greek theatre terms Flashcards

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1
Q

Anagnorisis

A

startling discovery; moment of epiphany; time of revalation when a character discovers their true identity.

  • angnorisis occurs when Oedipus realises who he is (son of Jocasta and Laius)
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2
Q

Antagonist

A

chief opponent of the protagonist in a Greek play

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2
Q

Dionysus

A
  • Patron of Greek drama
  • God of wine and vegetation
  • Son of Zeus and one of the most important Greek gods.
  • his death and rebirth symbolised renewal, each Spring Greeks celebrated his resurrection.
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3
Q

Attica

A

Pennencula in SE Greece that included Athens.

the great period of Greek drama, 6th and 4th centuries BC is known as the Attic period.

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4
Q

Catharsis

A

a purification of emotions.

Aristotle (greek philosopher) used it to describe the effect on the audience of a tragedy acted out on a theatre stage.
- cleansing of emotions such as fear and pity
- releases tension
- audience transfers their own pity and fear into the main character

audience leaves as better persons intellectually, morally and/or socially.

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5
Q

Chorus

A

Bystanders in a play who present the odes on the action.

they sing the parados song when they enter

between episodes of action, they sing the stasimon
- to explain action
- to interpret action inrelation to the law (of state and Olympian)
- to foreshadow the fguture
- to provide moral guidance
- to serve as the actor in the play
‘- to sing and/ or dance
- to give the author’;s views

(essentially, they are like the narrator of modern films).

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6
Q
A
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7
Q

Deus ex machina

A

aka god from a machine, describing a contrives event, meaning a plot weakness in which a writer makes up an incident to further the action.
- audience considers the events improbable
- sudden and unexpected intervention by a god or divine figure
- unexpected saviour

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8
Q

dramatic irony

A

failure of a character to understand what is obvious to the audience.

Oedipus was unaware early on of what the audience knew, that he was married to his own mother, Jocasta.

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9
Q

Dithyramb

A

Choral hymn that praised Dionysus, sometimes told in a story. Inspired the development of tragis Greek plays.

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10
Q

Hamartia

A

a flaw in character or the misjudgement of the protagonist of a Greek tragedy.
- error, to make a mistake

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11
Q

hubris / hybris

A

great and/or excessive pride.

Hubris is often the character flaw (hamartia) of a protagonist in Greek drama
- considered a great sin, as it placed too much emphasis on individual will, downplaying the will of the state and endangering the community as a whole
- (pride makes people unwilling to accept wise counsel, so they act irrationally and make ‘bad’ decisions)

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12
Q

mask

A

face covering
- exaggerated features
mouth device to project the voice
- reveal emotion and personality, depicting the trade, social class or age of a character

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12
Q

Peripeteia

A

(in a tragedy) a sudden reversal of fortune from good to bad

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12
Q

ode

A

poem sung in a play or festival

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12
Q

Parode (or parados)

A

a song sung by the chorus when it enters

13
Q

Poetics

A

work by Aristotle
- analyses Greek theatre and outlines its origins and development
- one theses is that literature and other froms of art imitate the activity of humans

tragedy: higher form of playwright’s craft, imitates the actions of nobls and depicts lofty (imposing) events.

Comedy: focuses on ordinary humans and events.

13
Q

prologue (or prologos)

A

introduction of a play that provides backbround material

14
Q

protagonist

A

main character, who usually interacts with the chorus. in Greek tragedy, the protagonist is usually a person of exalted status, such as a king, queen, political leader or military hero.
- has a character flaw (hamartia), causing them to make an error in judgement
- typicallt experiences a moment of truth in which they recognise and acknowledge their mistakes/failures/sins

15
Q

stasimon

A

a song sung during the play, between episodes of action

16
Q

theatre

A

Greek open-air structure where plays were performed. Faced the afternoon sun to illuminate the performance, whilst allowing the audience to view without having to squint.

17
Q

Thesipan

A

(noun) actor or actress, any person or thing pertaining to Greek drama or drama in general.

18
Q

Tragedy

A
  • written in elevated language
  • noble protagonist falls to ruins during a struggle caused by hamartia, in character or error in judgement.

SOPHOCLES TRAGEDIES:
- based on events that already took place, audience is familiar
- protagonist -is a person of elevated status
- protagonist has a hamartia, and becomes isolated because of it, suffers a downfall
- fallen protagonist experiences epiphany, enlightenment, self-knowledge, understands his hamartia.
- audience undergoes catharsis, go away feeling better
- drama (typically) unfolds within a day

19
Q

divine will

A

decision of the gods

20
Q

divine intervention

A

the gods taking hand in a certain aspect, changing the course of things