Greek Drama

Question 1

Dionysus

Answer 1

Goddess who the festivals were held for;

Associated with spring, fertility, and wine

Question 2

Stichomythia

Answer 2

Poetic device in which verse dialogue is alternated between two characters
Assisted audience in knowing who is speaking
Provided an appropriate form of verbal parrying in an argument

Question 3

Dithyramb

Answer 3

A coral lyric sung in honor of the goddess Dionysus

Question 4

Odes

Answer 4

Sung by the chorus between each episode
Reflects on the action of the episode (doesnt retell)
Put the episode in more universal terms
Divide the tragedy into various sections

Question 5

Mutes

Answer 5

Non speaking characters

Question 6

Eccyclema

Answer 6

A low platform that moved on wheels that could be pushed onto the stage to reveal offstage action
Showed dead bodies because violence was prohibited
Created by Euripides

Question 7

Strophe/antistrophe

Answer 7

The movements and gestures the chorus preformed

Question 8

Satyr plays

Answer 8

Always featured chorus
Were a comic burlesque, a parody, grotesque exaggeration of mythical subject
Contained: drinking, pranks, general merriment, and overt sexuality

Question 9

Masks

Answer 9

Made of linen, wood, and cork
Large with exaggerated features (large eyes, open mouths)
Identified gender, age, and emotion
Open mouths amplified sound

Question 10

Choragos

Answer 10

The chorus leader

Sometimes had solo lines

Question 11

Catharsis

Answer 11

Release of emotions caused by the play

Question 12

Rhetoric

Answer 12

Ancient rhetoric is he art of influencing the audiences thoughts
Relies more on the ear than on the eye
It is the chief component of Greek tragedies
The modern definition is the art of using language effectively

Question 13

Tragos

Answer 13

Greek word meaning goat

Question 14

Tragedy

Answer 14

Made from the Greek word tragos (goat) and ode (song)
Meant song sung by men dressed in goatskin
The Greek word for tragedy is tragodia

Question 15

Mythos

Answer 15

Plot

Question 16

Deus ex machina

Answer 16

A story with an abrupt ending
Also means a maChine or crane that fouls suspend an actor impersonating deity
Created by Euripides

Question 17

Aristotle’s three unities

Answer 17

Unity of place- setting of the play should be in one place
Unity of time- the action of the play should represent he passage of no more than one day
Unity of action- only action and scenes relating to the main plot should be included

Question 18

Sophocles

Answer 18

A writer of Greek tragedy
Presented human error and suffering
Concentrated on heroic characters who didn’t fit into the world around them
Introduced the third actor
Invented screen painting
Fixed he chorus to 15
Made each play of the trilogy separate in nature

Question 19

Euripides

Answer 19

Most realistic
Placed ordinary people in extraordinary situations
Relied heavily on prologues and deus ex machina endings
Invented the deus ex machina and the eccyclema

Question 20

Aeschylus

Answer 20

Known for strong construction of plot and intense and powerful emotion
Added second actor
Reduced chorus from 50 to 12
Wrote trilogies with unified themes

Question 21

Thespis

Answer 21

First writer to introduce actor

Won the first competition

Question 22

Aristotle

Answer 22

Evoked powerful emotions with his tragedies

Thought plot and incidents should be arranged to produce the essential tragic effect

Question 23

What are Aristotle’s six components of drama

Answer 23

Plot (mythos)
Character
Thought
Diction (language)
Music
Spectacle

Question 24

Characteristics of a tragic hero

Answer 24

Born into nobility and occupies high status or position
Has unquestionable potential for greatness
Responsible for his own fate
Tragedy is because of some error in judgement (hamartia)
Eventually fall from great hight or high esteem
Will take responsibility for his mistakes
Will face and accept his tragic death with honor