midterm Flashcards
(27 cards)
pity and fear
what is invoked by a tragedy
hamaratia
the tragic error the character commits that readers can relate to because they could do the same
comedy
a regeneration of the social order, teaches
the purpose of drama
to teach and delight
regeneration of social order
the structure of comedy is set up so the end result is a wedding that symbolizes creating a new generation that will result in social order going back to the way it should be
action v. character
Aristotle says that action is the most important aspect of a play because it is what drives the plot forward.
Chorus
comment on the action and provide information to the audience, work as a unit, not considered individual characters
Males portraying females
Greek and Roman theatre originated with only male actors and they wore costumes to be women. Women on the stage is relatively new.
Asides
Something a character shares with another character or the audience without the rest of the characters hearing it.
How has Willy Loman internalized a distorted version of “The American Dream”?
Willy thinks that success and wealth are the only things that will allow him to be happy. He also tries to convince everyone around him that he has obtained both of these things when he hasn’t. He also buys appliances that are out of his means so he can feel wealthy.
What does Willy sell in Salesman and how is it ironic/significant?
Willy sells women pantyhose and lingerie which is ironic because he cannot afford to buy these things for his wife. It also is significant because he is having an affair with a woman and it shows that he is comfortable with promiscuity. He also gives his merchandise to the woman he is having an affair with.
How are Biff and Happy adrift, in their own ways, and why
Happy and Biff are adrift because their father has raised them to uphold certain ideals that are actually immoral and it has caused them to have a certain sense of entitlement. Happy sleeps with his superiors girlfriends and fiancés out of spite because he doesn’t have a higher position in his job. Biff feels lost because he has never accomplished a single goal he had for himself. Biff had potential and could have gotten a scholarship for sports, but he walked in on his father having an affair and it destroyed his entire view of the world and his father and he completely rejected Willy.
How does the play Oedipus conform to classical parameters of tragedy?
Oedipus perfectly conforms to Aristotle’s classic parameters of tragedy because it invoked both pity and fear in readers. The show does this because Oedipus commits a tragic error. His tragic error was making a decision with only his best interest at heart and not considering all the factors.
How are Oedipus and Creon distinctly different characters?
Oedipus is brash and thoughtless and Creon is wise and prudent. Oedipus is quick to accuse Creon of betraying him and committing treason. However this is very out of character for Creon who is actually a very loyal character.
How does the desire to know drive the action of the play Oedipus?
The desire to know drives the action of the play because Oedipus has the desire to fully understand his past. He constantly feels the need to know more and the information he learns leads to his own downfall because he kills himself when he learns the truth. Jocasta is the opposite. She does not have the desire to know the truth and frequently encourages Oedipus to stop trying to learn more.
How is Oedipus in Oedipus el Rey constrained by his circumstances in the choices he makes?
Oedipus is constrained by his circumstances because he is an incarcerated member of a minority group. After he gets out of jail, he cannot obtain a job because there are laws preventing him from getting them. He thinks he is in control of his own fate but the government has created a cycle of unemployment and struggle in the prisoners and former convicts.
What is the influence of faith/tradition in the barrio in Oedipus el Rey
Members of the barrio believe in god and divine intervention. They listen to shamans and prophecies and practice religion. Jocasta believes everyone is fated by god.
How does the play Lysistrata conform to the classical parameters of comedy:
the play starts as disorder because of the Peloponnesian war. Society continues to be at odds because the women won’t have sex with the men, then everything resolves.
How does the relationship between oikos (private) and polis (public) evolve in the course of the play? Lysistrata?
Women and children are deeply effected by the war because their fathers and husbands are out of the house and social norms are being disregarded because women give up sex. The households are being negatively effects by a war they didn’t even ask for.
What is the analogy between weaving and diplomacy in Lysistrata?
Lysistrata compares an oikos activity (weaving) to a polis activity (war/diplomacy) Lysistrata compares winding up a ball of yarn the way the women will wind up the war. She compares the city of Athens to a clump of wool that needs to be cleaned before it can be woven.
How is the play Everyman an “allegory?”:
This show is an allegory for salvation and everyman literally represent every man and how they find salvation.
How does the play Everyman simulate the Roman Catholic penitential order?:
Everyman replicates the ideas of the Roman Catholic church because everyman learns that he cannot save himself and instead must rely on salvation from god. The catholic church teaches this principal and believes that humanity cannot save itself. Everyman’s salvation from the self-sacrificing character Good Deeds mirrors humanity’s salvation from Jesus’s sacrifice. Good Deeds embodies selflessness and teaches Everyman that he cannot save himself.
How are the oikos and the polis intertwined in Hamlet? That is, how do the personal and the political intersect?
The main characters are all members of the royal family so they cannot act on their own volition because their decisions effect both the family and the people of Denmark
Give a specific example of how Hamlet reflects self-consciousness on the part of the titular character
Hamlet is such a deep thinker and mellow dramatic character that in the final scene of the play, he literally says he feels like a character In a play. His self consciousness is displayed because he holds himself to a high morals influenced by rligion and his upbringing and he has to overcome this to fulfill his desire of killing king Claudius.
