oedipus rex: introduction to greek theater

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“Oedipus and the Sphinx”Francois Xavier Fabre

Essential Questions• How do some intelligent and good people lack inner sight?

• Is man bound to a predetermined fate? To what extent does he exert his own free will?

• How does one discover his or her own identity? Is it possible to really know who we are? Are our identities fixed by our birth and nature, or can we make choices and take actions to shape our identities?

• Why does hubris remain an indelible human flaw?

• In what ways does the quest for knowledge affect the individual and society?

• What is the function of motifs in a literary work?

Unit Objectives

SWBAT:• Identify specific details about Sophocles, Greek drama, and Greek culture.• Recognize the Greeks concern with fate, self-determination, and the role of gods and oracles in everyday life.• Analyze and critically assess the specific role of the chorus.• Compare ancient Greek drama with modern dramatic forms.• Identify and discuss the themes of Fate vs. Free will; search for self; redemption and self-understanding; morality• Reinterpret and rewrite one scene using modern language and conventions• Identify and analyze motif develops a theme in Spielberg’s Minority Report and Oedipus Rex• Write a thesis statement that clearly articulates how a motif develops a theme• Gather and synthesize evidence to support your ideas• Define, identify, and analyze key terms: Motif, Irony, Symbol, tragedy, tragic hero• Evaluate morality of a situation according to personal criteria(situational vs. standardized morality• Examine issues of personal responsibility and consequence• Perform dramatic dialogue effectively (connect with the audience, modify delivery to effect mood and tone)• Collaborate to revise and perform script• Identify quotations “open to analysis

Terminology

MotifThemeTragedyHubrisHamartiaCatharsisPeripeteia

DenouementCatastropheAnagnorisisProtagonistAntagonistForeshadowingDramatic irony

Deus ex machinaKhoros/ChorusStropheAntistrophePrologos/prologueEpisodesExodos

• Festival in honor of Dionysus• Choric odes, parados, sung by populace, the khoros• Plots and stories from Greek mythology• Competition added by Pisistratus• First actor, chorus leader, added by Thespis

Origins of Greek Drama

"The Youth of Bacchus," William-Adolphe Bouguereau 1884

Dramatists from all over Greece • Each dramatist presented 3 plays • tragedy (cycle of 3)• Aeschylus • Euripides • Sophocles

• comedy • Aristophanes

• satyr play (tragicomedy)• Lasted 5 days • Elaborate costumes and masks • Khoros (chorus)

...Origins of Greek Drama

…Origins of Greek Drama

• Performed in amphitheater, or theatron• slope of the Acropolis• 15-18,000 spectators• Natural acoustics

The Chorus, or Khoros “group of dancers”

• Represents the populace or city elders• Provides background & summaries• Provides communal opinion meant to reflect

the audience’s opinion• Provides commentary on action• Provides “back up vocals”: repeats dialogue• Interacts directly with characters through chorus

leader• allows for entrances & exits, scene changes • marks the passage of time

Khoros Definitions

Khoros: “group of dancers”

Parados: “entrance,” the first song sung by khoros or the side entrance

Strophe: “turning,” first division of Greek choral ode

Antistrophe: “against the turn,” second division of Greek choral ode

Sophocles

• Born 496 B.C.E.• Wrote 113 plays; 7 survive• Won 1st at Dionsysian Festival 18

times• Innovator: introduced 3rd speaking

actor

Tragedy“A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own

downfall” (Aristotle).

In Aristotle’s Poetics, tragedy is defined as the imitation of serious action “having magnitude, complete in itself,” which incorporates “incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish the catharsis of such emotions” (Abrahms 212).

The Aristotelian Tragedy

1. Character: the protagonist or tragic hero• noble birth: better than we• moral balance: neither wholly good nor wholly bad• tragic flaw or error in judgment (hamartia); (e.g. hubris, excessive pride,

which leads to protagonist’s disregard of divine warning or law

2. Three Unities• Unity of action: one plot• Unity of time: brief period of time (24 hours)• Unity of place: single geographical place

…Aristotelian Tragedy

3. Melody: khoros

4. Diction: expression of meaning with words (metaphor theme)

5. Catharsis: purification or cleaning • Pity (aroused through sympathy) • Fear (aroused through empathy)

6. Spectacle: costume & masks, scenery, deus ex machina

Additionally, an Aristotelian tragic hero must undergo the following:

• Perepeteia, or “reversal of fortune”

• Anagnorisis, or “discovery” : the awareness that the tragic events (catastrophe) are a direct result of his own actions

Exposition

Inciting Moment

Disc

over

ies

Climax

Reversal, peripeteia

Recognition, anagnorisis

UnravellingCatastrophe

Denouement

Character Tree

• C

Cultural & Historical Background

• Oracle at Delphi• Sphinx

Oracle at Delphi

• The Pythia was the priestess at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus.

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