Final Exam Flashcards
(19 cards)
Anagnorisis
The moment of recognition, (where a character learns something critical about themselves or another), the turning point in the plot
Peripeteia
Reversal of a character’s circumstances
Messenger speech
Relaying events that occurred offstage to the audience via a messenger
Three-actor convention
Maximum of three speaking actors on stage at any given time ; doubling parts
Tetralogy
Group of three plays and a tragedy
Sophistic rhetoric
Turning a weak argument into a strong one, or a morally bad argument into a good one
Lament
Musical expression of sorrow
Katabasis
The descent into a lower realm, typically the underworld
Parodos
Choral entry song
Agon
A contest/debate between two characters, a trial
Barbaros
Non greek speakers, foreigners?
Xenia
Hospitality
Deus/dea ex machina
Divine intervention, plot device where a god resolves an impossible situation
Orchestra
The space in front of a stage where the chorus performs
Skene
Backstage area, prop/exits
Mimesis/imitation, according to Plato
Imitation of action, portraying events and characters sympathetically — Plato as the representation of nature
City/Great Dionysia
Annual festival held in Athens to honor Dionysus
Satyr play
Both comedy and tragedy, crude
Refusal, according to Honig
Feminist theory of refusal — resistance outside of a structure, abandoning oppressive structures
