Oedipus Rex Background

Ancient Greek Theater and Tragedy

The Origin of Tragedy– Almost everything in modern theater dates

back to theater in Golden Age of Greece– Roots: Religious rituals and festivals in

honor of Dionysus (god of wine and procreation) in Athens

• Songs and dances in honor of gods develop into theater

• Chorus—group of about 12 who sang and danced at outdoor theaters during the festival

– Around an altar, sacrificed goats– Tragedy = “goat-song”

Origin of Tragedy, cont.

Importance of festivals/theater– Gov’t would suspend business for a week for the

festivities– Citizens expected to attend and participate in

Chorus– Experienced performers raised to status of actor—

even excused from military duty– Greeks thought plays should be instructional as

well as entertaining Women not allowed to participate, sometimes

not even to attend

5th Century Athens – Heyday of Greek Theater

After Persian War (490s-480s BC) During Pericles’ reign (495-429 BC) Before the Peleponnesian War Athens

vs. Sparta 431-404 BC

Famous Greek Playwrights Thespis (6th century BCE)

– “Father of Drama”--thespians– First “actor” and dialogue (534 BCE)

• Before, only the Chorus spoke the text of the play; now an “answerer” interacts with the Chorus leader

Aeschylus (525-426 BCE)– 2nd actor; lessens importance of Chorus– Wrote trilogies on unified themes

Famous Greek Playwrights, cont. Sophocles (496-406 BCE) **

– Adds the 3rd actor– Fixes Chorus number to 15– Introduces painted scenery– Made each play of the trilogy separate in nature

• Although Oedipus Rex is part of the Oedipus cycle, Antigone, etc. are performed in different years

Euripides (486-406 BCE)– Relies on heavy prologues and deus ex machina

endings (intervention from heaven)

Structure of the Theater Theatron— “seeing place” where audience

sat Orchestra—circular dancing place where

actors and Chorus perform Thymele—altar to Dionysus in center of

Orchestra Skene—building used as dressing room Proskenion—facade of skene which served

as a backdrop Parodos—entrance to theater used by

Chorus

Actors and Acting

Actor and dramatist originally the same Never have more than three actors

– Protagonist— “first contestant”– Deuteragonist –second actor– Tritagonist –third actor– Each can play many roles; some roles are

played by many actors All male performers

– Played the female parts

Costumes and Masks

Used to indicate shifts between characters Larger than life

– Long flowing robes with symbolic colors– Heavy padding to make actors bigger– High boots, often with raised soles– Masks—linen, cork

• Identified age, gender, emotion• Exaggerated features—large eyes, open mouth• General enough features to be a sort of “Everyman”

– This allows audience to take instructional message personally

Acting Style The cumbersome costumes make movement

difficult– Rely on sweeping, general gestures to convey

emotion• Beating chest or hanging head

Line delivery reflects costumes and Greek values– Declamatory style—long monologues– Debates between characters

• Stichomythic dialogue: single lines of verse dialogue alternate between two characters in ping-pong fashion

Chorus Greek tragedy originates in song and dance

– Musical accompaniment for choral odes—flute, lyre, percussion

– Odes broken into alternating strophes and antistrophes (like stanzas)

– Dance = expressive rhythmical movement• Chorus moves back and forth and gestures in unison• Shift directions with strophe and antistrophe

Choragos—chorus leader or spokesperson, can interact with central characters

Function: Gives dramatic focus and the language is a fine example of Greek poetry

Functions of the ChorusIn essence, it represents the vox populi, the voice of the people, but as such, it can do many different things such as:

Discuss issues raised by the main characters or action

Express how the people of the city feel Gossip Provide a moral backdrop against which the

events of the play happen Reflect on the political situation of the city Reveal background information to the

audience (exposition) Show disagreement/conflict between different

factions in the city Worship the gods

Conventions

Unities—Aristotle’s idea of 3 unities– Action—simple plot with no subplots or

irrelevancies– Time—often a single day– Place—one scene throughout (market, temple,

courtyard, etc.)

Messenger– Tells news happening away from scene– Reports acts of violence not allowed to be seen

Conventions, cont.

Limitations of Greek Theater– Continuous presence of Chorus

• Usually standing in the background between odes

– No intermissions• Continuous flow of action and Choral odes

– No curtains; No lighting• Plays performed in outdoor theaters during

daylight hours

Greek Dramatic Structure Prologos (Prologue):

– the opening portion of the play, which sets the scene and contains the background info

Parados:– the entrance song of the chorus

Episodes (Scenes):– scene in the action of the drama, peformed by the actors

Stasimons (Odes):– a choral passage, alternating with the episodes of the plot of the

drama Exodos:

– the concluding section of the tragedy, ends with the chorus singing their final lines as they exit

Structure of Oedipus Rex Structure of this play lines up with what we expect from

modern drama– Prologos

• Exposition: background, prepares way for plot

– Episode 1/ Stasimon (Ode) 1• Conflict: the struggle

– Episode 2/ Stasimon 2 and Episode 3/Stasimon 3• Rising action: complications leading up to climax

– Episode 4• Climax: crisis or turning point of play, born of conflict

– Stasimon 4• Falling action: action simplifies or unravels

– Exodos• Falling action/Resolution: revelation of meaning

Oedipus the King (or Rex)

Does Oedipus change his character? Sophocles is the “Godfather of Irony” Aristotle praised Sophocles a century later

(300s BC) for his theatrical influenced and technical skills

Aristotle used “Oedipus” as the model tragedy, citing its tight form and organization: desis (ravelling up) and lusis (unravelling)