Greek Theater, Tragedy

1
Greek Theater, Tragedy

• Ritual, Performative Realities
• Aristotles Poetics

2
Agenda

• Origins of Drama
• Phallic Procession, Komasts, etc.
• Athenian Dramatic Festivals
• Ritualized Secularism
• Drama Production Elements
• Aristotles Poetics
• Drama Explained?
• Antigone via Aristotle

3
Origins of Drama

• Goat-Song, Phallic Procession, Komasts, etc.

4
Aristotle on Origins

• ethnic-geographical
• psychological-anthropological
• Dionysian-ritual

Aristotle
5
Cultic Parallels-Precursors

• Komos
• (Dionysian) revel
• (also term for dramatic production)
• Phallic procession
• Dionysian phallus pole on parade

Komasts archaic Corinthian vase
6
Dionysus
Hephaestus
padded, phallic costume
Proto-Drama (?) komos-like Performance of the
Return of HephaestusProtocorinthian vase
painting , 600-575 BCE
6
7
Athenian Dramatic Festivals

• Ritualized Secularism

8
Historical-Political Sketch

• Archaic Greek tyranny (600s-500s BCE)
• democratizing despotism
• Dionysian reorganization
• Athens
• Pisistratus (r. 561-572 BCE) City/Greater
  Dionysia
• 1st tragedies ca. 534 BCE
• Democratic developments, 511-
• 1st comedies 486 BCE

9
Athenian Dionysia

• Rural Dionysia (Dec.)
• Lenaea (late Jan/Feb)
• 440/430 dramatic competition instituted
• Anthisteria (Feb)
• City/Greater Dionysia (late March)
• principal dramatic festival at Athens

10
Greater Dionysia Program

• Assignment of choruses
• Proagon
• preview of plays
• Introduction processional
• to and from Academy
• Official parade (pompe)
• Preliminary ceremonial
• theater purified
• public honors
• tribute displayed

• Poetic/dramatic contests
• Dithyrambic choruses (10 10)
• Comedy (5 plays)
• Tragedy (3 tetralogies)
• tetralogy sequence of
• 3 tragedies
• 1 satyr drama
• by an individual poet, and presented in a single
  day

11
Tragedy Ritualized Secularism

• Dual Focus (Barlow)
• ancient, mythic, heroic, archetypal
• contemporary, political, communal, skeptical
• Ambivalent affirmation
• Vernant
• Hall

12
Theater

• Viewing/Performing Space

13
(No Transcript)
14
N
Parthenon
Roman Theater
Theater ofDionysus
Acropolis with Theaters
15
Basic Design Theater of Dionysus ca. 420 BCE
theatron (viewing place, auditorium, theater)
wooden bleachers
stone seats (dignitaries)
orkhestra (dancing space for chorus)
kerkis (wedgeseating section)
entry (parodos, eisodos)
entry (parodos, eisodos)
steps
low wooden stage with skene (from ca. 420 BCE)
skene (stage building)
15
16
Drama Production Elements
17
17
Tragic chorus, masked, dancing, singing (ancient
vase)
18
18
19
Dionysus and Ariadne
Queen-character
Heracles
Himeros ( Eros)
(Pappo)silenos
Charinus (kithara player)
Pronomos (piper)
King-character
19
20
Human, Other Resources

• Personnel (all male)
• poet (poietes)
• producer (khoregos)
• director (didaskalos, teacher)
• actors (hupokritai)
• chorus and chorus leader (koruphaios)
• piper

• Gear
• masks
• costumes
• props
• scenery
• special effects
• mekhane
• crane to lower gods et al.
• ekkuklema
• trolley to wheel out corpses etc.

21
Tragedy Structure Elements

• prologue
• portion preceding parodos
• parodos
• chorus entry
• episodes
• segments between major choral numberrs
• stasima (sing. stasimon)
• major choral numbers (not including parodos)
• kommos
• lamentation scenes (chorus-character sung
  dialogue)

• exodos
• portion following last stasimon
• stichomythia
• rapid back-and-forth dialogue
• agon
• debate scene
• messenger speeches
• description of off-stage action

22
Aristotles Poetics

• Drama Explained?
• Antigone via Aristotle

23
Poetics Approach

• Method
• definition
• classification
• analysis
• teleology
• critical evaluation

• Critical foci
• organic coherence
• plausibility / realism
• emotional power
• utility / enjoyment
• therapeutic value
• educational value

24
Poetics Critical Vocabulary

• Plot, muthos
• simple
• complex
• episodic
• anagnorisis
• peripeteia
• hamartia
• complication / reversal

• Ethical component
• ethos-temperament
• thought
• hamartia

25
Antigone via Aristotle (discussion)

• Criteria fulfilled
• Royal family (superior)
• pity
• reversal (peripeteia) for Creon
• catharsis
• Creons
• but ours??

• Criteria left wanting
• Dual protagonists Antigone, Creon
• violates Aristotelian economy of plot??
• Pity for Antigone?
• or admiration noble defiance of patriarchy?

26
Antigone via Aristotle??

• fit
• royal family (superior)
• felt pity
• emphasis plot
• role reversal Creon
• peripeteia
• catharsis
• Creons

• dual protagonists Antigone, Creon
• violates Aristotelian economy of plot??
• didnt feel pity for Antigone
• noble defiance of patriarchy

27
Aristotle on Tragedy
A tragedy, then, is the imitation of an action
that is serious and also, as having magnitude,
complete in itself in language with pleasurable
accessories, each kind brought in separately in
the parts of the work in a dramatic, not in a
narrative form with incidents arousing pity and
fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of
such emotions. (7-8)
27