Transcript What`s Been Happening in Language Studies Lately

Drama
Ancient Greek Theatre
ENGL 124 B03 Winter 2010
The Invention of Theatre
• Drama developed out of spoken
poetry performances; comedy
may have preceded tragedy
• Tragedy was a uniquely Athenian
invention
(early 5th c. BCE)
• Originally, retold familiar mythical
stories; later plays also
recounted important local events
The Rites of Dionysis
• God of wine, celebration
and destruction
• The Great Dionysia festival was
held annually in Athens
• Three competing poets wrote and
presented three tragedies and a
‘satyr play’ each; comedies were
added later
• Soon spread to other Athenian
public festivals
The Theatre Setting
• Took place in outdoor
amphitheatres; relied on natural
light
• Later productions featured
elaborate, naturalistic scenepaintings
• Featured a roll-out platform for
tableaus (ekklyklema) and a
mechanism for lower actors onto
stage from above (mechane)
Performance Techniques
• Originally involved only two or
three actors, and a small chorus
of twelve or fifteen,
all male
• All actors wore masks, and
sometimes wigs; main actors
probably played multiple roles
• Large portions of the text were
chanted or sung; the chorus also
danced, accompanied by flute
(aulos)
The Chorus
• Acts as an ‘everyman,’ reacting
to and analyzing the action
onstage
• Stood in a rectangular formation,
with the dance leader at the front
corner (stage right), and the
worst dancers hidden in the
centre
Play Structure
Prologue: opening monologue which sets the scene
Parodos: chorus enters from either side of the stage, chanting
First Episode: exchange of dialogue
First Stasimon: choral song accompanied by dancing: strophe
(chorus moves to stage right) and antistrophe (chorus moves to
stage left); the epode (“additional song”) was sung while stationary
Second Episode
Second Stasimon
Third Episode
Third Stasimon
Exodos: final exchange of dialogue, sometimes including a song; the
cast exits the stage
Poetic Techniques
• Very formalized in rhythm,
language, and content
• Dialogue usually in iambic
meter; recitations in anapests;
lyric meters for songs, chants
and dances
• Stichomythia: to heighten
emotion, actors sometimes
have back-and-forth
exchanges of lines or pairs of
lines
References
Boardman, John, Jasper Griffin and Oswyn Murray, eds.
Greece and the Hellenistic World. Oxford: Oxford
UP, 1988. Print.
Dover, K. J. “Tragedy.” Ancient Greek Literature. Ed.
K. J. Dover et al. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1980. 50–73. Print.
Frost, Frank J. Greek Society. 4th ed. Lexington MA:
D. C. Heath, 1990. Print.
Joint Association of Classics Teachers, ed. The World
of Athens: An Introduction to Classical Athenian
Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1984. Print.