ENGL 251 Final Exam Terms

Aeschylus

Agamemnon

Sophocles

Oedipus the King and Antigone

Euripides

Medea

Plato

The Apology

Marcus Aurelius

Meditations

Aristotle

Ethics

Virgil

The Aeneid

Ovid

Metamorphoses

Horace

Odes

corypheus

conductor or leader of the dramatic chorus in Ancient Greece

4 Elements of Chorus

-provide narrative backstory
-emphasize key ideas themes
-foreshadow future events
-provide moral commentary

central agon

main dramatic conflict between two characters in a play

hamartia

the hero's tragic flaw

anagnorisis

moment of recognition by hero

peripeteia

reversal of fortune

catharsis

cleanses and purges something of disease

The Golden Mean

-Aristotle Ethics
-the mean between two extremes
-Excess, Intermediate, Deficiency

Theodicy

-vindication of a God
-why does a good God let good people get punished?
-why does God let evil manifest?

Epic Theme of The Aeneid

-arms and the man

furor

private wrath or venegence

pietas

being obedient to the Gods; honor and duty above all else

ecphrasis

detailed work of art depicted in a literary work

Stages of Human Life in Ovid-Metamorphoses

-Golden Age
-Silver Age
-Bronze Age
-Iron Age

Ode

-short lyric poem
-written in stanzas of 2-4 lines
-intimate and reflective of lofty and heroic
-opposite of epic
-addressed to friend

Socratic Method

-question and answer