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Summary Greek theatre - the nature of tragedy

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  • OCR Classical Civilisation AS and A Level Components 21 and 22

Notes on: - origins of tragedy and how it developed during the 5th century BC - including its relationship to satyr plays, the contribution of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, use of actors and the chorus, use of masks, costumes and props, common themes of tragedy, relationship between the cultu...

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  • No
  • 1.2
  • May 17, 2024
  • 5
  • 2023/2024
  • Summary

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  • tragedy
  • greek theatre
  • nature of tragedy

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The nature of tragedy

The origins of tragedy

- Origins of tragedy are shrouded in mystery
- Most influential surviving ancient text on the development of drama is a treatise – poetics by Aristotle
 Dates to about 330
 First surviving work of literary criticism – focuses on analysing the genres of epic and tragedy
 Hard to know how reliable Aristotle is
o Scholars unsure if it was meant to be published or is just a set of lecture notes
- Ancient sources – birth of drama at Athens took place during second half of 16 th century
 Ruled by a tyrant and his sons – credited with instigating a number of artistic architectural and
engineering inventions
o City Dionysia

The dithyramb

- Choral dance central to the worship of Dionysus
- Invented in Corinth in late 7th century and performed in honour of Dionysus
- Choral dance – event where people sang and danced at the same time
- 6th century Athens – dithyrambic performances becomes a central feature of the city Dionysia
- 5th century – dithyrambic competitions
 Each of city’s 10 tribes entered two choruses – one of 50 men and one of 50 boys
 Each chorus had a choregos
- Drama developed out of the dithyramb
- Second half of 6th century – Athenian called Thespis set himself apart from his chorus
 Dressed in a mask and costume, impersonated different characters from the dithyramb’s subject-
matter and took part in dialogues with the chorus
- New genre of ‘drama’ soon had its own competition at the city Dionysia
 First recorded contest in 534 – Thespis was the winner
o Awarded the prize of a goat – might explain origin of word tragedy

Satyr plays

- City Dionysia reorganised in 500 – different type of play first presented
 Satyr play – play which parodied tragedy and was presented along with three tragedies by a
playwright
- Unclear how they related to tragedy – only one satyr play exists in its entirety
 May have offered the audience a release after they had sat through three intense tragic dramas
- Take name from chorus being made up of actors playing satyrs
- Satyr – mythological creature who was a follower of Dionysus, depicted as half-human and half-animal
 Seemed to represent the basic human appetite for food, drink and sex
 Might be thought to symbolise the release Dionysus can offer his followers through pleasure
- Remained closely related to Dionysus

Playwrights

- Wrote every line in verse, composed music
- Some playwrights also trained and choreographed the chorus as well as acting in the play themselves
 Such as Aeschylus
- 5th century Athens – flourishing of tragedy
- Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides – marked out as classics
 Texts were preserved and plays re-performed

, Aeschylus – c. 525-456

- Athenian tragic playwright
- Known as ‘father of tragedy’
- May have written up to 90 plays – only 6 have survived
- Introduced a 2nd actor on stage – radical development from one-actor tradition
 Ancient critics liked to find an inventor for every important change – may not have been
Aeschylus
 Was crucial to the development of drama as we understand it – opened possibility for dialogue
between two individuals
- Introduced a 3rd actor later in his career
 Innovation ancient attributed to Sophocles
- All surviving plays date to the last 14 years of his career
- Most famous works are 3 plays that belong to the Oresteia – trilogy presented in 458
- Use of connected groups of ¾ plays sems to have been speciality of his style – no evidence it was
common in his day
 Allowed him to develop themes and imagery to a greater level of sophistication
 Complexity comes at a price – mocked by Aristophanes in frogs for having tedious dramas full of
long silences and verbose speeches
- Role of chorus is fundamental – makes greater use of it than other two playwrights
- Aristophanes presents him as an anti-intellectual
- Lived through a time of great change
 Persian war4s – probably fought in the battle himself

Sophocles – c. 496-406

- Credited with introducing many inventions to tragedy
 Told he introduced a 3rd actor, increased number of chorus members from 2 to 15, made set more
atmospheric through enhancing the look of the skene
- Preferred to offer a series of unconnected plays
- Reduced roe of chorus
- Very successful – won at least 18 contests and never cam third
- Believed to have written more than 120 plays – only 7 survive
 Concerned with the same myth – did not form a trilogy and were performed years apart
o Antigone Oedipus rex, Oedipus at colonos
- Pre-eminent political figure in Athens
- Said to have played an important role in welcoming the new religious cult of the healing good
Asclepius into Athens
- Master of stagecraft
 Skilled handling of structure and plot make his plays particularly appealing to modern tastes
- Oedipus rex – backstory introduced at different parts of the story

Euripides – c. 480-406

- More popular after is death than during his lifetime
- Won 5 victories – one after his death
- Said to have written 92 plays – 18 of his plays have survived
- Frogs presentation – unconventional playwright who liked to shock his audiences
 Enjoyed innovating with myths and characters
- Distinctive style – plays are more self-conscious
 Gods appear more on stage than other playwrights – characters challenge their behaviours
 References to contemporary and philosophical themes

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