Study - lit 2nd semster final

Dithyramb

a passionate song of praise for Dionysus.

Tetralogy

a group of four related works.

In medias res

beginning a play in the middle of a crucial situation.

Extant

still existing or surviving

Hubris

excessive pride of self-confidence.

Satyr (2 meanings)

goat man and a bawdy play.

Trilogy

group of three related plays.

Charogos

leader of the chorus, usually a wealthy man who sponsored the play.

Deus ex machina (2 meanings)

an unexpected power saves the seemingly hopeless situation and an abrupt, unfinished end.

Orchestra

circular space where the chorus would dance and perform.

The 3 unities

unity of action, place, and time.

Catharsis

emotional experience where a person is able to express, or purge emotions like pity and fear, leading to a sense of renewal.

Proscenium

part of the theater in front of the curtain, the stage of the theater.

Reversal

shift of the tragic hero's fortune from good to bad.

Ekkyklema

stage mechanism that spins and moves to reveal a scene.

Recognition

The moment the Tragic Hero sees what they have done wrong, but it’s too late.

Tragic dilemma

shortcoming of the hero of the tragedy.

Skene

building behind the stage that is used for changing and a background for the stage.

Strophe/antistrophe

part of the chorus that sings back and forth at each other.

Parados (2 meanings)

place where chorus walk into the orchestra and also when they walk in.

Cosmic irony

the gods intervene to create a situation that only they could explain.

Thetron

where the spectators would sit.

Stichomythy

short dialogue back and forth

Dramatic irony

when the audience knows something that the characters don’t.

Spectacle

what a play looks like so costume, masks, and backdrops

Aulos

double barreled flute

Humors (4)

just know what they were used to explain we don’t need to list them out or describe each one.

Artificiality

lack of sincerity, in modern times it has a negative connotation.

Humanism

the spirit of learning and a renewed confidence in the ability of human beings to determine for themselves truth and falsehood. The belief that moral values are discovered through experience alone.

Exposition (8)

setting, past facts, character relationships, characterization, plot, attitudes, beliefs, mood, atmosphere, and language.

Iamb/iambic pentameter

a beat in which every other syllable is stressed or emphasized as you read it. Each line must begin with an unstressed syllable. Each line contains 10 syllables. Each set of two syllables (unstressed, stressed) is called an “iamb.”

Blank verse

there is no rhyme (blank), but a very particular rhythm (verse).

Diacritical marks

a mark over a word that adds a syllable to that word if there are too few syllables in a line.

Great chain of being

a structure of all matter and life that descends through angels, humans, animals, and plants to materials.

Explicate vs gloss

going into detail vs skimming over and giving the big idea.

End stopped vs open ended lines

end stopped have periods or grammatical items at the end.

Prose

a writing style that does not follow a structure of rhyming or meter.

Couplet

a pair of lines that end in a rhyme that usually signals the end of an act

Comic relief

relief from the emotional tension that is provided by a funny character or remark.

Bawdy

dealing with sexual matters in a comical way; humorously indecent.

Soliloquy, aside, monologue

a monologue that is delivered when the character is alone. Aside

Foil

a character whose purpose is to accentuate or draw attention to the qualities of the protagonist usually by opposing them.

Universality

quality of involving or being shared by all people and not just one particular group.

Timelessness

eternal and is constantly relevant regardless of age.