Classical Drama
Origins:
Athens, Greece
6th Century B.C.
1. Greek drama grew out of what and
honored who?
Greek drama grew out of ancient
religious rituals honoring Dionysis, the
god of wine and fertility.
2. How did Thespis transform the annual
festivals from its original state?
Thespsis transformed the annual
festivals by transforming the hymns
into songs that honored Dionysis.
These songs not only honored
Dionysis, but also told the story of a
famous hero or another god. He also
added the innovation of having a
chorus member stepping away from
the others to play the part of a hero or
god.
3. How did Aeschylus influence modern
drama?
Aeschylus influenced modern drama
because he introduced a second
individual actor to the performance.
This instantly created the possibility
for conflict.
Before Aeschylus’ addition, only one
person stood out on stage and acted
out the story.
4. What word derives from the name
Thespis and what does it mean?
The word ‘thespian’ which means
actor or actress is a derivative of the
name Thespis.
5. In ancient Greece, what were tragedies (tragic
plays)? How do they differ from modern
tragedies?
In ancient Greece, tragedies were
serious treatments of religious and
mythical questions. Today, tragedies
deal with serious events and sad
endings, but they are not religious
and mythically based.
6. Describe the Theater of Dionysos.
The Theater of Dionysos looked like a
semicircular football stadium and had
seats carved out of stone on a
hillside. At the bottom was a
performance area divided into two
parts and in the front was a rounded
place called an orchestra. Behind the
orchestra was a platform where the
actors spoke their lines from behind
huge masks.
7. Name the three reasons actors wore
masks.
There were three main reasons that actors
wore masks. The first reason was to
amplify the actors’ voices- the exaggerated
mouthpieces made this possible. Another
reason actors wore masks was to help the
audience identify the character. The
masks were stylized into familiar character
types. The third reason masks were worn
was to allow actors to play several roles.
8. According to the definition of a tragedy on
page 1006, describe the main character found in
a tragedy.
The main character found in a
tragedy, also known as the tragic
hero, is usually dignified, courageous,
and often high ranking. This
character’s downfall is often caused
by his tragic flaw. The tragic hero
usually wins self-knowledge and
wisdom, even though he or she
suffers defeat, possibly even death.
9. What do King Laios and Queen Jocasta
do to their baby and why?
King Laios and Queen Jocasta give
their baby to a shepherd with orders
to leave the infant to die on a
mountainside with his ankles pinned
together. They do this because they
learn from an oracle (fortune teller)
that their newborn son will kill his
father and marry his mother.
10. What happens to the baby?
Instead of abandoning the baby, the
shepherd takes pity on the baby and
gives him to a Corinthian shepherd.
The Corinthian shepherd in turn gives
the baby to the childless king and
queen of Corinth.
11. Why does Oedipus leave Corinth?
Oedipus leaves Corinth because he
learns of the oracle’s prophesy. He
believes that the king and queen of
Corinth are his real parents and he
runs away because he does not want
to fulfill the prophesy.
12. What happens on the road after
Oedipus leaves Corinth?
As Oedipus is on the road after
leaving Corinth, he encounters an
arrogant old man who tries to run him
off the road with his chariot. Because
honor was at stake, the two men fight
and Oedipus kills the stranger.
13. How does Oedipus defeat the Sphinx, a
monster that had been terrorizing Thebes?
Oedipus defeats the Sphinx and saves the
city of Thebes from destruction by
answering the Sphinx’s riddle. The riddle is
“What creature goes on four legs in the
morning, two legs in the afternoon, and
three legs in the evening.”
Oedipus correctly answers with “man,” who
crawls on all fours as an infant, walks on
two legs as an adult, and leans on a cane
in old age.
Upon hearing Oedipus’ answer, the Sphinx
leaps into the sea and Thebes is saved.
14. How do the people of Thebes repay
Oedipus for saving them?
As payment for saving them from the
horrible Sphinx that had been
terrorizing Thebes, the people of the
city appoint Oedipus king of the city
and give him their queen for a wife.
Their king had recently been
murdered on a road outside of the
city.
15. Name Oedipus and Jocasta’s children.
Oedipus and Jocasta had four
children, two boys and two girls:
Eteocles, Polyneices, Antigone, and
Ismene.
16. When Oedipus investigates the murder of
King Laios in an attempt to save Thebes from a
plague, what does he discover?
In an attempt to save Thebes from a
plague, just as he had done years before,
Oedipus consults the prophet Teiresias.
From Teiresias, he learns that he is the
cause of the plague because he killed his
father and married his mother; therefore
fulfilling the prophesy. Although he tried to
outsmart the gods and prevent the curse
from occurring, he helped set the events in
motion.
17. What do Oedipus and Jocasta do after
they learn the truth?
Once learning the truth, Jocasta
hangs herself and Oedipus gouges
out his eyes because he had been
blind to the truth. After gouging out his
eyes, Oedipus is exiled to the
countryside as a beggar and lives
ostracized until his death.
18. What was the conflict between Antigone’s
brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices?
The conflict between Antigone’s
brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices,
stemmed from their agreement to
share the crown. At the end of
Eteocles’ reign, he refused to give up
his throne to his brother Polynieces.
As a result, Polyneices formed a
separate army to fight his brother, but
both brothers kill each other in battle.
19. Why did Creon bury Eteocles and not
Polyneices?
Creon give Eteocles a hero’s burial
because they were allies and
Eteocles was the king at the time of
his murder. He refused to bury
Polyneices because he viewed him
as a traitor when he betrayed his
brother and his city, formed a
separate army, and ignited a civil war.
20. What is the central conflict between
Creon and Antigone?
The central conflict between Creon
and Antigone is man’s law versus
god’s law. Antigone believes that the
laws of the gods supersede all other
laws and should be followed at all
costs. Creon on the other hand,
represents the laws of man and he
wants to be obeyed at all costs.
Other things to know about Greek
drama:
The play Antigone was written by
one of the greatest Greek
playwrights, Sophocles.
Characteristics of Classical Drama
The chorus is a group of characters
who comment on the action of the
play without participating in it.
The leader of the chorus is known as
a Choragos.
Characteristics of Classical Drama
The unities: time, place, and action.
The action of the play must happen in
a single location, within the time span
of one day.
Violence happened offstage, and was
related to the audience by the chorus.
All actors wore masks, and all parts
were played by men.
TRAGIC HERO
The tragic hero suffers from a tragic
flaw, also known as hamartia.
Hubris, or excessive pride, is usually
the hero’s tragic flaw that leads to
their downfall.
Catharsis- the purging, or to cleanse
or purify,of the feelings of pity and
fear that occur in the audience of
tragic drama.
TERMS YOU NEED TO KNOW:
archetype: the original pattern from which
copies are made; template or mold
recognition: the point in the play during
which the tragic hero experiences a kind of
self-understanding; the discovery or
recognition that leads to the reversal. In
some cases, a character’s recognition
could also be the reversal.
reversal: the point at which the action of
the plot turns in an unexpected direction for
the protagonist. The protagonist learns
what they did not expect to learn.
complication: an intensification of
the conflict. The complication builds
up, accumulates, and develops the
primary or central conflict in a work.
foil: a character who contrasts and
parallels the main character in a play
or story.
aside: words spoken by an actor
directly to the audience, which are not
heard by other characters on the
stage during the play.
denouement: the resolution of the plot
in a story or play.