1 / 20

Greek Tragedy: Intro to Antigone

Greek Tragedy: Intro to Antigone . The Role of Gods in Greek Tragedies. http://www.history.com/topics/greek-mythology/videos#greek-gods. Sophocles. b. 496 d. 406 Served as a general with Pericles (441) Very active in city politics (413) First tragedy 468 First first prize 468

auryon
Download Presentation

Greek Tragedy: Intro to Antigone

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Greek Tragedy: Intro to Antigone

  2. The Role of Gods in Greek Tragedies • http://www.history.com/topics/greek-mythology/videos#greek-gods

  3. Sophocles • b. 496 d. 406 • Served as a general with Pericles (441) • Very active in city politics (413) • First tragedy 468 • First first prize 468 • Won 18 first prizes • Never finished third

  4. Sophocles • Introduced the third actor • Wrote over 120 plays (seven survive) • The most successful are the Big Three • Challenged conventional mores • Introduced more dialogue between characters (less Chorus) • Oedipus Tyrannus, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, Electra

  5. The Staging of Tragedy • “Classical theater resembled today’s rock concerts: the audience knew every number by heart, performers wore high heels, loud costumes and heavy make-up, and they relied on background singers, known as the Chorus.” -Howard Tomb

  6. Where Was Tragedy Performed? • almost every Greek city had a theater • Theaters could be very small or huge • Each theater had specific parts • Usually in the center of the city

  7. The Staging of Tragedy - Actors • Only males • Wore dramatic masks • Were only 3 actors on stage • Noisy props and heels

  8. What are Greek tragedies about? • Plot of a Greek Tragedy • The stories used in tragedy were taken almost exclusively from mythology. These ancient myths and heroic legends were important to the Greeks, for they recorded what was thought to be the collective social, political, and religious history of the people and included many profound tales about the problems of human life and the nature of the gods.

  9. What does the audience get out of it? • The audience then learned from tragedy what personal motives and outside forces had driven the characters to act as they did. Because poets used plots familiar to their audience, they would have opportunities to use irony and subtle (or not so subtle) allusions.

  10. Structure of a Tragedy • Greek tragedies were performed without intermissions or breaks. • Prologue – the opening scene, in which the background of the story is established, usually by a single actor • Parados – the entrance of the chorus, usually chanting a lyric which bears some relation to the main theme of the play • Episode – the counterpart of the modern act or scene, in which the plot is developed through action and dialogue between the actors, with the chorus sometimes playing a minor role.

  11. Structure of a Tragedy, Cont. • Stasimon – the choral ode. A stasimon comes at the end of each episode so that the tragedy is a measured alternation between these two elements. • Exodus – the final action after the last stasimon, ended by the ceremonial exit of all the players • Strophe – stanza that chorus sings as they move from right to left across the stage • Antistrophe – countermovement; stanza that chorus sings as they move from left to right across the stage

  12. Define Tragedy • A tragedy is an imitation of an action that is serious, has magnitude, and is complete in itself. The incidents in the plot arouse pity and fear on the part of the audience so the end of the tragedy brings about a catharsis, an outlet or purging of emotions aroused in the play. The audience then leaves the theatre cleansed and uplifted.

  13. Tragic Hero • Since the aim of a tragedy is to arouse pity and fear through an alteration in the status of the central character, the tragic hero must be: • A figure with whom the audience can identify so his fate can trigger the emotions of pity and fear on the part of the audience • True to life and consistent • Highly renowned and prosperous, but superior to everyone • Possesses a flaw in his character that inevitably causes his downfall; this flaw is not a vice but a weakness of character

  14. Before reading Antigone, You must first understand the story leading up to it.

  15. Oedipus Rex • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXyek9Ddus4 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V_H6xklEJ0 (Rap)

  16. The Cursed House of Laios (Thebes) (Corinth) (adoptive)

  17. The Cursed House of Laios (Thebes) King Laius Queen Jocasts (Corinth) King Polybus Eurydice Creon (adoptive) Oedipus Queen Merope Magareus Haimon Eteocles (for Thebes) Polyneices (for Argos) Ismene Antigone

  18. Rank the following principles according to their importance to you. Give the most important a 1 and the least important a 6. _______ Loyalty or obligation to family _______ Obedience to civil law (police/gov.) _______ Adherence to religious and/or moral law _______ Protection of personal dignity _______ Freedom _______ Protection of community or nation

  19. Fate QuickWrites: • What is fate? Is it destiny? • Can one’s fate be altered? • What might happen if people try to control their fate/destiny?

More Related