Module 9: Medieval Europe Flashcards
Who was the queen of medieval closet drama and the world’s first known female playwright?
Hrotsvitha
Why did Hrotsvitha start writing plays?
She read and enjoyed Plautus and Terences’ works, but felt they were too lewd. She loved comedies so she adapted them to be religiously appropriate and “holy.”
What are Hrotshvitha’s plays known as?
The Comaedia Sacrae (“sacred comedies”)
What was the theme of Hrotsvitha’s plays?
Chastity
Who wrote “Dulcitius?”
Hrotsvitha
In what play do three sisters happily die virgins while their captor makes out with pots and pans and is called a demon?
Dulcitius
Why is Dulcitius’ ending ‘happy?’
Despite all three sisters dying, they held their chastity and their faith. They will receive eternal life and have gained the crown of virginity.
What is a closet drama?
A play written with the intent to be read, not performed.
What is ‘the canon?’
According to Sue-Ellen Case, “The canon is constituted by the selection of major playwrights included in the histories of the drama, the anthologies of the plays,” etc. (like the MCU canon or a cartoon’s canon, but with playwrights)
Who is Sue-Ellen Case?
She wrote “Re-Viewing Hrotsvitha,” an article “explaining why women playwrights are often marginalized.”
What is a ‘mansion’ in Medieval Europe drama?
A specific locale (ex. Juliet’s balcony). Decorated to suggest different scenes.
What is a pageant wagon?
When each guild supplied something for a mystery play (actors, costumes, sets) they piled it into a big cart know as a pageant wagon.
What is a cycle play?
An ambitious genre of medieval drama that depicts the whole history of the Christian universe, starting w/ the creation of the world and ending w/ the death & resurrection of Christ.
What is a mystery play?
In many places (especially England), cycle plays were produced by trade and craft guilds (‘mystery’ was another word for a ‘trade’).
What is a passion play?
Another name for a cycle play, as long as the particular cycle focuses on the passion of Christ.
