THE THREE ARISTOTELIAN UNITIES: - Commack Schools



“All men by nature desire knowledge”-Aristotle Structure of a Greek TragedyPrologue:?A monologue or dialogue preceding the entry of the chorus, which presents the tragedy's topic (plot, characters, and theme).Parode/parados (Entrance Ode):?The entrance of the chorus, usually chanting a lyric which bears some relation to the main theme of the play. Often in an anapestic (short-short-long) marching rhythm (four feet per line). Generally, they remain on stage throughout the remainder of the play. Although they wear masks, their dancing is expressive, as conveyed by the hands, arms and body.Typically the parode and other choral odes involve the following parts, repeated in order several times:Strophê (Turning, Circling):?A stanza in which the chorus moves in one direction (toward the altar).Antistrophê (Counter-turning, Counter-circling):?The following stanza, in which it moves in the opposite direction. The antistrophe is in the same meter as the strophe.Epode (After-song):?The epode is in a different, but related, meter to the strophe and antistrophe, and is chanted by the chorus standing still. The epode is often omitted, so there may be a series of strophe-antistrophe pairs without intervening epodes.First Episode: This is the first of many "episodes," when the characters and chorus talk. There are several?episodes?(typically 3-5) in which one or two actors interact with the chorus. They are, at least in part, sung or chanted. Speeches and dialogue are typically iambic hexameter: six iambs (short-long) per line, but rhythmic anapests are also common. In lyric passages the meters are treated flexibly. Each episode is terminated by a?stasimon.First Stasimon: At the end of each episode, the other characters usually leave the stage and the chorus dances and sings a stasimon, or choral ode. The ode usually reflects on the things said and done in the episodes, and puts it into some kind of larger mythological framework. For the rest of the play, there is alternation between episodes and stasima, until the final scene, called the exodus.Exode/Exodus (Exit Ode):?The final action after the last stasimon, ended by the ceremonial exit of all the players. The exit song of the chorus after the last episode. ancient Greek tragedians employed the?ekkyklêma?as a theatrical device, which was a platform hidden behind the scene that could be rolled out to display the aftermath of some event which had happened out of sight of the audience.GREEK PLAYWRIGHTS:Aeschylus (c. 525–456 BC): Earliest playwright we have plays from; wrote for a chorus, or a chorus and one actor; had a declarative style.Sophocles (c. 496-406 BC): Wrote for a chorus and two actors, had a poetic style.Euripides (c. 480-406 BC): Wrote for a chorus and three actors, and had a style much more like how the people actually spoke.Aristophanes (c. 446-386 BC): Only COMIC playwright we have plays from.Aristotle (c. 384-322 BC) A philosopher and teacher born in the first quarter of the fourth century, became one of the most important influences in all the history of literature. He analyzed the plays of the fifth century as well as those of his own time, classified the kinds of drama, and laid down rules for the construction of tragedy. He defined tragedy’s main purpose as catharsis, in which emotions are cleansed and the audience is educated on the civic morals by feeling fear and pity for the play’s characters.THE THREE ARISTOTELIAN UNITIES:Unity of action: a play should have one main action that it follows, with no or few subplots.Unity of place: a play should cover a single physical space and should not attempt to compress geography, nor should the stage represent more than one place.Unity of time: the action in a play should take place over no more than 24 hours.Aristotle?asserted that a play must be complete and whole, in other words, it must have unity, i.e. a beginning, a middle and an end. The philosopher also asserted that the action of epic poetry and tragedy differ in length, "because in tragedy every effort is made for it to take place in one revolution of the sun, while the epic is unlimited in time." These unities were considered key elements of the theatre until a few centuries ago, although they were not always observed (such as by authors like?Shakespeare,?Calderón de la Barca?and?Moliere).THE TRAGIC HERO:Of noble birth; larger than lifeBasically goodHas a “fatal flaw,” an error in judgment, which brings about his/her own downfall (Hamarta)Character has a moment of realization/insightGenerally lives and suffersIN A GREEK TRAGEDY:If you commit a sin, the whole family is cursedViolence is done off stage but we are told about itProphets are always blind but can see into the future“The most brilliant gifts can be misapplied”Hubris (acting like god) is the worst crimeGod hates presumption and arrogance (Hubris)Greatest revenge is ruin right before victoryDid you know?The word?hypocrite?ultimately came into English from the Greek word?hypokrites, which means “an actor” or “a stage player.” The Greek word itself is a compound noun: it’s made up of two Greek words that literally translate as “an interpreter from underneath.” That bizarre compound makes more sense when you know that the actors in ancient Greek theater wore large masks to mark which character they were playing, and so they interpreted the story from underneath their masks.The Greek word took on an extended meaning to refer to any person who was wearing a figurative mask and pretending to be someone or something they were not. This sense was taken into medieval French and then into English, where it showed up with its earlier spelling,?ypocrite, in 13th-century religious texts to refer to someone who pretends to be morally good or pious in order to deceive others. (Hypocrite?gained its initial?h-?by the 16th century.)It took a surprisingly long time for?hypocrite?to gain its more general meaning that we use today: “a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.” Our first citations for this use are from the early 1700s, nearly 500 years after?hypocrite?first stepped onto English’s stage. ................
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