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Greek Drama and Oedipus Rex. Mr. Sweeney Southwest High School. Drama. Drama – a story written to be performed onstage by actors The plot is divided into acts , which are further divided into scenes Dialogue – the conversations of the characters. Comedy vs. Tragedy. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Greek Drama and Oedipus RexMr. SweeneySouthwest High School
DramaDrama – a story written to be
performed onstage by actors◦The plot is divided into acts, which
are further divided into scenes◦Dialogue – the conversations of the
characters
Comedy vs. TragedyComedy – a play with a happy
ending; usually deals with the struggles of common people against social forces
Tragedy – depicts the downfall of a main character known as a tragic hero
Greek TragedyQualities of a tragic hero
◦Nobility◦Hamartia – a flaw that brings about the
hero’s downfall; all tragic heroes have one◦Hubris – also known as arrogance; it was
the most common flaw in Greek tragic heroes
Catharsis – the emotional cleansing we experience as we watch the character realize he has destroyed himself
Greek PlaysOnly three actors
were used for all the main roles; each often played multiple roles
Actors wore masks so the audiences knew which characters they were supposed to be in each scene
Greek PlaysA chorus of 10-15 people
commented on the action and divided the play by reciting odes
Each scene was, therefore, an episode (“between the odes”)
Greek PlaywrightsThree most
famous:◦Aeschylus◦Euripides◦Sophocles
Greek Theaters
Orchestra
Skene
Proskenium
Theatron
Greek Theaters
Greek PlaysPlays were usually performed as
part of religious festivalsAwards were given to the authors
of the very best plays at these festivals (Sophocles won first place in 24 of the 62 festivals he entered)
Oedipus Rex was first performed at the Festival of Dionysius in Athens; Dionysius was the Greek god of wine
The Tale of OedipusKing Laius of Thebes learns from an
oracle that he will have a son, and that this son will kill his father (Laius) and marry his mother (Jocasta)
When the baby is born, Laius has his feet pinned together
Laius then gives the baby to a servant and instructs him to take the baby into the wild and kills him
The Tale of OedipusThe servant cannot bring himself to kill
the innocent child, so he passes him on to a Corinthian shepherd he meets
The shepherd takes the baby back to Corinth and presents him to the Corinthian king and queen
They name him Oedipus (“swollen foot”) because of the wound to his feet; they do not tell him he was adopted
The Tale of OedipusWhen he has grown to a young
man, a drunken servant tells Oedipus that he was adopted
Since no one else will tell him the truth, Oedipus goes to an oracle, who tells him he will kill his father and marry his mother
Distraught, Oedipus vows never to return to Corinth
The Tale of OedipusOn the road, Oedipus
meets a wealthy traveler, who picks a fight with him; Oedipus kills the man, and the man’s servant runs away
Oedipus continues traveling and meets the Sphinx, who has terrorized the city of Thebes with his riddle
Oedipus solves the riddle and kills the Sphinx
The Tale of OedipusThe people of Thebes are
overjoyed, but their king has been killed – the do not know who did it
They name Oedipus their new king and so he marries the old king’s widow, Jocasta
As the play begins, he has been king for about 20 years, and has multiple children with Jocasta