Antigone Greek theater terms

Dionysus

The god of wine and fertility

Tradegy

Goat song,Serious work of fiction, usually a drama

• Centers around the downfall of a character, usually the protagonist or tragic hero

• Arouses pity and fear in the reader to accomplish catharsis of such emotions

Catharsis

A strong emotional response experienced by an audience that leaves them “cleansed” or purified”

Tragic hero

• a character who is neither entirely good or evil but a mixture of both

a noble character of higher moral standards than the audience

• a character who suffers from a change in fortune from happiness to misery because of a mistake

a character whose misfortunes are worse than they deserve

Hamartia

also known as a tragic flaw, is an error in judgment, a misstep, ignorance, inherited weakness

Hubris

his or her excessive pride, self confidence or arrogance

How events unfold

A change in fortune from good to bad

A recognition of some awful truth

A progression of complications

A catastrophe

Sophocles

• Sophocles wrote more than 120 plays, but only 7 have survived.
  Antigone was produced around 441 B.C.

• His contributions to the theater include:

• Introduction of a third actor.

Fixing the chorus at 15 men.

Use of painted scenery.

Theatron

This speaker phone shaped viewing area was the "watching place" and held as many as 15,000-16,000 citizens.

Orchestra

Dancing place

Thymele

An altar to Dionysus, stood in the center of the orchestra.

Skene

Building where the plays were preformed

Parados

Entrance to orchestra used by chorus

Hypocrite

Derived from the word for actor because the actor played a role or deceived the audience

Protagonist

The leading role. This actor often played several minor roles in addition to the lead

Dithyramb

Most popular dance preformed to celebrate Dionysus. Improvised narrative hymns, sung and danced in a circle of fifty, including a leader.

Thespis

Chorus leader who traveled the countryside and is said to have converted dithyrambs into plays.

Costumes and masks

• Shifts from one character to another presented few problems because of costumes and masks.

• The masks identified the speaker as male or female, young or old grief-stricken or hopeful.

• Actors dressed in robes with long flowing sleeves and delivered their lines with sweeping gestures.

Chorus

set the mood

provide background information divided the action into episodes reflect on themes

The Chorus was made up of background characters and often

asked questions

commented on actions

offered approval/criticism gave advice.

Three unities

•Unity of action - demanded a single action with no subplots.

Unity of time - limited action to a 24 hour period

*Unity of place - decreed one unchanging scene.

Unlike the modern theater, there were no intermissions between acts, and no lighting effects since plays were performed in outdoor theaters during daylight hours.