Unit 1

1. Unit 1 “Genre Study” and Oedipus

2. Genre A category of literature. The main literary genres are fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama.

3. Autobiography • An autobiography is a story about a person’s life and is written by the person who lived it. An autobiography can be about the person’s whole life, part of that person’s life, or a single event.

4. Biography • A biography is a selection about a real person's life that is written by another person.

5. Fantasy • A fantasy is a make-believe story that could never happen in the realworld. • Some characters and plot situations may be realistic, while others are exaggerated and even silly. • The author uses a realistic classroom setting but then introduces fantasticcharacters who do impossible things.

6. Fiction • Fiction stories are stories that the author has made up. • Fiction is an untrue story. Characters and events may be realistic, even though they might be unusual or even unlikely in some way.

7. Folk Tale • The original author is unknown and that folk tales often have different versions. These stories are passed down through generations over many centuries.

8. Myth • A myth is a talethat has been passed down through generations and tells about nature and human behavior.

9. Play • Like a novel or a short story, a play tells a story but it is written to be acted out for an audience. Plays have many unique literary elements such as acts, scenes, stage directions, and speech tags.

10. Poetry • Poetry is an arrangement of words in lines having rhythm. Sometimes those lines rhyme, as in this narrative poem.

11. Tall Tales • Tall tales are amusing stories told with great exaggeration and bigger-than-life characters.

12. Sophocles (c. 496-406 B.C.) Born in Colonus, a small town outside Athens, Greece in 495 B.C.

13. As a young boy, Sophocles was prized for his exceptional abilities in poetry, music, and dancing. • Sophocles began as a performer at age 15, as he was chosen to perform at a celebration in Athens. • He went on to become an established playwright in Athens. He was first recognized as a playwright for winning 1st prize at an annual theatrical competition when he was 28 years old. This was significant because he won the prize over Athens’ predominant playwright.

14. Over 62 years, Sophocles wrote over 120 plays, 24 of which won first prize; the others placed in second at the competition ! • Only seven exist in their entirety today. They are … Ajax 445 B.C. *Antigone 440 B.C. Electra 440 B.C. *Oedipus Rex 430 B.C. The Trachiniae 413 B.C. Philoctetes 410 B.C. *Oedipus at Colonus 401 B.C.

15. Sophocles greatly influenced the technical aspects of Greek theatre.

16. Sophocles’ changes in Greek tragedies … 1. Originally, drama was performed on an open-air theatre with few props or sets. Sophocles expanded using stage machinery (utilized technological advances) and sets. He was the first to use a crane to “miraculously” lower and take away actors! He also used painted scenery. 2. Variations in the types of music sung by the chorus

17. Sophocles’ changes continued 3. Changed cast size (Introduced a third actor and reduced the chorus from 50 people to 12) 4. Used more elaborate costumes, including masks How do you think Sophocles’ new ideas and changes impacted drama?

18. Sophocles’ impact • More complex plot development due to added actors, and costumes (allowed them to portray more characters) • Easier to distinguish sets, more developed sets, doesn’t leave quite as much up to the imagination • Easier to distinguish characters, due to costuming and elaborate masks • Interesting, unexpected events by using machinery

19. Sophocles was said to have been especially blessed by the Greek gods because he was attractive and had exceptional abilities. • Society had much admiration and deep respect for him because of the impact he made on their lives. • All of Athens mourned upon Sophocles death in 406 B.C. • They established a shrine called Dexion (The Entertainer) for him. Members of society paid respect to him annually by offering sacrifices in his memory.

20. Greek Tragedy

21. Sophocles, playwright of Oedipus the King, is known as one of the most famous tragedians of all time. • Greek tragedies are considered the theatrical works produced mainly in Greece during the 5th century. • Greek tragedies deal with universal issues and with contemporary politics/topics (themes such as war, incest, and murder). • Often times, tragedies involved the hero changing between states of fortune & misfortune. The hero’s flaws and errors were pointed out followed by the hero’s recognition of their actions. Ex. Oedipus the King

22. Most tragedies were written as connected trilogies that carried a similar storyline. • In ancient Greek times (5th century), tragedies were intended to be performed in a theatre before a live audience. • Tragedies were produced and performed during the religious festival in honor of the god Dionysus (god of fertility). The playwrights competed against one another for first prize.

23. Greek Tragedy A Greek tragedy is structures as follows: (each genre has a different structure) I. Prologue: Spoken by one or two characters before the chorus appears. The • prologue usually gives the background information needed to understand the events of the play. II. Parodos: the song sung by the chorus as it makes its entrance III. Episodes/Scenes: the main action of the play

24. Greek Tragedy Con’t IV. Odes: a song (and often dance) that reflects on the events of the episodes, and weaves the plot into a cohesive whole A. Choragos: the leader of the chorus who often interacts with the characters in the scenes

25. B. Chorus: the singers/dancers who remark on the action; react as the playwright hopes the audience will 1. strophe: the movement of the chorus from right to left across the stage 2. antistrophe: the reaction to the strophe, which moves across the stage from left to right.

26. The Chorus • The chorus was made up of amateur actors. • In Oedipus Rex, the chorus acts like a character as well as a group of citizens. • They are used to set the mood and heighten the dramatic effects. The chorus adds movement, song, & dance.

27. Chorus Con’t • They usually entered just after the opening of the play and remained on stage until the end. • During their part, they periodically stopped moving to allow the audience to consider what they are saying.

28. The Actors • The chorus usually wore similar masks to unify them as a “group,” but actors wore them to distinguish between various characters. Since all Greek actors were men, it was necessary to wear masks in order to portray female characters.

29. Since there were only three parts, masks allowed for more characters to be portrayed. • Each character had a different mask, so the three actors had to be highly skilled individuals to portray each role appropriately. • All performers were men, however, anyone could attend theatre productions.

30. Greek Tragedy Con’t V. Exodos: sung by the chorus as it makes its final exit, which usually offers words of wisdom related to the actions and outcome of the play

31. Sophocles • his dramatic work portrayed misery and tragedy • he also became a distinguished public official

32. Sophocles • produced 123 plays (only seven survive today) • the age of Sophocles in Greece was a time when anything seemed possible through human effort and reason

33. Sophocles • toward the end of Sophocles’ life, Athens raged a war against Sparta, their bitter rivals • there also was a great plague in 430 B. C.

34. Sophocles Sophocles’ surviving plays (written after 440 B.C.) are deeply troubling

35. Sophocles These plays depict characters caught up in unsolvable dilemmas that test their faith in divine and human justice

36. Greek Theatre

37. Theatre developed from two sources • 1. The need to imitate • Fun to pretend to be someone or something else • As a means of communication - to demonstrate a situation/storytelling through words and actions • 2. The need to worship the gods in order to please them

38. In Greece, plays were presented out of doors • on a flat place, or orchestra, at the base of a hill. • At first, they just used open space, no walls or ceiling (little scenery or set). The orchestra was usually circular. • The orchestra was the main performing place for actors. • The auditorium, or theatron, was the hillside itself where the audience stood and watched plays. Seats were gradually added; eventually permanent sets were constructed of stone.

39. An alter to the god Dionysus (son of Zeus, god of wine & revelry), called the themele, was always located in the middle of each site. • Later, in the 5th century B.C., a skene building, or scene house was added. • Provided a place where the actors might dress & wait before going on stage • Eventually, they used it to add background & scenery to the stage, as well as a prop

40. Attending plays was considered a civic duty. • The price of a ticket was two obols, which was equal to the wages an unskilled man might earn for a day's work. • There was a special fund that citizens could apply for to receive money if they could not afford the ticket on their own.

41. Drama • Tragedy Tragedies treat serious subjects and often focus on the tragic hero’s character. Tragedies usually end with death. • Chorus: • The chorus was composed of similarly costumed men on the dancing floor ("orchestra"), located beneath the stage. The chorus was in the orchestra for the duration of the performance to observe and comment on the action of the actors. Dialogue consisted of long, formal speeches in verse

42. Drama • Tragedy 3 actors: Sophocles influenced the development of the drama, most importantly by adding a third actor, thereby reducing the importance of the chorus in the presentation of the plot • Masks: Masks were also made for members of the chorus, who help the audience know what a character is thinking. Although there are twelve members of the chorus, they all wear the same mask because they are considered to be representing one character.

43. Drama • Many say drama originated in Greece over 2,500 years ago as a way to pay tribute to Dionysis • Theatres built into the side of a hill • Most could seat almost 17,000 people.

44. The structure of the play • Plays are divided into acts and scenes. • Scripts feature lists of characters and stage directions which require the reader to pause and visualize the set up

45. The Structure • Chorus = a group of singers that comments on the play, often from the point of view of public opinion of the actions taking place • Prologue = an introductory scene that tells the audience important information about the play’s setting, characters, and events immediately preceding the opening of the drama. • Episode (episodos)= a passage of dialogue between two or more actors or between actors and chorus

46. Structure • Choral ode = the chorus is alone on stage, singing • Éxodos = the final scene of the play • Epilogue = after the main characters leave, this is where the chorus comes back on stage to sum up the play’s meaning

47. Important Terms • Monologue – an extended speech by one character. • Soliloquy – an extended speech by one character, alone on stage. Soliloquies are used to express the private thoughts of one character. • Aside – a character’s direct address to the audience, which is not heard by the other characters. • Situational Irony: Where an event happens where you expected the opposite. • Dramatic Irony-Playwrights use dramatic irony when they allow the audience to know more than the characters do.

48. Monologues, soliloquies, and asides are dramatic techniques that provide direct insight into motives, attitudes, and overall tone. • These techniques function like a fictional narrator.

49. Important Terms in Literature • Symbol: Something that represents something else • Metaphor: A comparison between two unlike things without using like or as. • Personification: Giving something nonhuman, human characteristics • Allusion: reference in literature to something else: • Classical: Aspects of Greek or Roman information • Biblical: The bible • Historical: Events from history

50. About Aristotle