Antigone Context
Aspects of tragedy genre?
-Greek tragedy theatre transcends cultural boundaries due to its themes being universal
-Tragedy is us living in a flawed world, catalysed by our actions
-Conflict between brothers, illegitimacy
-Confronting death, loss and pain by creating own reflections on our lives to create a community
Aristotle context points?
-Aristotle once said that ‘greek tragedy must be good, but not so good that you couldn’t relate to them’
-Aristotle talks of CATHARSIS being and emotional drain that al;so cleanses you as a person
Structure of tragedies?
-The structure consists of 1)a Prologue 2)the introduction of the chorus
-construction of plots…SUNRISE TO SUNSET
-A likeness with a soap opera, or other tragedies such as Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Time period of Ancient Greek Theatre?
The period of Ancient Greece flourished between 550BC and 220 BC
Sources for historians to use?
The physical, archaeological remains
The historical plays and texts
The artwork created of play scenes
What was the name of the 3 Tragedians?
Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripidies
The Festival of Dionysus?
-An annual festival to commence the sailing
-A huge event of competition, where each playwright would be sponsored by a PROSPEROUS MAN then if won through vote there would be a reward
-Religious festivals ran by women
Meaning of masks for the chorus?
-Masks worn for a religious reason, to worship Dionysus and to celebrate the theatre. It was multi-rolled meaning that the mask would enable you to play different characters
What is the engagement like?
-a socio domestic agreement between father and groom
-no freedom for woman or voice
Why get married at this time?
-honouring the gods, securing connections between families and for Eros, the god of fertility
What happens during the procession?
-a 3 day event, walk through the streets of Thebes by grrom then go to marital chamber
Key instrument used in this wedding ceremony?
Double-flute during the procession
What happened during the burial rites?
Grave is washed with holy water, a memorial is raised and there are prayers to specific gods
What are lamentations?
Where the women cut their hair at the funerals and sing songs at the grave
What happens once you die and recieve the burial rites?
You go to the underworld with Hades by crossing the River Styx on Hades boat
What is the layout of a Greek theatre?
1) Orchestra - Simple circular space where the chorus sang and danced.
2) Left Parados - entrance for actors indicating the character is coming from outside the city.
3) Right Parados - entrance for actors indicating the character is coming from within the city
4) Theatron - the seating area for the audience
5) The Throne of Dionysis - central seat for the Priest of Dionysis to sit in when viewing plays at the festival.
6) Prohedria - the seating area for the most significant and important people in the audience (including members of the jury who would judge the plays.
7) Skene - the back wall of the stage - backstage is created as a result for dressing and changing.
8) Paraskenion - wings - storage of props could be in this area
9) Proskenion - the main stage - a raised platform in front of the skene where the main action of the play would be performed.
Ekkyklema - a platform that could be rolled onto the stage to show images from offstage action.
Gender roles in theatre
-Only men could be actors
-They wore masks and wigs to multi-role and change their appearances
-Plays were written by men and only mean who watched them
-'better to bury a woman than to marry her'
-Despite women not having a political voice, Oedipus recognised their value in society by writing about female leads