11/22/19 Nafi Osmani PD1

Modern Mythology 2020 

11/21-11/22

Nafi Osmani Period 1

Aim: What are the attributes of Greek Drama?

Over the course of these two days we learned the characteristics of greek drama/ greek theater as we dive into a new reading Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, and try to understand as we read why Aristotle titled it as the “perfect” tragedy

Aristotle defined tragedy in seven characteristics:

1. It is mimetic (imitation. Representation/ imitation of the real world in art and literature)
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, and
7. It arouses feelings of pity and gear and then purges these feelings through catharsis

A tragedy consists of six component parts, which are listed here in order from most important to least important: plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle

Catharsis - purification of emotions/ Cleansing the audience of disturbing emotions, such as fear and pity, thereby releasing tension 

Results for 2 reasons:

1. Audience members resolve to avoid conflicts of the main character- for example. Oepidus in Oepidus Rex and Creon in Antigone- that arouse fear or pity.
2. Audience members transfer their own pity and fear to the man character, therby emptying themselves of these disquieting emotions.

Chorus

The chorus was a central feature of Greek drama. The 
chorus was composed of similarly costumed men on the 
orchestra, located beneath the stage. The chorus was in 
the orchestra for the duration of the performance to 
observe and comment on the action of the actors. 
Dialogue consisted of long, formal speeches in verse

Strophe: the movement of the classical Greek chorus while turning from one side to the other of the orchestra

Antistrophe: a returning movement in Greek choral dance exactly answering to a previous strophe

Appositives

Used heavily within the play

Examples: 

Derek Coffey, a senior Staten Island tech student that is a talented baseball player, lives on Staten Island.

Dramatic Irony: irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the play

Suppliant - a person making a humble plea to someone in power or authority.

On Friday November 22nd, the entire class participated in reading aloud Oedipus Rex, those who volunteered were given the lines of characters and those remaining were the chorus which was divided roughly in half into strophe and anit-strophe.

What did I learn?

I learned that the theater in which all Greeks, poor and rich, went to was created in such a way that no matter where you sat you would be able to hear the performance on the stage. I could see the resemblance or the direct influence of these stadiums as similar designs are still used in modern day theaters for the performances of plays. I learned that the dramatic irony that exists in Greek Drama comes from the fact that the audience members already knows the plot of the play, knows how the story of the play is going to proceed and turn out. I also learned the unique aspects of greek drama, which are unfamiliar to most of us, as we have not read similar literature beforehand. 

Why did I learn it?

We learned all of these attributes of greek drama and greek theater in order to help us better understand the lines of Oedipus Rex. Additionally, it helps us get a glimpse of how this greek drama was performed as we incorporate these aspects of greek drama into our readings within class. 

How will I use what I learned?

I will use what I learned about greek theater and greek drama to help me better understand the lines of Oedipus Rex. After reading the first 300 lines of the play, I realized that Oedipus Rex is not very similar to the english or structure of english which we are familiar with today. It will take a little more effort to be able to understand the lines of this play, as we read them but knowing the different characteristics of this type of play will make the process easier.