Tragedy/Tragic Plays
fatal or disastrous conclusion
pity and fear
General Principles of Tragedy
manās troubles but affirms things
philosophical statements
rational and emotional
reason overrules emotion
prosperity to adversity for protagonist
punishment or suffering for protagonist is excessive betraying a higher force
order, chaos, back to order
Conclusion with death and a cleansing
Pattern of the Tragic Hero
Dilemma
Choice
Catastrophe
Suffering
Realisation
Death
Aristotle's 5 Basic Elements of Tragedy
Plot
Characters
Themes
Diction
Spectacle
Drama
ādranā - to do
Theatre
'theatron' = 'viewing place'
Theatron
'seating place'
max 15000 people
Parados
Path into Theatron.
Skene.
Tent on the stage with a set of doors.
Dionysus
Gave midas the golden touch
was able to restore life
brought, semele, his mother back from the underworld
Chiron taught him to dance
Greek theatre era
flourished in 550-220 BC
Great Dionysia/City Dionysia
festival honoring dionysus
3 comic & 3 tragic palys
prizes awarded first place: a bronze cauldron.
records of victories on monuments
attendance was civic & religious duty
The Plays
formulaic and predictable
playās unities
Unity of Time
Unity of Place
Unity of Action
Greek Tragedy Origins
Athens 6th century BC
varying origins: epic poetry, rituals for Dionysus
Greek Theatre Themes
religion & history
respect
Theatre of Dionysus at Athens
largest & most famous facility for theatre
Evolution of Number of Actors
earliest tragedies and one actor
by 520 BC: 3 actors
Thespis
first actor
created the concept of only one character on stage
father of Greek tragedy
thespian denotes actor
Oedipus
Dilemma: decided to aid thebes
choice: the truth
catastrophe: revelation of identity
suffering: he suffers
Realization: uncovers his identity
Death: blinds himself