DRAMA Drama involves its audience ill a complete experience --elicits audience responses that run the gamut of human emotions. Greek Drama Antigone" by Sophocles- 5 th century B. C. Elizabethan Drama The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by Shakespeare- 16 th century ' Greek Drama: Tragedy Greek drama started as a worship of the god Dionysus, the god of wine and, in general, of the reproductive forces in life. Dionysus was thought to liberate believers from personal trouble, and to be himself a suffering god, undergoing death and resurrection. Tragedy was performed in Athens at the three annual festivals in honor of Dionysus, the patron of drama. New plays were written specifically for these festivals, competitions were held, and prizes awarded. A choral lyric in honor of Dionysus was sung and danced around the altar of Dionysus in a circular dancing place (orchestra). It was performed by a chorus of 50 men dressed in skins of goats (the sacred animal of the god) - thus the term tragoedia ("goat-song"). They represented satyrs, (half man, half goat) companions of Dionysus. TRAGEDY: There is a legend in Greek mythology of a magnificent bird which is born from fire and ashes. Ancient Greeks named the bird the phoenix. It is a strange conception: strength and life rising out of destruction. This conception was carried by the Greeks into an art form, the tragic drama, recognized as one of the most difficult yet enriching experiences of Western culture. The subject of a tragedy is the downfall of a hero, usually ending with her or his destruction or death. Readers or playgoers who submit themselves to tragedy share the emotions of the tragic characters. This emotional tension increases almost to the breaking point. Then, as the hero faces the final, horrible truth, the audience experiences a release, a release not granted to the hero of the play. This release is reminiscent of the phoenix, since from the ashes of devastating emotion there rises a feeling of calm, a sense of harmony in the universe. The Greeks called this emotional effect catharsis. The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 B.C. - 322 B.C.) formulated ideas about tragedy that have influenced writers for centuries. Aristotle based his ideas on the tragedies produced in his own day. CLASSICAL TRAGEDY: A drama in prose or verse which tells the story of the downfall (catastrophe) of a basically good and noble man who tempts fate because of some personal flaw (harmatia) in his character, bringing upon himself extraordinary amounts of sorrow and suffering in place of his noble life. (paripateia: a move from happiness to misery, a reversal). The most common flaw is hubris which is overwhelming pride, overwhelming self-confidence which causes the hero to ignore the gods' warnings or to violate moral laws.
CHARACTERISTICS OF TRAGIC HERO: constructed by Aristotle in.the 4th century B.C. 1. The protagonist (the hero) - is a person of "high estate, "apparently a king or queen or other member of a royal family, neither completely virtuous nor utterly villainous. He must be worthy of our interest, concern, or sympathy. An evil or depraved character cannot be a tragic hero. 2. The protagonist must fall from power and from happiness (note: his high estate gives him a place of dignity to fall from and perhaps makes his fall seem all the more a calamity in that it involves an entire nation or people) 3. The protagonist's downfall is the result of a flaw in his character (weakness), or an error in judgment. Many times the hero brings about his own downfall through the tragic flaw of hubris - excessive pride or arrogance. 4. The protagonist must experience a revelation. He must gain the knowledge that he is responsible for the tragic events (wisdom through suffering). The disaster that befalls the protagonist should be inevitable, either decreed by fate, or the clear outcome of actions engaged in or choices made by him. The protagonist must assert his force and dignity as a man and not take his destruction meekly without battle or protest. CONCEPTS OF GREEK TRAGEDY-RELIGION AND MORALITY 1. Worship of many gods with human attributes 2. Belief in Fate as a divine force superior to the gods every person s life was ruled by a predetermined fate, a natural force set in motion by the gods and one that could not be altered. 3. Importance of oracles to interpret the will of the gods. They predicted the future through omens and dreams. 4. Belief that every person s fate held in store a personal allotment of unavoidable misery. Misery in itself was not tragic, but was expected. 5. Belief in immortality of souls in Hades; but principal emphasis on man in this life. Burial of dead relatives an important religious duty. 6. Belief that gods were jealous of humans. Excesses of any kind were bad (hubris, power, wealth, intelligence, beauty, pride, etc.). 7. Belief that the gods interacted with man, giving messages to him and punishing him for his folly or as a part of his fate. CONVENTIONS OF CLASSICAL GREEK TRAGEDY 1. Ceremony of state religion - plays produced only at religious festivals. 2. Scene of drama is always an outdoor one interior scenes or events taking place away from the scene of the action cannot be shown. They are revealed to the audience through the exyclema, or reported by a messenger. 3. No violence portrayed before audience 4. Continuous presence of the chorus 5. Unity of time, place, and action: a. Time takes place in a 24 hour period b. place - events limited to one setting c. action - each part of plot is dependent on the previous one; no sub-plots 6. No curtain; no intermissions
7. Outlines from plots were known in advance, because subjects were almost exclusively taken from well-known mythic stories. 8. Maximum of three actors, so many roles were played by one actor 9. Actors wore masks and costumes 10. No lighting effects, all scenes acted in broad daylight 11. Only men performed on stage - no women allowed FUNCTIONS OF THE CHORUS: primarily a group of 15 men dressed the same who follow the dramatic action closely, react to it emotionally and comment on it. They create a psychological background to the action. 1. Gives background, informing audience of preceding events. 2. Chants poetry and dance. 3. Interprets events 4. Reflect attitudes of citizens in audience 5. Relieves tension 6. Tells about violence 7. The leader of the chorus has a special importance, often acting as spokesman for the group 8. Often converses with and gives advice to the actors. MECHANICAL DEVICES USED 1. Dues ex machina (the machine) - a crane suspended from the top of the skene building to raise and lower flying figures and to introduce and remove gods. The deus ex machina was used to give a formal, miraculous conclusion to a tragedy. The god appeared to come from on high, in the form of a dummy suspended from the machine, to unravel all the unsolved problems of the play. 2. Exyclema- movable platform rolled out from behind the scenes to depict events which take place inside the building before which the action occurs. Sophocles 495 B.C - 406 B.C Sophocles was one of the three great tragedians who lived and wrote in fifth century B.C Athens. The others were Aeschylus and Euripides. The Athenians considered Sophocles to be their most successful playwright and his works continued to be valued highly throughout the Greek world long after his death. Aristotle's Poetics repeatedly cites Oedipus the King as the most perfect example of a tragedy. Famous Trilogy: Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex), Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone
Stage Greek tragedies and comedies were always performed in outdoor theaters. Early Greek theaters were probably little more than open areas in city centers or next to hillsides where the audience, standing or sitting, could watch and listen to the chorus singing about the exploits of a god or hero. From the late 6th century BC to the 4th and 3rd centuries BC there was a gradual evolution towards more elaborate theater structures, but the basic layout of the Greek theater remained the same. The major components of Greek theater are labeled on the diagram above. Orchestra: The orchestra (literally, "dancing space") was normally circular. It was a level space where the chorus would dance, sing, and interact with the actors who were on the stage near the skene. The earliest orchestras were simply made of hard earth, but in the Classical period some orchestras began to be paved with marble and other materials. In the center of the orchestra there was often a thymele, or altar. The orchestra of the theater of Dionysus in Athens was about 60 feet in diameter. Theatron: The theatron (literally, "viewing-place") is where the spectators sat. The theatron was usually part of hillside overlooking the orchestra, and often wrapped around a large portion of the orchestra (see the diagram above). Spectators in the fifth century BC probably sat on cushions or boards, but by the fourth century the theatron of many Greek theaters had marble seats. Skene: The skene (literally, "tent") was the building directly behind the stage. During the 5th century, the stage of the theater of Dionysus in Athens was probably raised only two or three steps above the level of the orchestra, and was perhaps 25 feet wide and 10 feet deep. The skene was directly in back of the stage, and was usually decorated as a palace, temple, or other building, depending on the needs of the play. It had at least one set of doors, and actors could make entrances and exits through them. There was also access to the roof of the skene from behind, so that actors playing gods and other characters (such as the Watchman at the beginning of Aeschylus' Agamemnon) could appear on the roof, if needed. Parodos: The parodoi (literally, "passageways") are the paths by which the chorus and some actors (such as those representing messengers or people returning from abroad) made their entrances and exits. The audience also used them to enter and exit the theater before and after the performance.
Questions Directions: Answer all questions in complete sentences on your own paper. 1. Describe the origins of Greek theater. 2. What is catharsis? 3. What is the most common tragic flaw? Define it. 4. List the four characteristics of a tragic hero. 5. What is Fate? 6. Who predicted the future through omens and dreams? 7. Tell the Greeks view of misery. 8. What was the view of life after death? 9. What are excesses and how did the Greeks view them? 10. When were plays produced? 11. How are interior scenes portrayed? 12. Was there any violence shown to the audience? 13. Did they have curtains on the stage? 14. What were the plots from most plays taken from? 15. How many actors did they have in each play? 16. What did the actors wear? 17. Were women allowed to perform on stage? 18. List four functions of the chorus. 19. Tell about the two machines used. 20. Where did the chorus perform? " ",