Chapter 15 5th Century Drama Flashcards
(22 cards)
Aeschylus
Athenian that wrote 7 tragedies of the 33 surviving plays (525 - 456 BC)
- Accredited with anatgonists in 480 BC
- All his work had at least two actors
Sophocles
(490 - 404 BCE); wrote 7 tragedies,
- liked to show dignity of noble individuals caught in overwhelming crises with superior/divine forces.
- his heros were lonely and unbending, learning how to behave too late.
Euripides
More survives of his work than Aeschylus’ and Sophocles’’ 18 works; 7 tragedies, 11 plays.
- MOST INFLUENTIAL TRAGEDIAN
- subjected traditional myths to rigorous scrutiny and severe criticism or ridicule.
- His characters are often deflated heros, mortals.
- His famous play is Medea about divorce in a monogamous society.
dithyrambs
-tragedy evolved from this
hymns to Dionysus in the form of dance and song by choruses of fifteen or so members and a leader.
protagonist
“first actor”; first 25 years of dithyrambs had one actor
antagonist
-two different actors that switch personalities throughout the play
Aristotle says Aeschylus transformed the genre in the 470s BCE by adding a second actor and reducing the chorus’ role. This second actor is the _
Oresteia
- group of three trilogies by Aeschylus
- “Story of Orestes” 458 BCE in which a third actor is used
- ultimate end point of tragedy
City Dionysia
festival honoring the god of wine that Pisistratus reformed from an older ceremoney
- gigantic public symposium for the whole demos occurred in March after spring harvest
- government subsidized all of it.
episodes
-actors would perform and then take breaks and chorus would sing
“side-songs” portions of dialogue interspersed with stasima
Dramatic need
-certain situations requrie certain actions to take place
something the protagonist wants which drives the plot of drama’s
peripeteia
- turning point of a tragedy is ___
- starts with a realization (anagnorisis)
Anagnorisis
aristocratic characters in a tragedy experience “recognition” which is called ___
-like when Oedipus realized he was the one that killed his dad and slept with his mom
katastrophe
-directly the result of what a person has done
aristocratic characters in a tragedy experience a “down-turning” called ____
hamartia
what leads to katastrophe is the role of “missing the mark” or “mistake” which is called ____
Aristophanes
Produced the first complete comedy, the Acharnians in 425 that attacked Cleon and was then sued for it
-eleven of his complete comedies survive
Old comedy
5th century comedies are called this to distinguish them from New Comedy - late 4th century plays
- jokes about body fluid, vulgarity, politics and sex
- performed at city Dionysia
tragoidia
“goat song”
- goats were associated with Dionysys, at whose spring festival in Athens these works were staged.
- the name is derived from songs performed while goats were sacrificed in his honor
Thespis
An Athenian active in the 530s under the tyranny of Pisistratus who is given credit for using masks to switch characters in plays
deus ex machina
Some plays ended when an actor playing a god was lowered to the earth to resolve a complicated plot.
- means “God from the machine” comes from this technique and refers to any abrupt or contrived ending to a story
agon
“contest”; formal debate common in middle Greek tragedies
mimesis
Aristotle’s concept of “representation” or “imitation”
-tragedies were artificial represetation of things happenign
katharsis
- purifying the soul of negative motions by watching tragedies
- “relief” a cleansing that audiences feel after experiencing tension and release.
