Part III: Drama, We’ll cover 2 types
Classical & Shakespearean
Tragedy (general):
A form of drama defined by Aristotle characterized by seriousness and dignity and involving a great person who experiences a reversal of fortune.
Aristotle‘s Poetics (Greek: Ποιητικός, c. 335 BC) aims to give an account of what he calls 'poetry' (for him, the term includes the lyric, the epos, and the drama). Aristotle attempts to explain 'poetry' through 'first principles' and by discerning its different genres and component elements. His analysis of tragedy constitutes the core of his discussion.
Classical/Greek
EtymologyTragōidiā literally means ―goat song‖
Meaning: possibly referred to goat costumes worn by actors who played the satyrs, or a goat being presented as a prize at a song contest--in both cases, the reference would have been the respect for Dionysus. (satyrs surrounded Dionysus during his drunken revelry) Aristotle's definition of tragedy in Poetics can include a change of fortune from bad good, but he says that the change from good to bad as in Oedipus Rex is preferable because this effects of pity and fear within the spectators. (Thus making the play a kind of didactic work)
History:
Classical Athens was a powerful city-state. A centre for the arts, learning and philosophy, home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum, Athens was also the birthplace of Socrates, Pericles, Sophocles and its many other prominent philosophers, writers and politicians of the ancient world. It is widely referred to as the cradle of Western
civilization and the birthplace of democracy, largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC on the rest of the then known European continent.
The largest festival for Greek tragedy was the Dionysia held for five days in March, for which involved competition between prominent playwrights. Each submitted 3 tragedies and 1 satyr play (comedy); they were performed on successive days.
Three Great Writers of Tragedy: whose works are extant are Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus.
The philosopher Aristotle theorized in his work Poetics that tragedy results in a catharsis (emotional cleansing) of healing for the audience through their experience of these emotions in response to the suffering of the characters in the drama. He considers it
superior when a character passes from good fortune to bad rather than the reverse; at the time, the term "tragedy" was not yet fixed solely on stories with unhappy endings. Here comes important vocabulary & info:
Structure, according to Aristotle:
"the best tragedy should be not simple but complex and one that represents incidents arousing fear and pity--for that is peculiar to this form of art."
Verse & Meter: Usually written in verse form and includes a meter of some kind
Three Unities:
1. The unity of action: a play should have one main action that it follows, with no or few subplots.
2. The unity of place: a play should cover a single physical space and should not attempt to compress geography, nor should the stage represent more than one place.
3. The unity of time: the action in a play should take place over no more than 24 hours.
Hamartia (term developed by Aristotle in his work Poetics) = a tragic mistake or error, also character‘s flaw or ―moral deficit‖ (like hubris, weakness, flaws in reasoning)
Fate or will of the mythological gods.
Characters cannot escape what the path or fate the mythological gods have determined for them. As is evident in Oedipus.
Characters of Wealth and Power
The main character, additionally, must be of an upper status and have great fortune so that the characters change in prosperity may be more extreme and visible. Such tragic flaws or errors are often found in kings, tyrants, and other members among the elect. This drastic change was thought to contribute to good drama.
Dynamic Character:
Sophocles About the Playwright:
Aristotle used Sophocles's Oedipus the King in his Poetics (c. 335 BCE) as an example of the highest achievement in tragedy, which suggests the high esteem in which his work was held by later Greeks.
Sophocles wrote 123 plays during the course of his life, but only seven have survived in a complete form: Ajax, Antigone, Trachinian Women, Oedipus the King, Electra,
Philoctetes and Oedipus at Colonus. For almost 50 years, Sophocles was the most-awarded playwright in the dramatic competitions of the city-state of Athens that took place during the religious festivals of the Lenaea and the Dionysia. Sophocles competed in around 30 competitions; he won perhaps 24 and never received lower than second place; in comparison, Aeschylus won 14 competitions and was defeated by Sophocles at times, while Euripides won only 4 competitions.
The most famous of Sophocles' tragedies are those concerning Oedipus and Antigone: these are often known as the ―Theban Plays‖, although each play was actually a part of different tetrology, the other members of which are now lost. Sophocles influenced the development of the drama, most importantly by adding a third actor and thereby reducing the importance of the chorus in the presentation of the plot. He also developed his
characters to a greater extent than earlier playwrights such as Aeschylus.
His reputation was such that foreign rulers invited him to attend their courts, although unlike Aeschylus who died in Sicily, or Euripides who spent time in Macedon, Sophocles never accepted any of these invitations.
Sophocles' opinion of Aeschylus was mixed. He certainly respected him enough to imitate his work early on in his career, but he had reservations about Aeschylus' style, and thus did not keep his imitation up. Sophocles' first stage, in which he imitated Aeschylus, is marked by "Aeschylean pomp in the language". Sophocles' second stage was entirely his own. He introduced new ways of evoking feeling out of an audience, like in his Ajax when he is mocked by Athene, then the stage is emptied so that he may commit suicide alone. Sophocles mentions a third stage, distinct from the other two, in his discussion of his development. The third stage pays more heed to diction. His characters spoke in a way that was more natural to them and more expressive of their individual character feelings
CHARACTERS of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex:
Oedipus—defeated the Sphinx and brought good fortune and prosperity to Thebes A Priest—speaks for masses; comes to beg for Oedipus‘ help
Creon—Brother-in-Law and honorable comrade of Oedipus; accused of plotting against Thebeans and Oedipus
Shepherd of Laïos—softhearted gave up baby to Corinth Shepherd Iocastê (Jocasta)—Oedipus‘ wife (and mother)
Teiresias—blind prophet who first tells who is responsible for murder and plague Messenger—previously the Corinth shepherd, who delivered the baby to Polybus 2nd Messenger – tells of Jocasta‘s death
LOCATION of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex:
Outside the castle, throughout each scene
PLOT of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex: (we’ll map it out…remember that
yoga figure from the fiction segment? It’s back.)
Prologue—Oedipus greets supplicants and tells them he is attempting to do something about tragedy that has befallen city
Párados—Chorus enters Episodes
o Scene I-Oedipus speaks with Tireseas and denounces his abilities and believes Creon plots against him; Tireseas reveals all
Ode I- Chorus sings about this and reflects on what happens o Scene II- Creon reveals honor and shows Oedipus to be rach and
imprudent; Jocasta tells her Oracle story and servant story; Oedipus realizes he‘s been rash
Ode II: “The Tyrant is a Child of Pride‖ (p. 1306)
o Scene III- Jocasta‘s turn to sweat; Messenger from Corinth reveals death of Polybus and retrieval of boy; again Oedipus doesn‘t get it; thinks his birth is base; Oedipus is again blind.
Ode III: Reprise and celebration of ground on which king found o Scene IV: Shepherd is brought before Oedipus and truth is revealed
Ode IV: discusses fall from grace and glory in poetic/abstract terms
Éxodus—Jocasta kills herself by hanging from bed curtains
* * * *
Looking Ahead….Shakespearean Tragedies
Using Aristotle’s recipe:
Protagonist must be an admirable but flawed (Hamartia again!)--audience able to understand and sympathize with the character.
Shakespeare's tragic protagonists are capable of both good and evil. Free will in characters is always possible
the (anti)hero is always able to back out, to redeem himself. But, the author dictates, they must move unheedingly to their doom.
Also, Rejecting Aristotle:
Shakespeare’s tragedies DO NOT OBSERVE Aristotle’s ‘3 Unities’
11 recognized Shakespearean Tragedies Romeo and Juliet
Macbeth King Lear Hamlet Othello
Titus Andronicus
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
The History of Troilus and Cressida
The Life of Timon of Athens (sometimes grouped by scholars with Shakespeare‘s unfinished or problem plays)
Your Final Paper:
Compare Two Tragic Characters Greek, Shakespearean, or Modern Drama
Two Options; Choose just ONE
Compare the characters of Oedipus and Hamlet
Compare the characters Oedipus of Shakespeare‘s Oedipus Rex and Hamlet of
Shakespeare‘s Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. What makes them comparable characters? What makes them different? Dig deeply, beyond the obvious historical differences and other superficial circumstances. Instead, consider psychology. Look at the characters as they behave, as they respond to conflict, as they react to others around them.
Return to the ‗Elements of Fiction‖, particularly to the methods of characterization. Consider:
Where do Oedipus and Hamlet overlap in characterization? What make them classically tragic heroes?
What are their flaws (remember: hamartia)? What similarities exist between their fates?
What is the theme of each tragedy and how are these similar?
OR
Recognizing the importance of Aristotle’s Three Unities & Style
Compare the Shakespeare‘s Hamlet to the classical tragedy Odeipus Rex by Sophocles. What were Aristotle‘s prescriptions for tragedy? How does Oedipus follow Aristotle‘s creative dictum to the letter? In what ways does Hamlet diverge from Aristotle‘s expectations? How, specifically, does Hamlet defy them?
