovery on the part of the tragic hero. He suffers both outwardly (isolation, alienation, attacks) and inwardly (tortured conscience). Hero's story should arouse fear and empathy.
Because of his position, his actions usually have far-reaching effects. Frequently, he makes serious errors in judgment which lead him to committing the deed which begins his downfall. Often he has a distorted perception of, or is blind to, reality. Hero must be physically or spiritually wounded by his experiences, often resulting in his death. Ideally, the hero should be a king or leader of men, so that his people experience his fall with him.king The hero must be intelligent so he may learn from his mistakes. The hero usually has an unusual birth, was spirited away and raised somewhere else, does not know his background, returns home and saves the day, but has a tragic, unusual death.
Delphic Morality – This was written on the gates of Apollo’s oracle-Know thyself, nothing in excess, punishment is near. Know thyself, be a man, don’t act like a god Nothing in Excess, if you behave in a way that is excessive or have an excessive character flaw… Punishment is Near, the gods will punish you big time for it.
Oedipus Rex (swollen foot) born to King Laius, kills dad, answers riddle of the sphinx, married mom, lived happily with four kids, plague comes to city, action begins
OEDIPUS: king of Thebes PRIEST: the high priest of Thebes CREON: Oedipus’ brother-in-law CHORUS of Theban elders TEIRESIAS: an old blind prophet BOY: attendant on Teiresias JOCASTA: wife of Oedipus, sister of Creon MESSENGER: an old man SERVANT: an old shepherd SECOND MESSENGER: a servant of Oedipus ANTIGONE: daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, a child ISMENE: daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, a child SERVANTS and ATTENDANTS on Oedipus and Jocasta MEROPE – Oedipus’s adoptive mom POLYBUS – Oedipus’s adoptive dad Places THEBES – city of Apollo, city of light CORINTH – where Oedipus was raised CITHAERON – where Oedipus was “killed”