6 Literary Theory GREEK DRAMA

1
GREEK DRAMA
Background to Greek Tragedy

The word tragedy literally means "goat song," probably referring to the practice of giving a goat as a
sacrifice or a prize at the religious festivals in honour of the god Dionysus. Whatever its origins, tragedy
came to signify a dramatic presentation of high seriousness and noble character which examines the
major questions of human existence: Why are we here? How can we know the will of the gods? What
meaning does life have in the face of death? In tragedy people are tested by great suffering and must face
decisions of ultimate consequence. Some meet the challenge with deeds of despicable cruelty, while others
demonstrate their ability to confront and surpass adversity, winning our admiration and proving the
greatness of human potential.
Ancient writers give us tantalizing glimpses of the possible origins of Greek theater. The fifth
century historian Herodotus (5.67) notes that in some cities the worship of Dionysus, god of wine and
fertility, replaced earlier hero cults which had memorialized the hero's sufferings with tragic choruses. In
his Poetics (1449a) Aristotle records that tragedy developed from improvisations on dithyrambs, a type of
choral poetry celebrating mythological subjects. The Latin author Horace adds that Thespis invented
tragedy, apparently being the first actor to portray the legendary characters of myth instead of narrating
their exploits in song (Ars Poetica 275f).
The earliest definite record we have of dramatic contests in Athens occurred in 501 BC (the typical
date of 534 is based on an unreliable medieval text). The majority of evidence about Greek theater comes
from the literature and performance records of the fifth century. This "Golden Age" witnessed major
military encounters both with foreign invaders and fellow countrymen. A league of small city-states led by
Athens defeated the Persian Empire in two key battles at Marathon (490) and Salamis (480). Our earliest
extant tragedy, Persians by Aeschylus, records the humiliation of Xerxes and his mighty army only eight
years after the event. The downfall of the Persian king demonstrates the folly of pride which provokes the
wrath of the gods. During the following years Athens, under the leadership of Pericles, rose to
prominence, celebrating its civic pride with a newly rebuilt Parthenon on the Acropolis. The annual
festival held at the Theater of Dionysus, which lies on the hill beneath the Parthenon, brought visitors
from miles around to see the dramatic contests and experience the glories of the city. In the final third of
the century, civil war broke out between the Athenian league and the Spartan confederacy. Most of our
extant plays come from this dark period: Euripides' Trojan Women depicts the horrors of war for the
innocent victims left behind, while Aristophanes offers an unusual comic solution for ending the war: a
sex-strike by the women of both sides, in Lysistrata. The themes of Greek tragedy and comedy reflect the
political and social concerns of these exciting and troubled times.
Each spring Athens held a festival at which the contests for best tragedy (and comedy after 486)
held a central part. Tragic playwrights submitted three serious dramas and a mythological spoof called a
satyr play, often on a similar theme. Each playwright had a sponsor (choregos) who hired the three actors
2
and the chorus of 12-15 performers. The playwright probably rehearsed his own cast much like a director
would today. Actors wore masks which covered their entire heads like a helmet. These could be exchanged
backstage to allow the same actor to play different characters; thus, only three actors were needed for all
the parts in one play. The lead actor was called the protagonist, meaning first contestant. The chorus often
portrayed the people of the city, responding to the protagonist as an ideal audience. During the choral
odes their singing and dancing provided variety and spectacle, allowing time for the actors to change into
other costumes for the next scene.
Plays were performed outdoors, often on a hillside which provided a natural seating area for the
spectators. Benches of wood or stone surrounded an open circle of ground called the orchestra, or
dancing space. The seating area, known as the theatron (literally "viewing space"), has given us our word
for theater. Some ancient theaters could seat as many as 15,000 people. Excellent acoustics permitted
such large audiences to hear the performance. At the back of the orchestra where most of the action took
place stood the skené or scene building, which provided a place to change costumes and store props.
Actors could enter and exit from doors on the front of the skené or from large aisle ways on either side of
the orchestra. There was little attempt at creating the illusion of a location other than using the scene
building for a palace or temple. One popular special effect was the mechane or crane which lowered a god
from the roof of the skené to the stage. In several plays gods or the spirits of dead heroes appear to
proclaim a prophecy or resolve a crisis. We use the Latin phrase deus ex machina (god out of the
machine) to describe a last-minute rescue which brings the play to a surprising, if improbable, conclusion.
Another common device was a rolling platform (ekkyklema, literally "something rolled out") on which
scenes of bloody carnage could be briefly revealed.
According to Aristotle, tragedies had certain recognizable sections which most of our surviving
plays follow (Poetics). A prologue, spoken by one or two characters, introduces the play's setting and
major action. The parodos brings the chorus into the orchestra to become an audience and respondent to
the characters. The body of the play alternates between episodes involving the principle actors and choral
odes sung and danced by the chorus, to allow for the actors to change costumes and indicate the passage
of time. The exodus concludes the play with all performers leaving the stage. Plays were written entirely in
verse, although lyric passages and dramatic dialogue differed considerably in style. Choral odes exhibit a
wide variety of meters, nearly impossible to convey in translation, which indicate changes in mood and
subject, whether religious, solemn, excited, etc. Actors spoke verse sounding more like common speech
but using heightened rhetoric for specific purposes: rhesis (persuasive speech), monody (musical
solo), agon (formal debate), stichomythia (rapid exchange of dialogue) are the major forms. These make
up the formal elements of tragedy.
 Although hundreds of playwrights competed in the dramatic festivals in Athens and other cities,
the works of only four have survived. Aeschylus (524-456) was the early master of the trilogy,
three plays written to be performed together which continue the same story. Most of the seven
plays we have of his were once part of trilogies, but The Oresteia, containing the
plays Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, and Eumenides, is the only complete example still in
3
existence. According to Aristotle, Aeschylus introduced the practice of using two actors, thus
receiving credit for the invention of dramatic dialogue. His other plays
include Persians, Suppliants, and Seven against Thebes (the authorship of Prometheus Bound is
disputed). Ironically, Aeschylus wanted to be remembered on his epitaph not for his tragedies but
for fighting at the battle of Marathon. Sophocles (497-405) is best known for his
masterpieces Oedipus the King and Antigone. Both plays demonstrate excellent plot construction
and skillful use of dramatic irony. Aristotle claims Sophocles was first to use a third actor. Other
tragedies by Sophocles include Aias, Women of Trachis, Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus.
 Euripides (485-406) was known as an innovator, experimenting with both the form and content
of the traditional myths. Several of his plays depict women driven to violence because of their
intense suffering, such as Electra, Medea, and Hecabe. Euripides seems to reflect current
skeptical trends in philosophy in plays such as Heraclesin which the title character questions the
existence of the gods, at least in their popular manifestations. Because of his daring approach,
Euripides was not as successful in the contests as the other two tragedians during his lifetime, but
during the fourth century his fame grew; hence we have more of his plays (18) than the combined
total of Aeschylus and Sophocles.
 The only comic writer whose works survive from this period, Aristophanes (448-380) addressed
current events in his plays, blending political satire with bawdy farce, in some of the most elegant
Greek poetry ever written. Many of his plays are named after his fanciful choruses: Knights,
Clouds, Wasps, Birds, Frogs. One other comic writer from the next century deserves mention.
Menander (342-291) is credited with perfecting what ancient critics called New Comedy, which
influenced most of the subsequent comedies written in Western Civilization including
Shakespeare and Moliere. Two of his plays, The Grouch and The Girl from Samos, have survived
almost intact.
 The apostle Paul quotes from a play by Menander in 1 Cor. 15:33: "Evil companions corrupt good
morals."
Typical Structure of a Tragedy

1. Prologue: A monologue or dialogue preceding the entry of the chorus, which presents the
tragedy's topic.
2. Parode (Entrance Ode): The entry chant of the chorus, often in an anapestic (short-short-
long) marching rhythm (four feet per line). Generally, they remain on stage throughout the
remainder of the play. Although they wear masks, their dancing is expressive, as conveyed by the
hands, arms and body.
Typically the parode and other choral odes involve the following parts, repeated in order several
times:
1. Strophê (Turn): A stanza in which the chorus moves in one direction (toward the altar).
4
2. Antistrophê (Counter-Turn): The following stanza, in which it moves in the opposite

direction. The antistrophe is in the same meter as the strophe.
3. Epode (After-Song): The epode is in a different, but related, meter to the strophe and
antistrophe, and is chanted by the chorus standing still. The epode is often omitted, so
there may be a series of strophe-antistrophe pairs without intervening epodes.
3. Episode: There are several episodes (typically 3-5) in which one or two actors interact with the
chorus. They are, at least in part, sung or chanted. Speeches and dialogue are typically iambic
hexameter: six iambs (short-long) per line, but rhythmic anapests are also common. In lyric
passages the meters are treated flexibly. Each episode is terminated by a stasimon:
4. Stasimon (Stationary Song): A choral ode in which the chorus may comment on or react to
the preceding episode.
5. Exode (Exit Ode): The exit song of the chorus after the last episode.
Typical Structure of a Comedy

Aristophanic comedies have a more elaborate structure than the typical tragedy. The chorus is also larger:
24 (as opposed to 12-15).
1. Prologue: As in tragedies.
2. Parode (Entrance Ode): As in tragedies, but the chorus takes up a position either for or
against the hero.
3. Agôn (Contest): Two speakers debate the issue (typically with eight feet per line), and the first
speaker loses. Choral songs may occur towards the end.
4. Parabasis (Coming Forward): After the other characters have left the stage, the chorus
members remove their masks and step out of character to address the audience.
First the chorus leader chants in anapests (eight per line) about some important, topical issue,
typically ending with a breathless tongue twister.
Next the chorus sings, and there are typically four parts to the choral performance:
1. Ode: Sung by one half of the chorus and addressed to a god.
2. Epirrhema (Afterword): A satyric or advisory chant (eight trochees [long-short] per line)
on contemporary issues by the leader of that half-chorus.
3. Antode (Answering Ode): An answering song by the other half of the chorus in the same
meter as the ode.
4. Antepirrhema (Answering Afterword) An answering chant by the leader of the second
half-chorus, which leads back to the comedy.
5. Episode: As in tragedies, but primarily elaborating on the outcome of the agon.
6. Exode (Exit Song): As in tragedy, but with a mood of celebration and possibly with a riotous
revel (cômos), joyous marriage, or both.

6 Literary Theory GREEK DRAMA

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

6 Literary Theory GREEK DRAMA

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

6 Literary Theory GREEK DRAMA

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1

Background to Greek Tragedy

Typical Structure of a Tragedy

2. Antistrophê (Counter-Turn): The following stanza, in which it moves in the opposite

Typical Structure of a Comedy

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.