survey 1 final Flashcards
Who was the first Greek playwright and was responsible for writing for a main actor in addition to the chorus?
Thespis
Rolling platforms, called ekkyklēma, were used during Greek tragedy because
Violent actions took place off stage, after which the results were rolled into view.
In Greek theatre, actors relied mainly on ___ to show action and emotion due to the simplicity of costumes, the use of masks, and the large space in which they performed.
gestures and mime
In Greek theatre, what took place in the amphitheater’s orchestra?
choral dancing
What does the deus ex machina refer to in greek theatre?
Both God who appears to pass judgment on the guilty and resolve conflict and Mechanical cranes used to hoist performers
Due to its pivotal role in defeating the Persians, __________ became the cultural and artistic center of the Greek city-states, and theater flourished there.
Athens
Comedies focus on __________, while tragedies emphasize __________.
Political and historical events/mythological and heroic events
Satyr plays
were written to provide the audience with comic relief at the end of a day-long performance of tragedies.
Greek tragedy may have originated from
“goat songs” (tragōidia) used in ritual practices involving the killing of goats and choral performers of dithyrambs who were known as tragōidoi, originating from hymns performed to the god Dionysus.
Sophocles and Aeschylus introduced a third actor to their plays because
this expanded the playwright’s options for conflict, complexity of plot and dialogue.
Choruses in Greek comedies differ from those in tragedies in that
in comedies animals and inanimate objects form the chorus, whereas in tragedies the chorus represents the public’s perspective.
What instrument played the most important role in the music composed for a drama?
flute
Who is the oracle in the play Antigone?
Tiresias
Which of the following would be an example of hamartia—the hero’s tragic flaw, or mistaken action or lapse in judgment?
Antigone burying her brother in spite of King Creon declaring him a traitor and forbidding his burial, according to Sophocles’s Antigone
Katharsis is best defined as
a release stirred up by fear and pity inspired in the audience by the hero’s wrongdoings and his display of extreme emotions
Which of the following is NOT included in Aristotle’s list of six crucial elements of any tragedy?
symbolism
The dramatic structure of a Greek tragedy includes:
prologue, parade of chorus, a series of episodes followed by commentary from the chorus, a hymn of allegiance to the gods, and an exit by the chorus
In addition to being a playwright, Sophocles held what position:
General
What god was honored by the annual Greek drama festival?
Dionysus
Greek festivals honored __________ while Roman festivals honored __________.
Dionysus / Jupiter
Roman theater was performed during festivals known as
Ludi
Early Roman comedy came from southern Italy in a burlesque form known as
atellan farce.
Which of the following is NOT a change made to theater by Roman playwrights?
Three-dimensional stage sets were introduced.
Which of the following is NOT true of Roman plays?
They were sometimes written by Roman senators and Christian moralists.
Horace proscribed all but which of the following elements for good theater?
A play should be written in common dialect rather than Latin.
Which Roman treatise made a large impact on Renaissance stage effects?
Vitruvius’s De Architectura
Action in a Roman play took place in the __________ part of the stage.
pulpitum
Who of the following was not a famous Roman playwright?
Euripides
Which character is the object of a love triangle in The Eunuch?
Thais
Terence was born in what part of the world?
Africa
Terence was a former
slave
The rise of the Roman Empire resulted from
The Punic Wars
Eunuchus was an adaptation of the play Eunouchus by what Greek playwright?
Menander
Luscius Lanuvinus accused Terence of
Contaminating the Greek original by adding characters from another source
The stock character of the sponger or hanger-on in Roman comedy is known as the
Parasite
The clever slave whose tricks often drive the plot and finds out the truth at the end of the play. He often speaks with alliteration and meter.
The Servus Callidus
What is problematic in Eunuchus?
Enslaved people and the treatment of women
Senecan closet dramas influenced
Renaissance playwrights
Closet dramas are those written
to be read or recited, not performed
Hrotsvit, a Christian abbess, used __________ as a model adapted for Christian subjects.
Terentian comedy
What was a major reason for the absence of organized theatre in the Middle Ages?
The Christian church denounced theater and spectacle.
Early theatre in medieval Europe consisted of
Touring performers and local pagan festivals
The Quem Quaeritis commemorated
Visit by the three Marys to Christ’s tomb
Which of the following is NOT one of Hrosvit of Gandersheim’s accomplishments?
First Mother Superior at the abbey of Gandersheim
Which of the following was NOT among the classical authors known to be read by Hrosvit?
Aristotle
Hrosvit’s works were rediscovered
In 1494 when Conrad Celtis found the Emmermau Munich Codex
What did Hrosvit say she wanted to reform in old dramatic models?
The shameless acts of lascivious women
Why did nineteenth-century scholars doubt Hrosvit’s authorship?
The thought that no medieval woman could have possessed her knowledge of classical literature
How did the rediscovery of Hrosvit’s manuscripts disrupt the prevailing narrative of medieval theater history?
They demonstrate a continuity between classical and medieval theatre.
During the Tang dynasty, Emperor Minghuang
opened the Pear Orchard Conservatory for Actors.
Which of the following distinguishes Yuan zaju plays from nanxi plays?
Yuan plays became a literary form of drama.
What purpose did tile districts serve?
They were urban amusement centers to provide entertainment.
What type of ending signified that a Yuan zaju drama was keeping with Confucian principles?
an ending in which justice is served
Chinese stages were
bare tile venues with a rear decorative wall panel.
Dramatists during the Yuan Dynasty were
Chinese scholars seeking work outside their former government positions.
Which character sings most of the songs in the play Snow in Midsummer?
Dou E.
How did the lack of props and formal settings influence Guan’s style in the play?
Language alone is used to direct action and indicate passage of time.
One of the main character differences between “judgment reversal” zaju and the more common form of zaju is:
Two villains are required rather than the usual single villain.
What did Dou Tianzhang trade his daughter for?
ten taels to pay off a debt
Where is Dou Tianzhang headed after he leaves Dou E with Mistress Cai?
to the capital for his examinations
Why does Doctor Lu attack Mrs. Cai?
He does not want to pay back the debt he owes to her.
What does Zhang request for having saved Mrs. Cai?
her hand in marriage
Why does Doctor Lou want to move to another city?
He wants to avoid the guilt associated with selling poison to Donkey.
How does Zhang die?
He is poisoned.
