Transcript Oedipus the King

Chapter 4
Festival Theatre: Greek, Roman, and Medieval Theatre Experiences
Varieties of Theatrical Experience

Since the very earliest times, some form of theatrical
activity has existed, although surviving records permit
us to trace it back with any certainty for only about 25
hundred years.

In the theatre, awareness of the past is important for
other reasons as well.

In a book of this length, it is impossible to treat every
form the theatre has taken in the past and present.
Festival Theatre: Greek, Roman, and
Medieval Theatre Experiences

During the first two thousand years of its existence
 Western theatre was markedly different from the
professional and commercial theatre that we know
today
 that

has flourished only during the past 4 hundred years.
This type of theatre flourished in ancient Greece, Rome,
and medieval Europe
The theatre of Ancient Greece

Theatre in the Western world can be traced back the
ancient Greece


Especially to Athens, usually considered the cradle of
Western civilization.
The belief in the ability of human beings to make
significant decisions contrasted sharply with the beliefs of
earlier societies that people are pawns of supernatural
forces or all-powerful tyrants.
The theatre of Ancient Greece (cont’d)

Dionysus



the god in whose honor plays were presented, was the
god of wine (one of the principal products of Greece) and
fertility.
By the 15th century B.C Athens held 4 festivals in honor
of Dionysus each year, at 3 of which theatrical
performances were offered.
Our 1st record of a theatrical event in Athens is the
establishment in 534 B.C. of a contest for the best
tragedy, a form that also originated in Athens.
The theatre of Ancient Greece (cont’d)
From Thespis’ name we derive the term thespian, still used
reference to actors.
 A satyr play was short, comic or satiric in tone, poked fun
at some Greek myth using a chorus of satyr, and was
presented following the tragedies.
 Of the surviving tragedies, Oedipus the King by Sophocles is
often considered the finest.

Viedo link B
of Oedipus the
King
Viedo link C of
Oedipus the
King
Viedo link A of
Oedipus the
King
The Theatre of Dionysus

Plays were performed in the Theatre of Dionysus, on the
slope of the hill just beneath the Athenian Acropolis

a fortified area including the Parthenon, the city treasury,
and other buildings considered essential to the city’s survival.

Originally, the slope (without any seating) served as the
theatron (“seeing place”, the origin of our word theatre).

A flat terrance below the slope served as the orchestra
(dancing place),

in the middle of which was placed as altar (thymele)
dedicated to Dionysus.
The Theatre of Dionysus (cont’d)


This arrangement was gradually converted into a
permanent structure.
On the side of the orchestra opposite the audience was
the skene


(“hurt” or “tent”, the origin of our word scene).
Once its possibilities as a background for the action were
recognized, the skene was elaborated into a structure 25
to a hundred feet long and probably 2 stories high.
The Theatre of Dionysus (cont’d)

The space (called paradoi) at either side between the
skene and the auditorium


were used as entrances and exits for performers and perhaps
by spectators before and after performances.
The scene house (as, later, Shapkespeare’s theatre)

probably served as a formalized architectural background for
all players, even those set in woods, on seashores, or
outside caves.
The Theatre of Dionysus (cont’d)
A wheeled platform, the eccyclema.
 A cranelike device, the machina.



The overuse of gods to resolve difficult dramatic situations
led to any contrived ending being labeled a deus ex machina god from the machine - ending
Form our standpoint, one of the most remarkable things
about the Theatre of Dionysus is its size.
The Performers



One may divide performers in the Greek theatre into four
categories:

actors, chorus, supernumeraries, and musicians.

All were male.
By the time Oedipus the King was produced, around 430
B.C., the rules of the contests restricted the number of
speaking actors to there for each author.
Same actor might have to play several roles and that the
same three actors appeared in all three of the tragedies
presented by a competing dramatist.
The Performers(cont’d)

Supernumeraries(extras) could be used, but they were not
permitted to speak lines.

The tragic chorus was composed of fifteen men

This official also paired the dramatist with a choregus,

a wealthy citizen who bore the expense of training and
costuming that dramatist’s choruses and of the musicians
who accompanied the choruses during their training and
during performances
The Performers(cont’d)

A great deal of emphasis was placed on singing and dancing

The chorus served several functions in Greek drama.

First, it was treated as a group character who expressed opinions,
gave advice, and occasionally threatened to interfere in the action.

Second, it often seemed to express the author’s point of view and
to establish a standard against which the actions of the characters
could be judged.

Third, it frequently served as the ideal spectator, reacting to
events and characters as the author would like the audience to
react.

Fourth, it helped to establish mood and heighten dramatic effects.
The Performers(cont’d)

The principal musical accompaniment in Greek tragedy was provided
by a flute player.

The flute player wore sandals, one with clapper on its sole for beating
time.

Both percussionist and flutist, he also seems to have composed the music he played.

All of the performers, except the musician, wore masks of lightweight
wood, cork, or linen.

A variety of clothing was used for stage purposes

These conventions suggest that performance in the Greek theatre was
highly formalized.
Oedipus the King and its Performance

The City Dionysia included five days of perfromances

The performances were open to everyone, but the
audience was composed primarily of men and boys.

The atmosphere probably resembled a mixture of religious
festival and athletic event.

Performances seem to have begun at dawn.

The division of the play into a prologue and five episodes
separated by choral passages is typical of Greek tragedy.
Oedipus the King and its
Performance(cont’d)

The first episode begins with Oedipus’ proclamation
demanding that anyone with knowledge of the crime come
forward and placing a cures on the murderer.

while the first four episodes move forward in the present,
they go successively further back in time.

The second episode builds logically upon the first.

Though Jocasta has called oracles into question, she
obviously does not disbelieve in the gods.
Oedipus the King and its
Performance(cont’d)

The scene not only reveals the truth to Jocasta, but also it
diverts attention from the murder of Laius to the birth of
Oedipus.

A choral song is followed by the entry of the Herdsman.

The final episode is divided into two parts.

A Messenger enters and describes what has happened
offstage.

The ”messenger scene” is a standard part of Greek drama
Oedipus the King and its
Performance(cont’d)

Oedipus the King is structurally unusual, for the resolution
scene is the longest in the play.

Oedipus’ act of blinding himself grows believably out of
his character


for his very uprightness and deep sense of moral outrage
cause him to punish himself by thrusting pins into his eyes.
In drawing his characters, Sophocles pays little attention
to the physical level.
Oedipus the King and its
Performance(cont’d)

Sophocles does give brief indications of age for other roles.

On the sociological level of characterization, Sophocles again
indicated little

Sophocles is principally concerned with psychological and ethical
characteristics.

Creon is given even fewer characteristics.

Unlike a modern play, then, in which characterization is usually built
from numerous realistic details

here the characterization is drawn with a few bold strokes

the most important traits are psychological and moral.
Oedipus the King and its
Performance(cont’d)

In addition to the three speaking actors, a great many
supernumeraries are required

many of whom no doubt appeared in more than one scene.

Its skillful construction and its concern with the moral
taboos of incest and patricide.

It develops themes of universal relevance.

The contrast between human being seeking to control
their destiny and external forces shaping destiny is clearly
depicted.
Oedipus the King and its
Performance(cont’d)

It is significant that no attempt is made in the play to
explain why destruction comes to Oedipus.

Another motif – blindness versus sight – is emphasized in
poetic images and in various comparisons.
Greek Comedy

In addition to tragedy and satyr plays, Athens developed a
distinctive comic drama.

Five comic dramatists competed each year at the Lenaia,
but each presented only one play.

Numerous authors wrote Old Comedy, as the plays written
prior to 400 B.C are called, but only eleven comedies have
survived and all of these are by Aristophanies(448-380B.C).

His plays mingle slapstick, fantasy, lyrical poetry, personal
abuse, literary and musical parody, and serious commentary
on contemporary affairs
Viedo link A of
The frogs
Viedo link B of
The frogs
Greek Comedy(cont’d)

Old Comedy has several typical features:


a prologue; a parodos; an agon; a parabasis; a series of
episodes showing the happy idea in practice; and a komos ,
or exit to feasting and revelry.
After the fifth century B.C., Greek drama declined in
quality, although not in quantity.
The Roman Theatre Experience

Around two hundred years after the first performance of
Oedipus the King, Rome became a major power,
eventually gaining control of Greece

the entire eastern Mediterranean, and most of western
Europe and northern Africa.

As in Greece, theatrical performances were part of
religious festival

The Romans were great assimilators, accepting, borrowing,
or changing those things that seemed useful or desirable.
The Roman Theatre Experience(cont’d)

Although the taste for full-length scripted drama sharply
declined after the mid-second century B.C., the demand
for theatrical entertainment actually increased steadily.

playscripts survive and artifacts relating to other kinds of
theatrical entertainment often do not,

accounts of theatrical activities usually emphasize
performances based on full-length written scripts.
The Roman Theatrical Context

The Roman theatre resembled that of Greece in many ways.

The Romans were ambivalent about anything derived from Greece, which they
considered to be decadent.

As in Greece, the expenses of theatrical production were assumed by
the state.

In addition to underwriting production expenses, the Roman state also
supplied the theatre in which the plays were presented.

The scale of the Roman theatre was comparable to that of the Greek.
The Roman Theatrical Context(cont’d)

Admission to this theatre was free, seats were not reserved, and
audiences were often unruly.

By the time of Plautus and Terence, there seems to have been a
number of theatre companies.

The actors wore Greek costumes similar to those of daily life,
although there may have been some exaggeration for comic purposes.

Roman comedy does not deal with political or social issues but rather
with everyday domestic affairs.
The Menaechmi

Of all Roman Comedies, Plautus’ The Menaechmi has perhaps been
the most popular.

It served as the basis for Shakespeare’s Comedy of Error as well as for a number of
others, including the American musical The Boys from Syracuse by Richard Rodgers.

The Menaechmi begins with a prologue that carefully lays out the
background of the action and goes over important points more than
once.

Plautus has little interest in social satire

he concentrates on the ridiculous situation growing out of mistaken identity.
Viedo link of
Menaechmi
The Menaechmi(cont’d)

As in most Roman comedy, the characters in The
Menaechmi are types rather than individuals.

A company of six actors could easily perform the ten
speaking roles in The Menaechmi.
Other Roman Drama and Theatre

By the beginning of the Christian era, Rome seemed to
have forgotten its earlier emphasis on gravity.

In addition to comedy, the Romans also wrote tragedy.

The Roman preference


Variety entertainment and short plays drove regular comedy
and tragedy from the stage.
In addition to the mimes, late Roman festivals increasingly
emphasized blood sports,

along with mimes and variety entertainment, remained
integral parts of religious festival until around A.D.400.
Other Roman Drama and Theatre(cont’d)

The Roman Empire rapidly disintegrated after being
overrun by invaders in A.D.476.

It is ironic

that the revival of the theatre owed most to the church’s
discovery(during the last half of the tenth century) that the
dramatization of biblical episodes was an effective means of
teaching.
The Revival of Drama in the Middle Ages

Historians usually divide the Middle Ages(or medieval period) into
phases: early(approximately A.D. 900 to A.D. 1050),
high(approximately A.D. 1050 to A.D. 1300), and late(approximately
A.D. 1300 to A.D. 1500).

This type is usually referred to as vernacular drama.

The earliest known example of a liturgical play (one incorporated into
the church service, or liturgy) dates from about A.D.970.

It dramatized the arrival of three women at the tomb of Christ, the announcement
by an angel that Christ has risen, and the subsequent rejoicing.
The Revival of Drama in the Middle
Ages(cont’d)

Around A.D.1200, some religious plays began to be
performed outside the church, and by around 1375 a
religious drama had developed independent of the liturgy.

This medieval religious theatre in some ways resembled
that of Greece and Rome.
Trade Guilds and the Corpus Christi
Festival

The production of the outdoor religious drama in England



Is associated with trade guilds that flourished beginning in
the thirteenth century.
The increased prominence of secular groups

have been at least partially responsible

have been at least partially responsible for the church’s desire to
incorporate ordinary people more fully into its activities.
The central feature of the Corpus Christi festival was
procession through the town with the consecrated bread
and wine.
Trade Guilds and the Corpus Christi
Festival(cont’d)

In the British Isles, about one hundred twenty-five
different towns produced plays at some time during the
Middle Ages.
Conventions of Medieval Theatre

A major convention of medieval drama involves the way time is
handled.

Throughout the Middle Ages, humanity was thought to participate in two kinds of
time: eternal and earthly.

The fluidity of time is also reflected in the structure of the cycles.

Staging also involved a number of conventions.


There were no permanent theatre, so theatrical spaces were improvised.
Regardless of the type of stage or location,


the staging conventions were the same everywhere.
There were two parts to the stage space: mansions and platea.
Conventions of Medieval Theatre(cont’d)

Costumes were used to distinguish among the inhabitants
of Earth, Heaven, and Hell.

There were frequently a number of spectacular special
effects.
The Wakefield Cycle

the English cycle staged at Wakefield, a town in central England.


The surviving manuscript of this cycle contains thirty-two plays,
beginning with the Creation and extending through the Last
Judgment.
The production of the Wakefield cycle was a community effort

the town council, the church, and the guilds.

The decision to perform the plays apparently was made several
months prior to Corpus Christi.

At Wakefield, processional staging appears to have been used.
The Wakefield Cycle(cont’d)

In addition to providing the pageant wagon and its equipment, each
guild had to supply performers and someone to oversee the
production.

Costumes

consisted of clothing in common use in medieval England and were usually supplied
by the actors or borrowed.

Each guild rehearsed and prepared its play separately from the others

The council specified the places at which the plays would be
performed
Noah and His Sons

Before the spectators saw Noah and His Sons they had already viewed
two others, The Creation and The Killing of Abel Noah.

The play begins with Noah praying to God and comparing God’s
goodness toward all creatures with the ungrateful responses of those
he has created


not only human beings but also Lucifer, whose rebelliousness has caused him to be
cast out of Heaven.
The solemn tone of this opening expository scene

Takes up approximately one-third of the play, is abruptly broken when Noah returns
home to his wife
Noah and His Sons(cont’d)

Noah then turns to carrying out God’s orders and, without any
assistance and within a space of twenty-five lines, builds the ship.

The action of the play is almost equally divided among three parts:


devoted to the opening expository scene;

to the two scenes of bickering between Noah and his wife;

to the ship-building and onboard scenes.
There are nine roles, of which six are very minor-those of Noah’s sons
and their wives.
Noah and His Sons(cont’d)

All of the roles would have been played by men;

having Noah’s wife played by a man probably contributed to making the quarreling
and fighting more acceptably comic.

The script seems to demand stylized speech. It is written in sixty-two nineline stanzas, each using the same structure.

Only one mansion is required – the ship

Because the spectators crowded around the performance space, many
spectators saw the actors at close range, and the total configuration of the
playing places meant that the performance was viewed from a variety of
angles.
Other Medieval Theatre and Drama

Several other dramatic types were popular during the Middle Ages,
among them moralities, farces, and interludes.

During the sixteenth century, the morality play was gradually
secularized as its original moral concerns were replaced by new ones
such as the ideal training of rulers and the content of a proper
education.

A comic secular drama, farce , began to emerge around the thirteenth
century,

because the form was not officially encouraged, it remained a minor though highly
entertaining type,

emphasizing the ridiculous and comically depraved aspects of human behavior.
Other Medieval Theatre and
Drama(cont’d)
 The
interlude was a nonreligious serious or comic play
so called because it was performed between the parts
of a celebration
Comparing Greek, Roman, and Medieval
Theatre


There were many differences.

In Greek theatre, the chorus played a large role, as did dance.

In Roman theatre, the musical element was more equally distributed throughout
the play and was associated with actors more than with the chorus.

In medieval theatre, music was plentiful but followed no fixed plan. The theatre
structures also differed.
The Greeks seem to have placed great emphasis on moral values and
significant issues

whereas the Romans were more concerned with popular entertainment, and
medieval theatre was tied to Christian teaching.