Introduction to Greek Tragedies and Sophocles

1. Introduction to Greek Tragedies and Sophocles

2. Greek Theater • The second half of the fifth century BCE was the “golden age” of Greek drama, especially tragedy. • Three of the greatest writers of tragedy in history, Aeschulus, Sophocles and Euripides, lived during this period in Athens.

3. Greek Theater • In Athens, Greece, the dramatic festivals and contests were the center of cultural life. • Dionysia, an annual four-day festival held in March or April, was a celebration in honor of the god Dionysus. • 15,000 spectators would attend this festival to see a variety of plays at the open air theater.

4. Greek Theater • The tragedies were usually written in trilogies and performed along with comedies and/or “lighter” dramas. • The festival was so important that the city magistrates chose the playwrights who would compete and wealthy citizens with political ambitions would subsidize the production fees.

5. Greek Theater • The actors spoke their lines from behind huge masks. • The masks were decorated to represent character types familiar to the Greek audience: kings, messengers, prophets, queens, etc. • All actors were male.

6. Greek Theater

7. Greek Theater • Orchestra: The circular area, about 65 feet in diameter in Athens, where the chorus sang and danced (the word chorus derives from chorea, “to dance”).

8. Greek Theater • Theatron: spectators’ seating, this was essentially a stone slab cut, formed, or carved into the theater. Theatron means “viewing place” in Greek.

9. Greek Theater • Skene: Behind the orchestra, a wooden building called a skene was erected. It had at least one central door, through which actors made their entrances and exits. Some skenes had two additional doors facing the spectators. The skene functioned in different plays as different places: a palace, a temple, or whatever else the playwright needed.

10. Sophocles • …was the most admired playwright of his day; • …wrote 123 plays; • ... chosen to compete in the Dionysia for 21 years, and took first place 18 of those years. • …(here’s the real tragedy) only seven of his tragedies are preserved in full.

11. Sophocles • His “technical innovations” made possible the further development of the drama along more realistic lines: • Sophocles broke convention by adding a third actor to the stage which allowed for more complex characterizations and a wider range of personal encounters (basically, this lead to a much more interesting character), • he introduced scene painting,

12. Sophocles • In his focus on a single powerful hero, he originated the form of tragedy that Western Literature has most cultivated, cast, and copied;

13. Sophocles • His heroes are towering figures of violent passions, unyielding in their commitment to their ideals, and harsh in their judgments upon themselves and others;

14. Sophocles • His gods are remote and ambiguous, and their justice often seems unclear or even cruel; • They rarely intervene directly but are present through oracles and omens.

15. Traditional Tragedy • The term tragedy in literature refers to “drama in prose or verse which recounts the events of a person’s life which lead to an unhappy resolution.” • Tragedies were first written by the ancient Greeks, and Aristotle defined the characteristics of the tragic hero:

16. The Tragic Hero • Aristotle once said "A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall.“ • An Aristotelian tragic hero must possess specific characteristics…

17. Aristotelian Hero • (1) the hero must possess nobility (of a noble birth) and/or wisdom (by virtue of birth)

18. Aristotelian Hero • (2) hamartia: The character will have one tragic flaw; a character defect which is going to undermine a great man. Often the tragic flaw is a quality that is good (as long as it is kept) in moderation…pride is the most common tragic flaw;

19. Aristotelian Hero • This tragic flaw will lead to a mistake in judgment or a tragic error that sets in motion a series of (unfortunate…lol) events that causes the adversity and the eventual downfall of the hero;

20. Aristotelian Hero • (3) this reversal of fortune brought about by the hero’s own hamartia is called peripeteia. The character begins in a state of general prosperity and finally declines into complete adversity;

21. Aristotelian Hero • (4) there is a moment of recognition whereby the hero recognizes the truth, realizes what is happening, and accepts his own responsibility in his fate. It is a change from ignorance to knowledge. that “a-Ha” moment is known as anagnorisis .

22. Aristotelian Hero • (5) Finally, the catharsis. The character should be good and admirable so that we have empathy for him (we should like him), but not so good that we can not identify with him (he should be a “regular Joe” just like us). The audience should feel both pity and fear.

23. The Tragic Hero • more common traits for the tragic hero: • hubris is “excessive pride,” the most common tragic flaw, • the hero is doomed from the start, but bears no responsibility for the possession of his tragic flaw, • the hero usually engages in an epic battle to the death in which he fights for that in which he believes, • the hero must discover his fate through his own actions, not by the actions of others, • the hero must see and understand his own doom.

24. Oedipus Rex • Like all of the most popular stories of the day, the tale of Oedipus was widely known to its audience. • Because of this, the majority of the action occurred off-stage, before the play began.

25. Oedipus Rex • Here is what the savvy audience of the mid 5th century BCE already knew… • King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes have a beautiful, bouncing baby boy (exactly as they have always wanted); • A prophesy is made that this child will kill his father and marry his mother. • To avoid this fate, Laius and Jocasta pin the baby’s ankles together and give him to a shepherd to leave him on the mountaintop to die.

26. Oedipus Rex • The shepherd feels guilty and gives the baby to a fellow shepherd, who takes the baby to the King and Queen of Corinth. The Corinthian couple have always wanted a son! • Because of the condition in which this child came to them, they name the baby Oedipus, meaning “swollen foot”. • Irony: Oedipus grows up a prince (just like he should have), he just believes the wrong kingdom is his.

27. Oedipus Rex • As a young man Oedipus hears the prophesy for the first time. believing the King and Queen of Corinth are his real parents, he leaves Corinth in order to protect them. • On the road he comes across Laius, the king of Thebes, and not knowing who he is, Oedipus kills him. • Oedipus later arrives in the city of Thebes and finds the people there suffering. • The Sphinx (half woman, half lion, winged) is plaguing the city, and will not leave until her riddle is solved:

28. Oedipus Rex • The riddle of the Sphinx: “What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?”

29. Oedipus Rex • Oedipus solves the riddle, saves the day, wins the kingdom, gains the eternal gratefulness of its citizens, marries the queen, Jocasta, has four children with her, and happily rules with her and her brother, Creon, for 20 years. • The play focuses on Oedipus’ discovery of these deeds that occurred before the play began.

30. Oedipus Rex • When the play opens, Thebes is again suffering. • A plague has come down upon the city; and no one in the city knows why or from where this plague has come.

31. Oedipus Rex… • All of the action of the play is in one location. • Oedipus is on stage nearly the whole play. • There are a small number of characters. • Many lines have a double meaning or ambiguity. The verbal irony reinforces the dramatic irony of the play, make sure you keep an eye out for examples of this irony!

32. Oedipus Rex… • Themes: • Quest for identity • Nature of innocence and guilt • Nature of moral responsibility • Human will vs. fate • Abuse of power

33. Notes Quiz • I certainly hope you took notes like I suggested. You may use any of your notes to complete the following questions. You may not use anything or anyone else. Write your answers on a sheet of paper you can turn in.

34. Notes Quiz ssshhh...