ENGLISH 10

D A Y 31

SOPHOCLES

Tragedy

ANTIGONE

Greek Theater

WHAT IS TRAGEDY?

Video

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• Born in 496 BC- Lived to be 90.

• From Colonus-was born into a wealthy family.

• One of three great Greek tragic playwrights.

• Wrote during the “Golden Age.”-wrote over 100 plays. Only seven remain

• Realistic and grim

• 123 Dramas• Added 3rd

characters- Before this, all dramas were played with only two characters

• Entered his plays into contests- awarded first place 20 times and second place all others.

• Scene painting. Skilled in music.

WHO IS SOPHOCLES?

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GREEK THEATRE• Tragedies were produced as part of a religious

festival every year in Athens.• Awards were given to the playwright who presented the best

series of three dramas.• Plays were performed in vast outdoor amphitheaters

that could seat 40,000• All actors were men. They wore masks with built-in

megaphones so they could be heard. Actors’ movements were bold and definite.

• The stage was a slightly raised platform.• Violent action took place offstage; messengers told the

audience what had happened.

GREEK THEATRE (C0N.)The Chorus—a group of actors who moved and

sang together—acted as one character and spoke in unison during the Choral Odes, which separated the scenes of drama.

Greek theater incorporated unities of time, place, and action, which meant that there were no scene changes, and no complicated subplots; the plays took place in one day and in one place and focused on once event.

The audience knew the story ahead of time. The emotion of the characters is what they came to see.

THE “GREATEST THEATRE”--EPIDAURUShttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CVO9Vd067U

BACKGROUND: ANTIGONE

Prezi

Video

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