1 / 19

Greek Tragedy

Greek Tragedy. Structure and Elements. Do Now:10.21.14. Take out your Hansberry final essay as well as the draft that was peer reviewed and the actual peer review. Please place in this order: Final on top, peer review sheet, draft that was peer reviewed last

braden
Download Presentation

Greek Tragedy

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 Structure and Elements

  2. Do Now:10.21.14 • Take out your Hansberry final essay as well as the draft that was peer reviewed and the actual peer review. Please place in this order: • Final on top, peer review sheet, draft that was peer reviewed last • Staple together and place in Do Now tray • Take out notes from yesterday on Greek theater

  3. Aristotle’s Definition: Tragedy • Tragedy depicts the downfall of a basically good person through some fatal error or misjudgment, producing suffering and insight on the part of the protagonist and arousing pity and fear in the part of the audience. • By the end of the tragedy we should feel relieved through “catharsis” as we are purged of the feelings of pity and fear.

  4. The Tragic Hero • One of the protagonists • A generally admirable/good person • The hero meets his/her demise through some personal and fatal error (hamartia) or flaw • Sometimes bad luck also contributes to the downfall • However, the tragic hero must always bear some responsibility for his/her own doom

  5. Structure of a Greek Tragedy • Prologue: A piece spoken by one or two characters before the chorus appears. Usually gives background info needed to understand events in the play • Parados: song sung by the chorus as they make their entrance • Episodes/scenes: the main action of the play

  6. Odes: songs (and dance) that reflect on the events of the episode/scene and weave the plot into a cohesive whole • Choragos: the leader of the chorus who interacts with the characters in the scene • Chorus: the singers/dancers who remark on the action of the play Members of the chorus Would wear masks Choragos at the front

  7. More on the Chorus • Strophe: movement of chorus from right to left on the stage • Antistrophe: movement left to right across the stage

  8. Paen: a prayer of Thanksgiving to god Dionysoswho the Greeks honored through their plays • Exodos: A song sung by the chorus as they make their final exit; they usually offer words of wisdom related to the outcome of the characters’ actions

  9. Who is Dionysos • Dionysus was the god of wine, agriculture, and fertility of nature and is also considered a patron of the arts • He has a dual nature. On the one hand he brings joy and divine ecstasy. On the other brutal, unthinking, rage. Thus, reflecting both sides of wines nature.

  10. Reflect • How is the structure of a Greek tragedy different from what you are used to?

  11. 6 Key Elements of Greek Tragedy I. Plot- how the action is arranged • Tragedy: a play with a serious theme that usually ends up unhappy for the main character because of a tragic flaw within the character • Hubris: arrogance demonstrated by a character because of too much pride • Foreshadowing: clues to something that will likely happen later in the play

  12. Plot continued… • Climax- the highest point of emotional tension (or the turning point of the plot) • Catharis- the relief/purification of a character’s emotional tension • Denouement- the resolution to the main conflict (usually not good in a tragedy)

  13. II. Characters: people in the play (not the chorus) III. Theme: main idea or message that is the central focus IV. Language/diction: words spoken or sung by the characters V. Music: odes sung by the chorus and choragos VI. Spectacle: the scenes, props, costumes, masks (anything visual)

  14. Greek Theater Video

  15. Sophocles 496-406 BCE • Sophocles came from a rich family that lived in Colonus. His father, Sophillus, sent Sophocles to school in Athens, where he got a good education. • Sophocles' plays are generally very optimistic, full of the spirit of Athens in the classical period. • He sees men (and to some extent women) as powerful, rational, creative beings, the masters of the world around them, and the proud creations of the gods. • Sophocles also remembers the terrors ofwar and barbarism, which can sometimes overcome men and women. He cheers, in his plays, for the triumph of reason over wild emotion and anger.

  16. Fate and the Fates • Denotation: the development of events beyond a person's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power • The Fates- the three goddesses who preside over the birth and life of humans. Each person's destiny was thought of as a thread spun, measured, and cut by the three Fates,Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. When your string is cut, your time is up.

  17. Oedipus • Read the summary of Sophocles’ play Oedipus Rex • On the back, write down one how or why question that pertains to the story AND one thing that surprised you the most.

  18. Discussion Questions • Who is the more admirable character? Antigone or Creon? • Which character do you sympathize with and why? • Two key themes in the play are 1. listen to the will of the gods and 2. hubris (too much pride) is bad. What are some examples of these messages in the play?

More Related