Greek & Roman Theatre
What common characteristics do the dithyramb and early Greek plays share?
Dithyramb and early Greek plays both existed to worship the god Dionysus through performance. Where as dithyrambs were improvised song, they still functioned as a charismatic worship service; with one character putting on a mask to become Dionysus, and the rest of the cast becoming the chorus. This became the structure of first plays in ancient Greece. Men dressed as satyrs, half man and halt goat beings, to exemplify the duality of man's existence; with the experience seeking to obtain a balance between two halves. This catharsis, or purging of emotion, prevented imbalances of the spirit to the Greek people.
Like the Mel Brooks movie that you watched, many television comedies use the comedic devices of the Greek and Roman theatre. Research comedy. List at least six "elements of comedy, or comedic devices." Discuss how or why each of these devices/elements make us laugh.
Elements of comedy include: Irony, which is a situation where something is expressed differently from, or opposite of what is expected. Audiences enjoy irony because not only is it humorous in most cases, in some situations, a villain or antagonist of a play may experience what the audience felt they had coming to them. Slapstick, which is a from of comedy marked by chases, collisions, and practical jokes as utilized by the Roman playwright Platus. Many television shows in the present day use slapstick, practical joking-type humor to surprise audiences in a funny way. Puns, which are a play on words, or even the humorous use of a word emphasizing a different meaning or application than a traditional sense. The best "dad jokes" are usually puns. Wit, or answering swiftly and cleverly delivered dictions that is a clever expression of connections between ideas that, for an audience, can incite amusement and pleasure. Malaprop, which is the the ludicrous misuse of words that sound alike. This is usually done to make a character look unintelligent, which audiences generally find humorous if done the right way. Parody, which is a humorous imitation of a person, event, or serious work of literature done in a satirical way, designed to ridicule or criticize the original person, place, or thing. A common use of this in modern times is parodies of political figures, which tend to be humorous for those on the opposite side of the political spectrum. Other elements of comedy include: hyperbole, which is an extremely exaggerated statement that adds emphasis without intending to be literal; farce, which an exaggerated and over-the-top scene or situation a character may be in; satire, which combines humor, irony, and sarcasm to deliver humorous dialogue or portrayals; deadpan humor, which is a form of comic delivery where humor is presented without a change in emotion or body language, usually speaking in a casual, monotone, matter-of-fact voice; timing, which is the usage of humor at an appropriate time in a dialogue or situation; without great timing, jokes and stunts fall flat. comedians, whom tell jokes and can entertain by acting in a formal, sketch, or improvisational format.
Describe the essential characteristics of Greek tragedy; include a discussion of tragic hero.
Essential characteristics of Greek tragedies include: - male performers, with one performer as a character and up to fifty chorus members; this evolved into up to 3 performers who were playing multiple characters, with about a dozen chorus members; - sought to create a catharsis, or purging of excess emotions in order to obtain a balance in the duality of man's being; - the poetics, which according to Aristotle, was a "medium of imitation" that seeks to represent or duplicate life through character, emotion, or action - through either epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, dithyrambic poetry, and even some kinds of music; - a complete social action, which is he totality of the experience presented in a play, and contains the causes and consequences of the experience; and - the tragic hero, who through great suffering, embodied the suffering of the people. This hero generals brought about his own suffering, caused by his own actions by reaching above and beyond what he was capable of. For example, Oedipus, the mythical Greek king of Thebes, tried to control his own fate and was punished for it. The general punishment for this, in theatre, was great suffering and death.
Describe how Greek drama used each of Aristotle's six elements.
Greek drama utilized theatre as a means of religious worship, and as such: Theme reigned as the most important of the dramatic elements in Greek theatre; it determined the use of each of the other elements. Strong themes in Greek theatre included the dignity of man (and personal freedom and the ability to make their own choices and subsequently, accept responsibility for those choices,) fate, the function of man in the universe (to ask and address why was man created,) the relationships of man to the gods (and exactly how much honor does man owe them,) and the consequences of man's actions. Character, physically defined by the use of masks, utilized noble characters (being characters that were universal to the rest of society,) with a lack of individual characteristics to make them more relatable. Plot in Greek theatre created a unity of time, where stage time was equal to real time; a unity of of place, where everything happens in the same place; and unity of actions, where there is only one plot for the audience to concern themselves with. This, combined with a purity of form, where aspects of tragedy belong in a tragedy, aspects of comedy belong in a comedy created an immersive experience, with relevant subject matter and realistic consequences to actions. Diction itself was the structure of the plays, as the ancient Greek plays were non-illusionary and utilized simple costumes and props with little or no scene to speak of; with elements of poetry and imagery allowed the audience to feel the experience. Music in Greek theatre was the use of the human voice, the use of musicians, the chorus' movement, and the use of specific songs. The music set the tone of a piece, with a marked differentiation of the sounds one would experience in a comedy versus viewing a tragedy. Spectacle included the use of the chorus and no motivational blocking; the primarily rhetorical presentation (with the focus being words) and no scenery, relied on diction to move the play forward. The ancient Greek costumes were generic with the character masks being the defining character aspect.
List and describe the essential physical/architectural elements of the Greek theatre. How does the architecture support the use/development of the Greek theatre conventions?
Structures were designed to suit the kind of theatre the Greeks were celebrating in an attempt to create an experience for the audience. The simple yet massive layout provided for a non-illusionary setting. These theaters featured a parados, which was the physical place where the chorus enters, in combination with the choral ode that was sang as the chorus entered the stage. The Greek theatre setting also featured an orchestra, which was known as the "dancing place;" this was the physical place where the performance occurred. The orchestra utilized thrust staging, and was generally semi-circular. Generally adjacent to this was the thymele; literally meaning "altar," was the alter to Dionysus surrounded by Dionysian priests. The theatron, meaning "house," is where the audience sat to view the play. Theatrons were cut into the hillside, constructed from stone, to provide seating for hundreds or even thousands of people in a way where the acoustics allowed for everyone to be able to hear. Skene was originally for props storage, but eventually involved into background scenery. Skene is unchanging in greek theatre, with all of the action occurring that the same place, creating a unity of time, place, and action. An example of this would be the front of Madea's (and formerly Jason's) home being the skene in Euripides' Medea, as all of the dramatic action occurs in this location. The greeks also utilized stage mechanics, including the eccyclema, which is a moveable platform capable of being rolled (used to show dead bodies for example,) as a way to show effects of actions not shown to the audience; and deus ex machina, a device used to lift actors to show an entrance of the gods and/or flying.
Was Medea justified in killing her own children? Why/Why not? What "modern" questions does this Medea address?
The chorus in Medea conveyed to the audience how to judge the actions of the characters on stage; in this case, the chorus disagreed with Medea's plan to kill her children and communicated this to her and the audience along with their fear of her actions. As the chorus and the audience initially sympathizes with Madea's plight, and understand the depth of her heartbreak, it can be said that her actions are seen as "somewhat justified" - although the chorus, the other characters, and the audience still judge them to be horrific. This modern play addresses infidelity and its repercussions, with many real-life and modern-day examples of similar situations finding their way into news around the world in this century.
Describe the functions of the Greek chorus to the communication of the play to its audience.
The chorus represented the townspeople in Greek plays. In early single-character plays, the performer could only speak to the chorus to move the plot of the play forward. The chorus functioned as a character in the play, and an ideal spectator who told audience members how to react to actions of the main character, creating a moral standard. This "character" created by the chorus also asked characters on stage questions to drive the play forward and answer questions and provide information for what occurred in the story away from the audience's view. This device also provided a great physical spectacle, with 12-50 people moving, speaking, and singing in unity.
Describe the structure and mechanics of early Greek drama Festivals.
The early Greek drama festivals were carried out in Athens and known as City Dionysia. These festivals occurred yearly at the end of March, which was planting time in ancient Greece. A procession through town and into the theatre lasted up to seven days, with much pageantry and fanfare for the god Dionysus. During this time, the Grecian government was shutdown, including all legal offices. All prisoners were freed during this time so they could participate as well. The festival itself was structured as ten dithyrambs, with three writers of tragedy (and possibly comedy) selected to create a trilogy of tragedy, followed by satyr plays. A choregi was selected by the city of finance the plays, and an Archon was elected to organize and direct the plays. A rehearsal schedule was established, with some accounts stating rehearsals began as far in advance as eleven months before the festival. A separation of church and state for this festival was nonexistent, as the state was sponsoring what were essentially religious activities - however, artistic license was allowed, and many plays featured harsh depictions of the gods. Three days after the festival commenced, the magistrate met with any people who had disrupted the festivities, as displeasing Dionysus could effect them for the year to come. The people were often put to death for their indiscretions.
What was the religious/ritual purpose of the theatre experience to the Greek individual? To the Greek Society?
Theatre arose from the original dithyrambs, which were the ritualistic worship of Dionysus, the god of wine, song, and fertility. Dionysus was the son of Semele, a mortal woman, and the father of Zeus, who was considered to be the life blood of society. These performances carried serious meanings with the primary goal of catharsis between the two halves (man and animal) of man in order to earn Dionysus' favor and fortune in the year to come.
Describe how Roman drama used each of Aristotle's six elements.
While Greek drama was religious, Roman drama was more for entertainment, and significantly more more illusionary. These performances were produced with elements including: Themes that varied, based on the type of piece. Roman theatre consisted of tragedies and comedies, featuring appropriate themes for each. Character, which also varied greatly; with Platus utilizing stock characters incapable of change to portray humors situations to entertain to common man; the playwright Terrance developed this, using realistic, yet humorous characters; and on the opposite end of the spectrum in Roman tragedies, Lucius Seneca used characters driven by a single emotion, often motivated by the supernatural. Plot varied from simple ones, as seen in Platus' work, to Terrance's complex plots and intricate actions, with no acts or scenes that created a unity of time and place. Diction was a key feature of Roman theatre, which was presented using the Latin language. Playwrights such as Platus utilized stichomythia - a fast, playful dialogue, as well as slapstick humor; while Lucius Seneca wrote elaborate speeches and monologues to drive the plot forward. Music varied as well, with Platus having simple underscoring; and Terence having no music at all. Spectacle of the theatre increased greatly with the introduction of Roman theatre, with massive structures built for the performances, skene changes, elaborate storylines, and more - all enhancing the special world of the play.
