Studied by 120 peopleAdaptation
Material from another artistic medium (such as a novel or film) re-written as a play. It meets the needs and requirements of the theater
Analysis
questioning the text in order to gain a better understanding of the author’s message, style, or characters
Aristotle
he believed that theater came from a human’s desire to be intimate. It was important for the audience to experience emotional release and that tragedy should be a complete story that is both serious and important
Aside
a character addressing the audience to make an observation or quick remark that the characters on stage cannot hear
Blank Verse
a verse line of ten syllables with five stresses and no rhyme
Catharsis
releasing strong or pent up energy through art, it is what Aristotle believed the audience experienced while watching plays. The audience is more likely to experience this release if they form a strong attachment or connection to the characters (REGULATING AND RELEASING)
Chorus
in classical greek drama this was a group of actors who described and commented on the main action of the play with a song, dance, and recitation
city Dionysia
ancient dramatic festival in which tragedy, comedy, and satyric drama originated; it was held in march in Athens to honor Dionysus
collaboration
a group of theater makers (creators, designers, directors, and performers) who work together to examine and develop ideas in order to generate theatrical material that is then molded into a piece of theater
Conventions
a technique employed regularly in the drama so that the audience comes to attach specific meaning to it. When a technique is employed regularly throughout the play, the audience
Dionysian
the theater of Dionysus was on the south side of Athens and was where all Greek plays were first presented
Duality/Doubleness
the actor or actress is never merely one personality as they take on the character as well. The actor constantly struggles with which is the actor and which is the character and between what the actor is and believes and what the character is and believes/says (also think about how Dionysus and Pentheus were both demanding respect)
Elizabethan Playhouse
differs from a greek amphitheater because it was smaller, took place outdoors as well but during the day, there were still only male actors, there was now a thrust stage which was raised and the people stood in the pit surrounding the stage on three sides,
Epic Poetry
a lengthy narrative poem that is typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters. It also normally takes place outside of the play in another setting
Greek Amphitheater
open air theaters
Imitation
the act of copying somebody or something. It is an act of copying the ways somebody talks, behaves, especially to entertain
Intention
the meaning behind the line or what’s going on in the actor’s mind – the subtext
Interpretation
a written play or manuscript being taken and performed on stage to an audience
Masks
allowed actors in theater to better express their emotions and their characters (also allowed the male characters to better come off as female characters since females were not allowed to act)
Messenger Speeches
messengers give the essence of the news in a short dialogue and then he is asked by the actor or chorus to give the whole story which he does in a long speech or monologue which can be between 80-100 lines in length
Metatheatre
a play within a play
mirrors
a set of characters that behave similarly (normally mirroring the protagonist)
foils
a character who contrasts with another character, typically a character who contrasts with the protagonist in order to highlight some characteristics of the protagonist
Peloponnesian War
a war in which Athens and its allies were defeated by the league centered on Sparta
Pity and Fear
think about how at the end of Euripides, Pentheus is torn apart (pity because he stepped straight into Dionysus’ trap and fear because he disrespected a god and got literally ripped apart for it. Disrespect led him straight to his death. Also pity for his mother because she was bewitched by Dionysus and thought her son was a lion and she really thought that she was slaying a lion and brought the head back for her son to hang on the wall. She had no idea that she had murdered her own son)
Soliloquy
a passage in a drama in which the character expresses his thoughts or feelings aloud while either alone on stage or with the other actors keeping silent
Stichomythia
basically moving the story line by line via conversation instead of the long dialogues
pygmalion
a king who created a statue of a woman and fell in love with it; Aphrodite brought the sculpture to life as Galatea
Note
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