Secondary Lit, Greek Theatre Flashcards
the training of the chorus
usually the chroegos was concerned with the chorus however David Taylor wrote in his ‘Greek and Roman stage’ that “Sophocles would train the chorus himself”
According to David Taylor in ‘The Greek and Roman Stage’ what would the actors do before the performance
“before the festival the actors would show what to expect so that the audience can learn about the subject of the play”
what does Edith Hall say is a key theme in the Bacchae
“Women is a key theme in Euripides” he explores maternal suffering and “gives women different emotional sets”
What does Edith Hall say about the theme of viewing and vision
“Pentheus is desperate to see”
“Vision is deceitful”
“tragic theatre was hard to watch”
What does Richard Seaford say about Mystery Cult
that the mystery cults “are unfamiliar to our idea of cult”
“rehearsal for the next world to pass into eternal happiness”
“the earthquake is a reflection on the initiation ceremonies”
What does Richard Seaford say about transvestitism in mystery cult
“powerful shift in Pentheus as he changes his identities”
“in a mystery cult identities of male or female are dissolved”
What does Richard Seaford say about Dionysus and transvestitism
“Dionysus is androgynous”
“a fawn-skin would not cover Dionysus attractively adding to the androgynous look”
What does Richard Seaford say about Pentheus and transvestitism
Pentheus is enclosed and stubborn but this is “broken through dressing as a maenad when he is initiated”
“Pentheus is the opposite to the chorus” the chorus loose individuality by being maenads “like birds who rise in one motion” but Pentheus represents “isolated individualism”
What does Richard Seaford say about ‘Polis’ cult and women
“Polis city state drives women to the mountainside”
the “norms of the Polis were reversed”
“symbolic challenge to the intense patriarchy as they suckle animals to dissolve the distinction between” man/woman and human/animal
What does David Hodgkinson say about family in Bacchae
“Euripides was frequently concerned with the family and its relation with the state… family is central to the play”
What does David Hodgkinson say about the mother/son relationship in Bacchae
“opens with a son establishing honour to his mother… the play closer with a different scene, a mother claiming honour for killing her son”
“Pentheus was blind to not see Dionysus’ true ancestry…Agave was made blind to Pentheus”
What does Judith Mossman say about Dionysus
“When the god is at his most terrifying, we remain aware of his benefits; ecstasy, wine, freedom. When he seems harmless we sense his danger”
His mask would be “smiling, an outward sign of inward ambiguity… the smile of the matyr or the smile of the destroyer”
“it is unusual for a god to dominate the action for the rest of the play”
“Dionysus does not say he will kill Pentheus, he hides his emotions, and transforms weakness into strength”
What does Judith Mossman say about Power and Vulnerability in Bacchae
the shift of sympathy “we sympathise with Dionysus until Pentheus dresses as a maenad… it is easier for a mortal to sympathise with a mortal even an unpleasant one”
Importance of Pentheus “we expect Dionysus to appear after the earthquake to punish Pentheus”
“the messenger speech contrasts Pentheus’ lurid fantasies… showing the dual nature of Dionysus”
What does Scott Scullion say about Pentheus’ relationship with the women of Thebes
“Pentheus dislikes the corruption of the women of Thebes”
all of his objections (cults novelty, foreign provenance, Pentehus’ birth rite) are “merely a (215-25) which is a lingering description of what strikes him as the stranger’s sexual attractiveness”
What does Scott Scullion say about Pentheus’ as a voyeur
“Pentheus has little to say against the cult other than sexual wrong doing”
“Even when Pentheus undergoes his transvestitism, Dionysus does not have complete control over Pentheus”