1. TRAGEDY

2. Aristotle-Poetics (350B.C)
TRAGEDY:
Definition of tragedy: Tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude, in a dramatic form, with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish catharsis of such emotions. The objective of tragedy is to arouse pity and fear. Such incidents will allow the spectators to be purged or purified of such emotions by ‘catharsis’ (a purification).
It is an imitation, not of men, but of action and life, and life consists of action.
Purpose: A tragedians objective is o move us with meaningful experience of human beings with whom we can identify ourselves to the extent of suffering with them.

3. Aristotle-Poetics (350B.C)
Plot-Action usually central
Audience sympathetic with characters
Peripeteia: sudden reversal in plot
Hamartia: Tragic flaw
Anagnorisis: Recognition
Catharsis: fear/pity

4. Tragic Hero:
A man not pre-eminently virtuous or just, whose misfortune is brought upon him not by vice and depravity but by some error of judgment.

5. GREEK TRAGEDY STRUCTURE Late point of attack
Violence and death off stage (such events expressed, forwarded by the chorus or messengers, characters)
Frequent use of messengers to relate information
Usually continuous time of action (12-24 hours)
Usually a single place (or different parts of a single place such as a palace)
Stories based on myth or history, but varied interpretations of events
Focus on psychological and ethical attributes of characters, rather than physical and sociological.
Examples
Aeschylus ( B.C.) Orestia
Euripides ( B.C.) Medea
Sophocles ( B.C) Oedipus Rex

6. The Three Unities (Unity of Time, Place, and Action)
A play:
(1) Must not cover more than twenty-four hours
(2) Must be set in one locale only, or, at worst, in various parts of a single city
(3) Must be either entirely tragic or entirely comic, rather than a mixture of “hornpipes and funerals”.

7. AESCHYLUS-ORESTEIA

8. SOPHOCLES-OEDIPUS REX

9. EURIPIDES-MEDEA

10. Characteristics of Seneca’s drama
He divided his plays into 5 acts with choral interludes. The interludes were not part of the play’s action.
He used elaborate rhetorical speeches, the characters debate, do not converse.
He was a moral philosopher. He believed that drama should preach a moral lesson.
Involved violent action: filled with murder, torture, dismemberment. Violent, revenge tragedy, ghosts, deranged hero who seeks vengeance, deeds of horror (children killed, people murdered on stage)
His tragedies respected the unity of time (24 hours) and place (action unfolds at one location)
Each of his character was dominated by one passion (love, revenge, ambition) which brought about their downfall. Example: Medea

11. ROMAN TRAGEDY Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) His plays were based on Greek plays.
Probably written for private reading (closet drama)
Seneca is important in terms of English Drama because Renaissance ( ) playwrights such as Shakespeare used his tragedies as their primary model.

12. SHAKESPEARE’S TRAGEDIES
SHAKESPEARE’S GREAT TRAGEDIES
HAMLET (1600)
OTHELLO (1604)
KING LEAR (1605)
MACBETH (1606)

13. ROMEO AND JULIET (1594)

14. MACBETH

15. HAMLET (1600)

16. SHAKESPEARE’S GREAT TRAGEDIES
OTHELLO

17. KING LEAR

18. SHAKESPEARE’S ROMAN TRAGEDIES
Julius Caesar (1599)
Antony and Cleopatra (1606)
Coriolanus (1607)