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Ancient and Modern Literature

Fundamental Differences Between Ancient and Modern Life Organization of Society Rights and Responsibilities of Individuals Material Well-Being Spiritual and Psychological Well-Being

Organization of Society Ancient - Little social mobility. Social status, marital partners, and occupations are chosen by or inherited from parents and therefore determined at birth Modern – Social status dependent on wealth, which is the reward for achievement valued by others. Therefore social status, marital partners, and occupations for most people are not determined at birth

Rights and Responsibilities of Individuals Ancient – Few or no rights and not much concern for them. Concern is for responsibility to relatives, communities, overlords, or kings. Modern – “ . . . the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Material Well-Being Ancient – Nobility uses wealth to maintain power and insulate themselves from such misfortunes as famine and plague. In addition, the authority of kings is bolstered by the role of religious traditions to discourage such threatening enterprises as science, technology, and trade (Creates a new social class) Modern – A world of merchants, bankers, lawyers, doctors, scientists, and technicians.

Spiritual and Psychological Well-Being Ancient – Little freedom but psychological comfort Modern – Pursues his own material happiness but often at the expense of his psychological and spiritual well-being

Chief Irony of Modern life The modern world is the only world in which ordinary individuals have ever assumed they all had the right to pursue their own happiness. Problem is this pursuit has robbed modern man of his sense of identity, purpose, security, worth, and place.

Ancient and Modern Literature

Ancient

18th & 19th Centuries

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Metamorphosis

ANCIENT MODERN Hero is a model of the ideal human type. Odysseus Beowulf Hero is tragic. His downfall is due to his own internal character flaws. He arouses terror and pity because such a great man has such a big fall. Oedipus Creon Hero is often a pitiful victim or mental patient. McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Hero is clearly pathetic. He is a victim of circumstances beyond his control. Often he is particularly pitiful. Gregor Samsa in Kafka’s Metamorphosis

ANCIENT MODERN Society is insane, absurd, pointless, and highly criticized. Great Gatsby Death of a Salesman Crime and Punishment Lord of the Flies Fahrenheit 451 Heart of Darkness A Clockwork Orange Brave New World 1984 Society is never criticized. For example, warfare is a source of great tragedy in the Iliad, but it wouldn’t have occurred to Homer that a world without war could exist. Odyssey Antigone Beowulf Setting of Julius Caesar

ANCIENT MODERN Life basically makes sense. You make mistakes, but can learn from them. That, or your tragedy serves as a lesson for others Society clearly makes no sense.

Tragedy and Comedy

Four Assumptions Perfect definitions and an airtight system of classification are impossible It is unnecessary that we classify each play we read or see The quality of experience furnished by a play may be partially dependent on our perception of its relationship to earlier literary forms, and therefore familiarity with traditional notions of tragedy and comedy is important for our understanding and appreciation of plays Whether or not tragedy and comedy be taken as the two all-inclusive dramatic modes, they are certainly, as symbolized by the masks, the two principal ones

Tragedy

A literary tragedy presents courageous individuals who confront powerful forces within or outside themselves with a dignity that reveals the breadth and depth of the human spirit in the face of failure, defeat, and even death

Hamartia The term Aristotle described as “some error or frailty” that brings about the protagonist’s misfortune is hamartia. This word has been frequently interpreted to mean that the protagonist’s fall is the result of an internal tragic flaw, such as an excess in pride, ambition, passion, or some other character trait that leads to disaster.

Hamartia Maybe better to translate the word to mean “mistake.” The protagonist will mistakenly bring about his own downfall, not because he is sinful or morally weak, but because he does not know enough.

Reversal (peripeteia) The point when the hero’s fortunes turn in an unexpected direction. Typically, a self-destructive action taken in blindness that leads to a diametrically opposed result from what was intended

Recognition (anagnorisis) The protagonist recognizes the consequences of his actions – moves from ignorance to knowledge

Catharsis Aristotle described catharsis as a purgation of the emotions of “pity and fear.” We are faced with the protagonist’s misfortune, which often seems out of proportion to his or her actions, and so we are likely to feel compassionate pity. Simultaneously, we may experience fear because the failure of the protagonist, who is so great in stature and power, is a frightening reminder of our own vulnerabilities.

Central Features of Archetypal Tragic Figure The tragic hero is a man of noble stature The tragic hero is good, though not perfect, and his fall results from his committing “an act of injustice” (hamartia) either through ignorance or from a conviction that some greater good will be served The hero’s downfall, therefore, is his own fault, the result of his own free choice – not the result of pure accident or villainy or some overriding malignant fate The hero’s misfortune is not wholly deserved – the punishment exceeds the crime The tragic fall is not pure loss. Though it may result in the protagonist’s death, it involves, before death, some increase in awareness, some gain in self-knowledge Though it arouses the emotions of pity and fear, when performed well, the audience should achieve a sense of emotional release, a catharsis, at the end of the play

Staple and KEEP it! I will be calling you up, checking turn it in.com and discussing any issues. Staple in the following order: Rubric Final essay Graded rough draft Peer edited rough draft

Comedy

The Comedic Ladder

Depiction of Human Nature Tragedy emphasizes human greatness Comedy delineates human weakness Tragedy celebrates human freedom Comedy points up human limitations Tragedy: “What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god!”Hamlet Comedy: “Lord, what fools these mortals be!”Puck

Because comedy exposes human folly, its function is partly critical and corrective. Where tragedy challenges us with a vision of human possibility, comedy reveals to us a spectacle of human ridiculousness.

Greek Drama and Aeschylus

THEATER OF DIONYSOS

GREEK THEATER skene theatron proskenion parodos chorus orchestra

Three Main Tragedians Aeschylus 525-456 BC Sophocles 496-406 BC Euripides 486-406 BC

Oresteia Trilogy about Agamemnon and his family after the Trojan War. Agamemnon, Libation Bearers (aka Choephoroe), and Eumenides Written in 458 BCE, 2 years before Aeschylus’ death

Remember Agamemnon from The Iliad? “Still I am willing to give her back, if such is the best way. / I myself desire that my people be safe, not perish. / Find me then some prize that shall be my own, lest I only / among the Argives go without, since that were unfitting” (1.116-119).

Vocabulary Machiavel: marked by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith Xenophobe: one unduly fearful of what is foreign and especially of people of foreign origin Misogynist: a hatred of women Pragmatist: a practical approach to problems and affairs Regicide: the crime of killing a king or queen Infanticide: the act of killing a baby Patricide: the act of murdering your own father Fratricide: the crime of murdering your own brother or sister

Essential Questions: The Oresteia What is masculine/feminine? What is the role of woman, wife, mother vs. man, ruler, father? How are characters/people to choose between two rights or two wrongs? How do we deal with vengeance? How do we gauge true justice? What is the problem with binary opposites? How does Aeschylus shape the modern view of blood vengeance, woman, court systems?

Annotate for… Literary devices Elements of Tragedy Characterization Lines dealing with the essential questions Confusing and defined terms

"English? Who needs that? I'm never going to England!" “Books are useless! I only ever read one book, To Kill A Mockingbird, and it gave me absolutely no insight on how to kill mockingbirds! Sure it taught me not to judge a man by the color of his skin . . . but what good does that do me?”

Agamemnon Read Check Put phones in testing pockets. Listen for your scantron Bubble 51-75

Curse of the House Atreus

Curse of the House Atreus

Philosophical Chairs Take a position on an issue within Agamemnon. Find several examples (mark in your text) to support your claim. Prove your claim to the class using your examples.

The Topics to Debate Agamemnon is a victim. Cassandra’s visions are pointless because the other characters cannot believe her. Aegisthus was justified in his motivations. Clytemnestra is the epitome of the stereotype of female irrationality.

Agamemnon is a victim. True False

Cassandra’s visions are pointless because the other characters cannot believe her. True False

Aegisthus was justified in his motivations. True False

Clytemnestra is the epitome of the stereotype of female irrationality. True False