Greek Drama
Drama was born in ancient
Greece!
• 600s B.C. - Greeks were giving choral
performances of dancing and singing
• Performances at festivals honoring
Dionysus
• Later they held drama
contests to honor him
Thespis (534 B. C.)
• Defined theater
– art of acting a part on stage
– dramatic impersonation of another character
than yourself
• Uncertain whether he was a playwright, an
actor, or a priest
• “Thespian” term comes from his name
Description of Greek Theater
• Took place in large hillside amphitheaters
– held 20, 000 people!!
• Players included a chorus and their leader
• Lines were chanted
• Chorus performed in an “orchestra”, not on
a raised platform
Greek Theater (continued)
• Masks used to represent characters
• High-soled boots worn to add height
• Both of these limited movement
Greek Theater
Most Important Era (400s B.C.)
• Tragedies performed as part of a
civic celebration called the City
Dionysia
• Festival lasted several days
• Prizes given for best tragedy,
comedy, acting, and choral singing
Theater of Dionysus
• Located on slope below the
Acropolis in Athens
• Seated 14,000
• Circular acting area called
orchestra
• Skene (stage house)
Greek Tragedy
• Nearly all surviving tragedies are based on
myth
• Character’s struggle against hostile forces
ended in defeat and ultimately in death
• A series of dramatic episodes separated by
choral odes (mini-songs).
• Episodes performed by a few actors - never
more than 3 on stage
Greek Drama (continued)
• Wore masks to indicate the nature of the
characters played.
• Men played women’s roles
• Same actor appeared in several parts.
• Of the hundreds of Greek tragedies written,
fewer than 35 survive.
Three Playwrights
• Aeschylus
– Most famous for Oresteia
– Introduced concept of second actor
– Expanded possibilities for plot
Sophocles
• Innovation of the third actor
• Most famous for Oedipus Rex
Euripides
• Created the ultimate form of drama
• Far more naturalistic or human approach in
his works
• Showed interest in psychology through
portraits of women
Euripides (continued)
• Medea is most famous work
– Describes how a mother kills her children to
gain revenge against their father
Roman Theater
• Borrowed extensively from Greeks
• Latin word “ludus” – play
• Chiefly important because it influenced
Renaissance playwrights
• Works of only one author left – Lucius Annaeus
Seneca
– 5 act form
-- Elaborate language
– Revenge as the main idea of the play
– Confidant
Roman Comedy
• Typical plot – misunderstandings
– Mistaken identity
– Free-spending sons deceiving their fathers
Gradual decline – actors excommunicated
-- rising power of church
-- invasions by barbarian tribes
Medieval Drama
• Death of theater after fall of Roman Empire
• Kept alive only by street players, jugglers,
acrobats, and animal trainers
Medieval Churches
• Although against theater during Roman
Empire, churches are most responsible for
bringing theater back
• Church needed to establish itself in the
community
– Began using drama to tell stories about
religious holidays
Liturgical Drama
• Rebirth of drama through brief plays acted
by priests as part of the liturgy (worship
service)
• The Resurrection of Christ was first event
dramatized
Mystery Plays
• Written in verse and taught Christian
doctrine
– Presented Biblical characters as if they lived in
medieval times
Mystery Plays (continued)
• Setting for play on pageant wagon
• Wagon drawn through city to various
places
– Actors performed on platform outside wagon
Miracle Plays
• Based on lives of saints rather than
scripture
• Became secular after short period of time
Morality Plays
• Relgious performed “speeches”
• Taught meanings of Biblical passages
other than literal ones
• Changed into plays called interludes
– Interludes were created strictly for
entertainment
Renaissance Drama (Italy)
• Strictly applied Aristotle’s rules
• Spectacular musicals
• Intermezzo – music and lively
entertainment between acts
• 16th century - Opera emerges
• 17th century – Commedia dell’arte
– Comedy and improv
Renaissance Drama
• Pastoral drama
– Set in the country
– Depicted romantic affairs of rustic people,
usually shepherds and shepherdesses
Renaissance Drama (England)
• Not bound by rules
• Elements of farce, morality, disregard for
time and place
• Christopher Marlowe
– Development of blank verse
England Performances
• Began early afternoon; ended just before
dusk
• Women never on stage; parts played by
boys
• Attended by all classes of society
• Refreshments sold during performances
• Audience in a “holiday” mood
William Shakespeare
• Father of modern drama
• Creator of the Globe Theater
Shakespeare (Continued)
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Wrote tragedies, comedies, etc.
Unified plot
Strong characters and imagery
Perfection with verse form and language
– Captured the spirit of ordinary speech
– Gave special dignity to characters/situations
The Globe Theater
• One of four major theaters in England – the
other three – Swan, Rose, Hope
• Open-air octagonal amphitheater
• Seated 3,000
• 3 stories high
• Original burned down; was reconstructed
before Shakespeare’s death
Congratulations!!!
You have completed the lecture on
the history of theater!!!