History of Western Drama: Origins & Notable Playwrights

1. HISTORY OF WESTERN DRAMA (Greek)

2. * Began to develop in the sixth century B.C. as part of the worship of the Greek god of wine and fertility, Dionysus. A group of chanters called a chorus danced around an altar on which a goat was sacrificed.

3. *This ritualistic chant was called goat-song, or tragos . From tragos, the word tragedy was derived.

4. These ceremonies evolved into contests. According to Greek Folklore, Thespis won the first competition. Legend says that when Thespis stepped out of the chorus and engaged in dialogue with other members, he became the first actor. The term thespian has been given to actors ever since.

5. These contests lasted five-six days and usually involved a trilogy by one author- three plays related by theme, myth, or characters. • On the last day, the play was usually a bawdy and burlesque performance called a satyr play.

6. Amphitheater • Plays were performed at the bottom of a semi-circle cut out from the side of a hill:

7. The chorus was an integral part of Early Greek plays. They served to explain the situation, and bring the audience up to date, or make commentary on the action of the play.

8. … • Choragos-leader of the chorus • In the opening song, the Parados, the chorus explains the central conflict of the play.

9. … • Strophe- movement of chorus toward left or right side of audience • Antistrophe- countermovement; the answer to strophe’s question or the opposite view of the strophe’s view, given to the other side of the audience.

10. Allusion • An allusion is a brief reference to a person, event, or place, real or fictitious, or to a work of art. • An allusion may be drawn from history, geography, literature, or religion. • Example: " The killer wore a mark of Cain as he stalked his brother" - referring to the Bible story: Cain and Abel.

11. Deus Ex Machina • In some ancient Greek drama, an apparently unsolvable crisis was solved by the intervention of a god, often brought on stage by an elaborate piece of equipment. This "god from the machine" was literally a deus ex machina.

12. Deus Ex Machina • Few modern works feature deities suspended by wires from the ceiling, but the term deus ex machina is still used for cases where an author uses some improbable (and often clumsy) plot device to work his or her way out of a difficult situation. When the poor hero is relieved by an unexpected inheritance, it's often called a deus ex machina.

13. Tragedy: • Considered classics of Western literature, involve conflicts that evolve from the clash of the will of the gods and the ambitions and desires of humanity. The plays show how useless human efforts are in the face of fate.

14. Notable playwrights: • Aeschylus • Sophocles • Euripides

15. Aeschylus: • Expanded the number of actors and reduced the size of the chorus. He is noted for the elevation and majesty of his language, which many feel has never been surpassed. Of his ninety plays, only seven have been preserved. He left us the only surviving trilogy, Oresteia . It tells the story of the murdered Agamemnon.

16. Sophocles: • One of the greatest Greek tragedians, Ranked with Shakespeare as one of the greatest playwrights of all time. Believing that human beings have divine qualities that elevate their struggles against fate, he achieved an amazing balance between the power of the gods and the importance of humanity. Sophocles has written over a hundred plays, of which, only seven survive. Oedipus Rex is considered one of the most powerful examples of dramatic irony and Antigone is considered one of the world’s greatest tragedies.

17. Euripides: • became more interested in people’s lives than in the religious views of his day. He emphasized human relationships and became the master of pathos—human sorrow and compassion. He is responsible for The Trojan Women and Medea.

18. Drama: • A story written to be performed by actors. The script of a drama is made up of dialogue– the words the actors say– and stage directions, which are comments on how and where the action occurs.

19. Stage Directions • These notes convey information about sound effects, Movements, gestures, setting, and line readings to the cast, crew, and readers of drama.

20. Dialogue: • In drama, much of what you learn about the characters, setting, and events is revealed through dialogue.

21. Tragedy: • A dramatic form in which a character of high rank is involved in a struggle that ends in disaster.

22. Tragic Character (Hero): • A character who experiences a reversal of fortunes as a result of fate or a flaw in his or her character

23. Tragic Flaw: • A weakness in the main character of a tragedy that causes his or her downfall

24. Character’s Motives: • The reasons that characters act the way they do and make the decisions that they do. • Often revealed through Dialogue or Soliloquy.