“DRAMA”
Types of Drama
– Tragedy: [solemn, personal, religious & social issues – often
ends in death]
• Tragic Flaw [our hero often suffers from great pride
(hubris) and this leads to a grave mistake leading to
tragedy]
• Catharsis [Pity & Fear: The audience pities the actors
suffering on stage and fears they too might make a
mistake and suffer a similar fate]
– Comedy: [humorous/solving – often ends in a marriage]
• Farce = Physical [think three stooges]
• Satire = Morals/ Manners [makes fun of society and its
ways]
Analyzing Drama: Setting
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Scenery- (location, time period, social class)
Lighting-(time, season, mood, action, char-acter)
Costumes- (age,class,profession,ethnicity)
Props-(have significance)
– In Agamemnon, remember we
are in Ancient Greece and A
is shown as king and Clytaemnestra
is queen [thus they wear fancy robes
and have beautiful masks].
Climax
Dramatic Structure
Conflict
Expo
•
Resolution
Exposition ( who, what, where, when)
– Introduces our main characters, where and when they are, and what is
happening.
•
Conflict (Problem of main character)
– In Agamemnon, Agamemnon returns from Troy but both Clytaemnestra
and Aegisthus want revenge on him.
•
Climax (Pivotal point in action)
– In Agamemnon, this is where Cassandra tells of Agamemnon’s death
happening off stage.
•
Resolution ( How does it all work out?)
– In Agamemnon, at the end, Clytaemnestra and Aegisthus succeed but the
son of Agamemnon, Orestes, vows revenge on them for his father’s death.
Thus the circle of revenge will continue.
Characterization
• Types of Characters
– Protagonist vs. Antagonist
– Confidant (friend or servant)
– Stock characters: comic, victim, braggart, pretender, fool
• We learn about characters
– Externally through names, appearance, physique, speech, accent,
dress, status, class, education, friends, family, interests.
– Internally through thoughts, feelings, emotions.
Dramatic Irony, Theme and
Overall Message
• Dramatic Irony : Contrast between what the characters
know and what the audience knows.
– In Agamemnon, the audience and chorus knows Clytaemnestra is
up to no good, but Agamemnon does not.
• Theme(s): Repeated ideas or messages throughout the play.
– In Agamemnon, the greatest theme is revenge.
• Overall Message : What the playwright wants the audience
to think about the theme(s).
– In Agamemnon, the playwright wants the audience to realize that
the cycle of revenge must stop.
Greek Theater
Shape enhances sound
Orchestra
• Literally means “dancing space”
• Circular and level space made of hard earth, later
periods paved with marble
• Chorus would dance, sing, and interact with the
actors who were on the stage near the skene
• In the center there was often a thymele or altar
• The orchestra of the theater of Dionysus in Athens
was about 60 feet in diameter
Theatron
• literally means "viewing-place" where spectators sat
• usually part of hillside often wrapped around the
orchestra
• spectators probably sat on cushions or boards
• by the fourth century the theatron of many Greek
theaters had marble seats
• Far enough away hard to see actors faces – thus masks
and rich costumes
• Actors needed loud voices and move with harmony
Skene
• Literally means ‘tent’
• Included stage and the building directly behind the stage
• Stage of the theater of Dionysus was probably raised only two
or three steps above the level of the orchestra[ approx. 25 ft
wide / 10 ft deep]
• The skene was directly in back of the stage - usually decorated
as a palace, temple, or other building, depending on the needs of
the play – no extravagant sets
• Included at least one set of doors, and actors could make
entrances and exits through them
• Access to the roof of the skene from behind, so that actors
playing gods and other characters (such as the Watchman at the
beginning of Aeschylus' Agamemnon) could appear on the roof
Parados
• The Parodoi means literally ‘passageways’
• Paths the chorus and some actors used for
entrances and exits
• The audience also used them to enter and
exit the theater