greek theatre terms Flashcards
Anagnorisis
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)
Antagonist
chief opponent of the protagonist in a Greek play
Dionysus
- 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.
Attica
Pennencula in SE Greece that included Athens.
the great period of Greek drama, 6th and 4th centuries BC is known as the Attic period.
Catharsis
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.
Chorus
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).
Deus ex machina
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
dramatic irony
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.
Dithyramb
Choral hymn that praised Dionysus, sometimes told in a story. Inspired the development of tragis Greek plays.
Hamartia
a flaw in character or the misjudgement of the protagonist of a Greek tragedy.
- error, to make a mistake
hubris / hybris
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)
mask
face covering
- exaggerated features
mouth device to project the voice
- reveal emotion and personality, depicting the trade, social class or age of a character
Peripeteia
(in a tragedy) a sudden reversal of fortune from good to bad
ode
poem sung in a play or festival
Parode (or parados)
a song sung by the chorus when it enters
Poetics
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.
prologue (or prologos)
introduction of a play that provides backbround material
protagonist
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
stasimon
a song sung during the play, between episodes of action
theatre
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.
Thesipan
(noun) actor or actress, any person or thing pertaining to Greek drama or drama in general.
Tragedy
- 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
divine will
decision of the gods
