Classical Drama (Course Code: 9057) Review Flashcards

A collection of flashcards defining key vocabulary and concepts from the study of Classical, Elizabethan, and Shakespearean drama based on the provided lecture notes.

Dran

A Greek term for drama literally meaning "action", "doing", or "performance".

Mimesis

A term for imitation or representation that Aristotle considered innate to humans from childhood and fundamental to human learning and pleasure.

Theatron

A Greek noun meaning "theater" that stands for both the physical watching place and the spectators who observe the performance.

City Dionysia

A single, state-sponsored festival of Dionysos in Athens, established by tyrants to promote national unity, where tragedy was formally introduced in approximately $534\,BC$.

Aeschylus

The earliest of the three great Greek tragic dramatists, born in $525\,BC$, who added a second actor to the stage and reduced the chorus size from $50$ to $15$.

Sophocles

The tragic playwright born in $496\,BC$ known as a technical master of tragic art who introduced the third speaking actor and used dramatic irony.

Euripides

The late Greek tragedian born in $485\,BC$ who is noted for his psychological insight, innovative use of traditional plots, and portrayal of strong female characters.

Old Comedy

A chronological phase of Greek comedy from $486\,BC$ to $385\,BC$, associated with Aristophanes, characterized by political satire and fantasy.

New Comedy

A form of Greek drama championed by Menander in the $4th$ century $BC$ that focuses on average characters and domestic situations rather than heroic or supernatural elements.

Aristotle's Definition of Tragedy

An imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude, using pleasurable language to accomplish a catharsis of pity and fear.

Hamartia

A complicated term used by Aristotle to describe a hero's error of judgment or tragic flaw that leads to their downfall from prosperity to adversity.

Catharsis

The final effect of a tragedy involving the purgation or moral cleansing of the audience's emotions of pity and fear.

University Wits

A group of university-educated Elizabethan dramatists, including Christopher Marlowe and Robert Greene, who prepared the way for Shakespeare by refining English drama.

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter that Christopher Marlowe perfected and utilized as the characteristic "mighty line" of Elizabethan theater.

Necromancy

The study and practice of black magic or conjuring that Dr. Faustus chooses to pursue in exchange for a $24$-year contract with the devil.

Morality Play

A late medieval and early Renaissance theatrical form that presents an allegorical story of a protagonist's life, temptation by vice, and eventual repentance.

Character is Destiny

A critical theory in Shakespearean tragedy suggesting that the hero's internal traits and moral choices, rather than external fate, drive the inevitable catastrophe.

Soliloquy

A dramatic device where a character speaks their innermost thoughts out loud, such as Hamlet's meditations on life and duty.

Revenge Tragedy

An Elizabethan genre modeled after Seneca that features a ghost, considerable violence, and a protagonist seeking "wild justice" for a murdered relative.

Filial Ingratitude

A central theme in King Lear that explores the painful conflict between generations, specifically a child's cruel rebellion against their parent.

Double Plot

A structural device in King Lear where the story of Gloucester and his sons parallels and reinforces the main story of Lear and his daughters.

Tate's Version

An alteration of King Lear created by Nahum Tate in the $18th$ century that replaced the tragic end with a happy ending where Cordelia survives and marries Edgar.

Comedy of Humours

A genre of drama, developed by Ben Jonson, where characters are defined by a specific physiological trait or passion that dictates their behavior.

Comedy of Manners

A sophisticated form of comedy focused on the behaviors, social codes, and intrigues of the middle and upper-class fashionable society.

Romantic Comedy

A genre of drama featuring pairs of lovers as the center of interest, often involving disguises and an eventual happy resolution in marriage.

Poetic Justice

A literary principle where virtue is rewarded and vice is punished, which critics like Dr. Johnson noted was absent in the tragic death of the virtuous Cordelia.

Disguise

A common theatrical device used by Shakespeare to symbolize the contrast between appearance and reality, as seen in Viola's transformation into Cesario.