11/21/19 Sara Wu Period 8

November 21, 2019

Sara Wu Pd 8 #30

Aim: What are the attributes of Greek Drama?

The class started off with the Unit 3 vocabulary quiz. After the quiz, the class was presented with four scenarios in which we had to make a decision. The scenarios were as followed:

1) A leader for whom you have the utmost respect is making a terrible decision. Telling him/her would lead to the failure and destruction of this leader/

2) You are a great leader, but your people are suffering through a plaque. You can save your people, but it would cost you the reputation of your husband/wife and children; they would not be banished, but forced to walk with shame for the remainder of their lives. 

3) Someone has murdered your parents. To learn who would be an even greater shock and devastation than what you are facing, but you have the power to learn the truth.

4) Previously imperceptible, you recently learned that your spouse of many years, with whom you’ve had children, is a direct kin relation. Your spouse is oblivious to this fact.  

Gabby started off the discussion with question 3. She believes that even if she has the power to learn the truth, she rather stay in the dark because the truth can be scary sometimes and it might cause more devastation. On the other hand, Adam wants to learn the truth no matter what because he believes that if he doesn’t learn the truth, he would always be thinking about it, in the back of his head. Both of them based their decision on their emotions. 

Josh addressed question 2, saying that even though his family is going to be mistreated, he believes that his family will eventually realize why he did what he did. People will know that he saved lives. 

The highlight of today’s discussion was question 4. Stanley started the discussion by saying that if he had a happy family and everything was going well, why would he ruin it because of one “small” fact. The word “small”  invoked a reaction out of a lot of people in the room. Ryan agreed with Stanley’s view on the matter. He believes that the scenario was weird but in this scenario, since you just found out the fact that you’re kin recently, in your mind, you aren’t kin, so you shouldn’t ruin the relationship that you committed yourself to. However, Alan believes that the fact that you’re kin with your spouse should ruin the relationship. He stated that he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he didn’t tell his spouse.

Lastly, for question 1, Josh believes that you should speak up to the leader if you truly respect them. 

Ending the Do Now discussion, Ms. Fusaro tells the class that all of these scenarios are part of the Oedipus. The beauty of Greek drama was that everyone went into the story knowing the plot, but it’s more about the acting and the dramatics. 

According to Aristotle, there are two parts to a perfect tragedy. There are six component parts and seven characteristics.  

Components in order of importance:

• Plot - The story has a perfect plotline.
• Character - It is important to have well-developed characters because they have to appeal to the audience and you have to emphasize with them. 
• Thought - Why a character said something
• Diction - How a character said something
• Melody - There are rhythm and meter to every dialogue to make the tragedy a lot easier to understand
• Spectacle - Masks were used to show the drama 

Characteristics:

1. It is mimetic - the tragedies must mimic real life
2. It is serious
3. It tells a full story of an appropriate length.
4. It contains rhythm and harmony
5. Rhythm and harmony occur in different combinations in different parts of the tragedy
6. It  is performed rather than narrated
7. It arouses feelings of pity and fear and then purges these feelings through catharsis 

Attributes of Greek Drama:

The Greeks thought that you should exercise everything: body, mind, and spirit. Training your mind is important to the Greeks. Purging your emotions watching the tragedy and walk out feeling better about your own life is what is referred to as catharsis. 

The Greeks invented the concept of acoustics. Like modern venues, seats in the front are more expensive than the seats in the front but no matter where you sit, you can still hear everything. 

Reflection:

Today, I learned about the important components and characteristics of a perfect tragedy. A perfect tragedy is like a mathematical formula, consisting of seven characteristics and six components. It is an important thing for Greeks because it was a form of entertainment. I also learned about the concept of catharsis which can be related to the world today. Much like the Greeks, people today go to a movie theater in order to escape from reality and walk out feeling a bit lighter than before.