Greek and Roman Playwrights

1. Greek and Roman Playwrights

2. Virgil’s history • Known as the greatest Roman poet • He was sensitive to nature and acutely aware of the beauty and wisdom of the natural world. • Julius Caesar came to govern Virgil’s province of Gaul; thus, opening Virgil’s eyes to a world different from his father’s farm in a culturally isolated town.

3. Virgil’s history • During the Roman civil war, Mark Antony, rewarded his soldiers with confiscated land. Virgil’s farm was one of many farms Antony took. • Caesar Augustus recognized Virgil’s poetic genius and gave Virgil back his land. • Virgil became the official poet of the Roman empire.

4. Virgil’s Writing • Virgil’s early works were poetry collections called Eclogues and Georgics. • Virgil idealizes the return to peace made possible by Caesar Augustus after a long civil war. • Many Christians believed Virgil predicted the birth of Jesus because he wrote a poem that spoke about a divine child whose birth would bring about peace and a return to the Golden Age.

5. Virgil and the National Epic • When Caesar Augustus became the first emperor of Rome in 27 B.C., his new empire had no national epic. • The Greeks had the Odyssey and Iliad. • Virgil spent the last eleven years of his life working on the Aeneid, Rome’s national epic and the greatest single work of Latin literature.

6. Homer • Simply called “The Poet” by the Greeks. • Homer wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey. • Homer did not create the plot or characters of the epics he is credited with writing; rather, he is the ultimate spokesperson of a long and rich tradition of oral poetry developed over centuries.

7. Homer’s Writing • The Iliad was considered history; children in the 5th century had to memorize large sections of the poem and practiced the ethical codes that Homer presented. • Athenians even claimed the Homeric gods and heroes as founders or champions of Athens and its people.

8. Homeric Epic • Homer’s language, meter, and style were formulaic. • Over time, bards (poets) developed a common fund of expressions, phrases, and description that fit the rhymes of the epic verse line. • These conventions became the building blocks of the epic genre.

9. Homeric Epic • It begins by stating the epic’s theme and invoking one of the Muses. • Muses: nine goddesses in Greek mythology who were believed to preside over all forms of art and science. • The poet calls on the Muse to inspire him with the material he needs to tell his story.

10. Homeric Epic • It beings in medias res, which means “in the middle of things.” • Information about previous events is revealed later in the poem through flashback and other narrative devices.

11. Sophocles • Sophocles’ life coincided with the rise and fall of the Golden Age of Greek tragedy. • His career as a dramatist began in 468 B.C. when he entered the Dionysia, the annual theatrical competition dedicated to the god Dionysus.

12. Sophocles • Competing against the brilliant playwright Aeschylus, Sophocles won first prize. • Over the next 62 years, he wrote more than 120 plays, 24 of which won first prize.

13. Sophocles Enriches Drama • At first a chorus narrated stories of the god’s life in song. The choral leader would step forward to recite part of the story alone. • Eventually the recitation grew longer and involved a second speaker. • Sophocles increased the number of singers in the chorus and introduced a third speaking part, allowing for more dramatically complex dialogue than before.

14. Sophocles Enriches Drama • Sophocles introduced technical innovations to Greek tragedy. • He expanded the use of stage machinery and sets. • He was the first to use a crane that lowered actors “miraculously” onto the stage. • This entry onto stage was reserved for gods at the end of the play who would wrap up loose ends in the plot.

15. Sophocles’ Faithfulness to Human Experience • Sophocles suggests that while gods can predetermine or influence human action, they do not necessarily define one’s character. • People are responsible for finding out who they are and where they belong; they must then take moral responsibility for their lives.