1. Role in Greek tragedy and Oedipus Rex

2. * Greek theatre consisted of the auditorium, orchestra and skene * Orchestra, “dancing place” thought to be almost always circular * Where actors, chorus performed * Actors (always male) change costumes, masks in the skene

3. * Actor = hypocrites, meaning interpreter or answerer * Chorus comes from Greek “to dance” * Actor’s job to answer to the chorus * Chorus also all male – would sing lines and dance simultaneously

4. * Play begin with prologue – provide time and place of tragedy * Entrance of the chorus: parodos * Parodos establishes the id of the chorus * After parodos, action of tragedy develops through a series of episodes (epeisodia) each divided by choral songs

5. * Stasima = choral songs * Each stasimon divided into verses known as strophe and antistrophe * Each make up a pair of verses, with the antistrophe matching the strophe exactly in terms of meter * The meter of the choral songs can be very complex, notably different from the meter of the spoken lines which is usually simple

6. * Exodos = final section where the chorus leaves the orchestra * Final choral song tends to be short

7. * Who are the chorus in Oedipus Rex? * What role does the chorus serve in the play? * How does the chorus change during the play? Why is this important in the reading and understanding of Oedipus Rex?