Catharsis

Question 1

What is a catharsis?

Answer 1

• arouse the “unhealthy” emotions of pity and fear to cleanse us of those emotions

Question 2

How is a catharsis achieved?

Answer 2

• from watching the tragic hero’s terrible fate

Question 3

What was the purpose of Greek drama?

Answer 3

• contribute to the good health of the community
• learn a moral lesson from watching a noble man suffer
• cleanse the soul of the audience as if they had gone through these events themselves and learned the lessons first hand

Question 4

There are only a few settings drama. What is the setting of Oedipus?

Answer 4

• The exterior of Oedipus palace

Question 5

The unities are the principles of dramatic structure formulated by Aristotle. What are the three unities?

Answer 5

Time, place action

Question 6

What is the unity of time?

Answer 6

• only actions or events that could logically have taken place in twenty four hours are included

Question 7

What is the Unity of Place?

Answer 7

• the actions or events being described are limited to one one locale or setting

Question 8

What is the unity of action?

Answer 8

• only events that contributes to the plot (cause and effect) are included