Antigone and
Greek Drama
Notes
Learning Targets: To understand the
origin of drama and the elements
specific to Greek drama.
Greek Drama
Greek drama grew out of
rituals honoring
Dionysos, the god of
wine and fertility.
 Thespis (thespians)
transformed hymns sung
to gods into songs that
told the story of a
famous hero.

Types of Greek Plays
Tragedies were serious
treatments of religious
and mythic questions.
 Satyr plays (named for
wood demons) were
comic and even unruly
treatments of the same
themes.

The Theater
The theater was shaped
like a semi-circular
football stadium.
 Actors amplified their
voices through special
mouthpieces provided
in their masks.

Greek Theater (cont.)
All the actors were
men, and the
choruses were welltrained boys.
 By switching masks,
each actor could play
several roles.

Sophocles
Sophocles is generally
considered the best of
the ancient Greek
playwrights.
 His plays always contain
a moral lesson, usually a
caution against pride
and religious
indifference.

Sophocles’ Innovations
Sophocles added a
third actor to the
original two.
 He introduced
painted sets.
 He expanded the
size of the chorus to
fifteen.

Sophocles’ “Theban” Plays

These three plays tell
the story of Oedipus
of Thebes and his
family.
 Oedipus the King
 Oedipus at
Colonus
 Antigone
Antigone Background
Since Greek audiences knew
the story, suspense came
from their knowledge of
things the characters did not
know: dramatic irony.
 The audience pitied these
characters.

Oedipus Myth

See handout.
Theme of Antigone
The conflict in Antigone—individual
conscience at odds with established
authority—is eternally relevant.
 When we know that those in power are
morally wrong, do we break their laws,
or do we collaborate with them by
obeying?

Tragedy


According to Aristotle, the
function of a tragedy is to
arouse pity and fear in the
audience so that we may be
cleansed of these unsettling
emotions.
This idea is known as
catharsis, a pleasurable sense
of emotional release.
Tragic Hero
This character is not
completely good or bad.
 His/her misfortune is brought
about by some error or frailty,
which is the tragic flaw.
 The flaw is often hubris:
arrogance caused by
excessive pride.

Tragic Hero (cont.)
The hero’s fall
must be from a
tremendous height.
 Because of the
tragic flaw, the
hero is responsible
on some level for
his or her downfall.

Tragic Hero (cont.)
The hero comes to
recognize his error
and accept the
consequences.
 He is not angry; he
is humbled and
enlightened.

Tragic Hero (cont.)
The audience, though,
feels that the hero’s
punishment exceeds
his crime.
 We see that the hero
is flawed like us, and
fear for ourselves
because he failed.

Greek Theater Format



Plays opened with a Prologue
that presented the background
to situate the conflict.
The entering chorus sang a
parodos, or opening song.
The chorus’s song, an ode,
divided scenes and served
the same purpose as a curtain
does.
The Chorus


During the odes, a
leader, called the
choragos, might
exchange thoughts with
the group in a dialogue.
During that recital, the
group would rotate left to
right, singing the strophe.
The Chorus (cont.)
The chorus would move
the opposite direction
during the antistrophe.
 At the end, there was a
paean (song of thanks to
Dionysos) and an exodos
(final exiting scene).

Greek Terminology
(take notes)
Tragedy ~ a work of literature, especially a play,
that results in a catastrophe for the main
character through some character flaw, error in
judgment, or fate.
Greek Tragedy ~ usually centered on the
suffering of a major character and ends in
disaster.
Elements of Play


Chorus ~ comments
on and explains the
action of the play
(serves as the
collective voice of
humanity)
Choragos ~ Leader of
the chorus
Terminology
Prologue~ exposition that
presents the background to
situate the conflict
Parodos ~ opening song.
Ode ~ song from the chorus
used to divide scenes, like a
curtain.
Stophe ~ group response to
the chorus leader (right to
left)
Antistrophe ~ group
response to the chorus
leader (left to right)
Terminology
Paean ~ Thanksgiving
to Dionysos
Exodos ~ Final Exiting
scene.
Catharsis ~ purging of
emotion, usually pity or
fear
Fatal Flaw (Hamartia or
Tragic Flaw) a fatal
weakness in the
character that causes
this person to become
enmeshed in events
that lead to his or her
downfall
Terminology
Hubris ~ excessive
pride or self-confidence
Iambic Pentameter ~
five sets of an
unstressed syllable
followed by a stressed
syllable
Blank Verse ~
unrhymed poetry
written in iambic
pentameter.
Terminology
Soliloquy~ Longer
speech in which a
character – usually
alone on stage –
speaks as if to himself
or herself.
Monologue ~ a long
uninterrupted speech by
one character that others
can hear.
Aside ~ a brief comment
a character makes to
reveal his or her thoughts
to the audience or to one
other character.