1. Oedipus Rex

2. GREEK DRAMA Performed in open-air theaters where citizens got free tickets. Originally associated with the festivals of Dionysus Masks and costumes used in performances

3. Characterization in Drama How does a character reveal himself or herself by what is said? How does he/she relate to other characters? Is there a discrepancy between what a character says and what he/she does? What do other characters say about the main character? How reliable are those comments? Are foils (contrasting characters) used? For what purposes?

4. Differences in Analyzing Drama Drama differs from other narrative forms of literature in that characterization is often not direct. Occasionally, a character will state their feelings, but usually we must infer a character’s nature through a character’s actions and words

5. Types of Drama Tragedy Tragedy was set in the remote past amongst mythical characters while often commenting on current affairs. Representation of the downfall of a great hero ‘A dramatic or literary work depicting a protagonist engaged in a morally significant struggle ending in ruin or profound disappointment, specifically: a. A classical verse drama in which a noble protagonist is brought to ruin essentially as a consequence of some extreme quality which is both his greatness and his downfall.’ - Morris, W. ed. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. New York, 1975. page 1361 Comedy Comedy was set in the present and satirized, even ridiculed, prominent contemporaries

6. Tragic Flaw One quality that leads to downfall. The character between these two extremes – that of a man who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty. [Aristotle’s Poetics]

7. Perepeteia (Reversal): A specific and significant situation in which the action (or plot) produces the opposite effect than is intended by a character Reversal of the Situation is a change by which the action veers round to its opposite, subject always to our rule of probability or necessity. [Aristotle’s Poetics]

8. Recognition A change from ignorance to knowledge (often in association with Perepeteia); usually turns on a sudden surprise [The] recognition which is most intimately connected with the plot and action is, as we have said, the recognition of persons. This recognition, combined with Reversal, will produce either pity or fear; and actions producing these effects are those which, by our definition, Tragedy represents. [Aristotle’s Poetics]

9. Catharsis A purifying or figurative cleansing of the emotions. Fear and pity may be aroused by spectacular means; but they may also result from the inner structure of the piece, which is the better way, and indicates a superior poet. For the plot ought to be so constructed that, even without the aid of the eye, he who hears the tale told will thrill with horror and melt to pity at what takes Place. [Aristotle’s Poetics]

10. Irony The simultaneous contemplation of opposites. Not sarcastic or sardonic or insincere humor, such as the cynical humor of David Letterman, irony is the hallmark of a writer's struggles with the complexity of life. The successful evocation of a reader's sense of the ironic is a general criterion of literary value and a central feature of the art form of tragedy. Irony in a work of art can be dramatic, structural or verbal without a whiff of sarcasm. [Spragins’ website: http://faculty.gilman.edu/US/JamieSpragins/Euro_Hum_2002- 03/EH31_SPR_F_04-05.htm] http://faculty.gilman.edu/US/JamieSpragins/Euro_Hum_2002- 03/EH31_SPR_F_04-05.htm Dramatic Irony: When the audience who sees and hears the play know more than the characters.

11. Oedipus Rex Reason vs. Faith Fate vs. Free Will Cause vs. Effect

12. Sophocles Born 497/496 BCE; Died 406/405 BCE (lived 90 years) Was born into a wealthy family – highly educated 1 of 3 Ancient Greek tragedians whose plays survived (others: Euripides and Aeschylus) Athenian playwright Wrote 123 plays but only 7 have survived Known for plays with simple, but loaded, language Focus on individual characters, personal crises

13. Oedipus Rex First premiered around the beginning of the Peloponnesian War Plague in Athens in 430 Myth of Oedipus was familiar to most Athenians Traditionally, Oedipus is depicted as a villain

14. Dramatic Terms Parodos – 1 st song sung by chorus after entrance Choragos – Leader of the chorus Strophe – 1 st section of an Ancient Greek choral ode or a division of an ode Antistrophe – 2 nd section of an Ancient Greek choral ode or a division of an ode