Greek theatre modern scholarship Flashcards
(33 cards)
Simon Goldhill on walking into the theatre
‘When you walked into the theatre in Athens, you walked into a map of the city
Simon Goldhill on pre-play rituals
‘Each one of which promotes and projects an idea and an ideal of what it is to be a democratic citizen in Athens’
Simon Goldhill on the political uses of theatrical festivals
‘It uses a state occasion to glorify the democratic state of Athens’
Kitto on dramatic festivals
‘The occasion was not ‘religious’’
Laura Swift on the point of the chorus
‘The point of a chorus is to mark a moment of significance’
Laura Swift on the effect of the chorus (x2)
‘They act as a kind of bridge between the world of the audience and the world of the play’
‘They’re helping the audience make sense of events’
Naomis Scott on the character of Xanthias in Frogs
‘Xanthias’ role has distinctively political resonances’
Naomi Scott on the contest between Aeschylus and Euripides in Frogs
‘The contest between Aeschylus and Euripides forms the main centrepiece of the Frogs’
Naomi Scott on Frogs as a comedy
‘Comedy becomes something which teaches the city’
Naomi Scott on the role of Dionysus in Frogs
‘An entire play about theatre with the god of theatre himself as a protagonist’
Richard Seaford on tragedy and the polis
‘Tragedy was an institution of the polis’
Richard Seaford on the context of theatrical performances
‘The context of the performance is pervaded by ritual’
Rosie Wyles on Athens and tyranny
‘Athens, as a democracy, defined itself against the spectre of tyranny’
Rosie Wyles on the ‘driving forces of tragedy’
‘The Gods, justice and fate are driving forces in tragedy’
Simon Goldhill on the impact of incest
‘Incest messes up all the words that you can use for who you are’
Kitto on the scene between Oedipus and the sherpherds
‘Almost unbearably tense’ the scene between Oedipus and the two shepherds
Simon Goldhill on Dionysus in the Bacchae
Dionysus is ‘a figure who confuses the boundaries of who we think we are’
Chiara Thumiger on hunting imagery in the Bacchae
‘The play blurs the literal and metaphorical levels when it comes to these references’
Chiara Thumiger on role reversal in the Bacchae
‘This dynamic of reversals involves the very characterisation of the main players, discrediting … a fundamental framework for the definition of the adult male’
Laura Swift on the role of the chorus in drama
‘The chorus actually is integral to the drama’
Simon Perris on violence in tragedy
‘Greek tragedy is violent in the extreme’
Simon Perris on death in tragedy
‘Death is central to Greek tragedy’
Kitto on the character of Oedipus
‘A man of determination’ Oedipus
Lauren Silberman on Oedipus’ family relationships
‘Oedipus suffers the most grotesquely perverted family relationship imaginable’
