Greek Theater: Antigone
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Transcript of Greek Theater: Antigone
Greek Theater: Antigone
Greek Theatre: LayoutTheatron: literally,
the “watching place”Orchestra: literally,
the “dancing place”Paradoi:
passagewaysSkene: “scene,” or
backdrop
TheatronDaylightClass seatingSeated 12,000-14,000
WomenComfort
OrchestraChallenges:
SizeDistance from audience
Holding interest
Skene(meaning “tent”)Behind orchestraServed as backdrop
Actors3 Actors, all men
Various rolesWore masksElaborate gestures, “over-acting”
ChorusBegan as 12; Sophocles
changed it to 15 menSingingDancingConsidered the
mouthpiece of society and morality
Felt the suffering along with the heroes.
Greek TheaterStructureThe basic structure of a Greek tragedy is fairly simple. After a prologue spoken by one or more
characters, the chorus enters, singing and dancing. Scenes then alternate between spoken sections (dialogue between characters, and between characters and chorus) and sung sections (during which the chorus danced). Here are the basic parts of a Greek Tragedy:
Prologue: Spoken by one or two characters before the chorus appears. usually gives the mythological background necessary for understanding the events of the
play. Parodos: This is the song sung by the chorus as it first enters the orchestra and dances. First Episode: This is the first of many "episodes", when the characters and chorus talk. First Stasimon: At the end of each episode, the other characters usually leave the stage and
the chorus dances and sings a stasimon, or choral ode. The ode usually reflects on the things said and done in the episodes, and puts it into some
kind of larger mythological framework. For the rest of the play, there is alternation between episodes and stasima, until the final
scene, called the... Exodos: At the end of play, the chorus exits singing a processional song which usually offers
words of wisdom related to the actions and outcome of the play.
Sophocles495 B.C.E. :Born in
Colonus, in AtticaGreek Playwright 441: Writes Antigone431-404: Peloponnesian
War (Athens v. Sparta)429: Writes Oedipus
Rex406: Sophocles dies
SophoclesFirst to add a third actor
Wrote over 120 plays, only seven survived.
Oedipus the King is most famous works. Often called the
“perfectly structured play”
Antigone continues the story of Oedipus
TragedyDefinition:
a serious drama featuring a main character who strives to achieve something and is ultimately defeated
The main character’s downfall is often due to an inborn character flaw or weakness – the tragic flaw.
Tragedy600 - 500 BC, Tragedy originated as a new form of Greek Theater Told a story intended to teach religious lessons.
Showed the right and wrong paths in life. Viewed as a form of ritual purification
Depicted the life voyages of people who steered themselves or who were steered by fate into conflicts with society, life's rules, or simply fate.
The Tragic Protagonist: one who refuses out of either weakness or strength to give in to fate
Most often, the protagonist's main fault is hubris, meaning false or overweening arrogance. It could be the arrogance of not accepting ones destiny, the arrogance of
assuming the right to kill, or the arrogance of assuming the right to seek vengeance.
Whatever the root cause, the protagonist's ultimate conflict with fate, reality, or society is inevitable and irreversible.
Image and Textual References Ancient Greek Theater. Retrieved July 20, 2007, Web site:
http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110tech/graphics/theaterdiagram.jpg Damen, (2006). Classical Drama and Theatre. Retrieved July 20, 2007, Web site:
www.usu.edu/.../11/vaseactorholdingmask.jpg Greek Drama. Retrieved July 20, 2007, Web site: www.baylor.edu/~John_Thorburn/Attica2.GIF Hellenic World Staff (2007). The Greek Sphinx. Retrieved July 20, 2007, from The Hellenic World
Web site: www.ancientworlds.net/.../08/55/00085574_320.jpg Retrieved July 20, 2007, Web site:
http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~tcf/pictures/electra.png&imgrefurl=http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~tcf/pastevents.html
Startz, A. (2006). Retrieved July 20, 2007, Web site: http://casweb.ou.edu/home/news/events/images/sophocles.jpg
The Classical Greek Chorus. Retrieved July 20, 2007, Web site: www2.selu.edu/.../classes/engl230/Chorus.jpg
http://anarchon.tripod.com/indexGREEKTH.html