Theatre of Ancient Greece

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSRLK7SogvE

Dating from c 700 BC

Religious festivals: Most famously City Dionysia

Patterned after Egyptian ceremonies in honor of Osiris

Processions, sacrifice and tragedy competition

Early tragedy in the form of DITHYRAMB: hymns sung and danced by the chorus in honor of the gods

6 days long

Winner would get wreath of laurel and their name carved on the theatre wall

Origins

First actor and inventor of Tragedy – tragic poet who stepped away from the chorus thereby inventing dialog from the dithyrambs. 534 BCE

Thespis

Aeschylus (c. 525-456 BCE)

7 of about 90 plays extant

Oldest extant plays

Introduction of second actor

Oresteia (only extant Greek trilogy)

His plays focused on a theme or

message. Often one principal

against another principal reconciled by

an even larger principal

Tragic Playwrights

Sophocles (c. 496-406 BCE)

Wrote more than 120 plays but only 7 extant

Ajax, Oedipus the King, Electra

Won 24 contests, never placed lower

than second

Introduced third actor

Mastery of structure – focused on

Plot and storyline

Tragic Playwrights

Euripides (c. 480 – 406 BCE)

Wrote about 90 plays, 18 extant

Medea, Andromache, The Trojan Women

Enormously popular in later periods, but only won two contests at the time•Dealt with taboo issues (love for stepson, murder of kids) •Questioned the idea of “fate” in tragedy•Unclear Dramatic structure

Deus ex machina

Counterbalanced by realistic characters and dialog; focus on character

Tragic Playwrights

Burlesque treatment of mythology

Rural setting

Lewd language and gestures, dancing, colloquial language

Performed between tragedies

Satyr Plays

Comedy (komoidia) was accepted at City Dionysia in 487-486 BCE.

Aristophanes (c 448- c 380) – Old Comedy

Lysistrata

Eating, drinking, sex, wealth, leisure

Political anti-war messages

Comedy

Role of the Chorus

• Adds dramatic energy with dances, songs and visual spectacle

• Establishes ethical and social framework (the voice of the common people)

• Sets overall mood of the play

• Slows the action, adds intervals to give audience time to reflect

• Acts as a character, asking questions, giving advice

Greek Chorus

Aristotle’s Poetics

Somewhere between 335-323 BCE the philosopher, Aristotle, created drama criticism

Poetics was probably notes from a lecture on “poetry” (“making”, includes tragedy, comedy, satyr plays)

Described the structure of plays, popular opinion of the playwrights, good and bad acting, elements of drama, etc.  

Prologue – provides information about what has happened prior to the start of the play

Parados – Entrance of the Chorus – introduces chorus, gives exposition, sets mood

Episodes separated by Stasima (choral odes)

Exodos – conclusion and exit

• Inciting incident is late in play

• Death and violence offstage

• Frequent use of messengers

• Action is continuous and occurs in single location

Tragedy Structure

Mythos - plot

• Should contain reversal, recognition and suffering Should arouse fear and pity

Ethos – character

• Tragic accident should come from a mistake

• Main character should be good, appropriate and consistent

Dianoia - thought

Lexus - language

Melos – melody

Opsis – spectacle

Six Parts of Tragedy