Greek Drama

ATHENS

Greek civilization, at the time of Sophocles, is no longer Homer's world of warriors and kings, but a world of cities and citizens.
Athens in the fifth century BCE was the largest city-state of Greece and the most important cultural center.

LITERATURE

WAS BASIC TO THE LIFE OF THE CITY
ORATORY was the means by which government was carried on in assemblies and law courts, but it was not just plain and simple talk. It was fancy. It was meant to be fancy, and appreciated as such.
PHILOSOPHICAL DIALOGUE arose from the discussions carried on by citizens in the streets, the marektplace (agora), and the athletic fields (gymnasia).

POETRY, however, was the most important form of civic literature.
It played the most important role in the GREAT RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS:
THE SUMMER FESTIVAL OF ATHENA, where RHAPSODES RECITED HOMER to enthusiastic audiences.
THE FESTIVALS OF DIONYSUS, god of wine and fertility.
THE GREAT DIONYSIA in the spring, and
THE LENAEA: the winter festival.
The whole citizenry attended these festivals (prisoners were given parole to attend them). The state payed for the tickets. Wealthy Athenians paid for the productions.
Choral songs competed for the approval of the judges.

DRAMA

SPRUNG FROM THESE DIONYSIAN FESTIVALS

The original "stuff" of the Greek plays, the choral songs, is the original "stuff" of the plays.
Then Thespis added an actor, who conversed with the leader of the chorus.
Then Aeschylus raised the number to two actors.
Finally Sophocles added a third actor.
So keep this in mind: the choral odes are the groundwork of the entertainment.

THE THEATER was an outdoor amphitheater.
THE ORCHESTRA was the central and most important point in the theater. It was a large circular area at the focal point of the huge semi-circle of seats. After the prologue, by the actors, the CHORUS marched in. They chanted the CHORAL ODES while moving in a kind of processional dance around the orchestra.
THE ACTING took place not on a stage but in a space level with the orchestra and behind it. Each "act" of a play was called an AGON, that is, a struggle. A play was composed of PROLOGUE-CHORUS-AGON-CHORUS-AGON, etc.
THE SCENE was behind the actors. It was originally a change room for the actors, but evolved into a two story wooden structure on which a background was painted, of city streets, a seascape, or some other background. Truly repulsive actions, like Oedipus tearing out his eyes, were not presented in front of the audience, but off-stage, which is where we get the word "obscene" = off-stage. The off-scene action was always described by one of the actors.
THE ACTORS were all men. They all wore MASKS. Their lines were written in verse.
THE CONTESTS were presentations of three plays by one poet, after which came a fourth play, rowdy, full of sexual jokes, also by the same poet. JUDGES were selected to represent the citizens in awarding prizes
THE SUBJECTS of the plays were most often traditional stories from Homer and mythology, stories known to the audience already. The poets presented these stories with their own variations.
CLIMACTIC MOMENTS of these stories were chosen by the poets. The plays were not narratives, but build-ups to intensely emotional climaxes. The aim of the poet was to arouse intense emotion in the audience.
THE MAJOR DRAMATISTS OF THE PERIOD WERE:
TRAGEDY: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides
COMEDY: Aristophanes
Most of their plays were lost.

THEORY

ARISTOTLE'S "POETICS" is the first work of literary theory. It is a how-to book for poets, describing tragedy and using Sophocles' Oedipus the King as the model of the perfect tragedy. Aristotle makes a clear distinction between drama and epic. He says that the aim of the tragic poet is to arouse PITY AND FEAR, and purge it. Tragic heroes, says Aristotle, have A TRAGIC FLAW, but that is only part of the reason for the tragic outcome. Basically tragedy is the product of fate, which can't be avoided.
Francis Ferguson, in his introduction to "The Poetics," explains Aristotle in this way:
EVERY TRAGIC ACTION MOVES THROUGH THREE PHASES:
PURPOSE: The tragic protagonist discovers that there is something he must do, that he has a purpose: Oedipus must find out why the people of Thebes are dying of the plague; Hamlet must do something to avenge the murder of his father, etc.
PASSION: As the protagonist pursues his purpose, he suffers (PASSION = suffering) many different and conflicting feelings because he discovers different things that upset his simple pursuit of his purpose, things he was not aware of at the beginning.
PERCEPTION: The end of the action is not simply the success or failure of the protagonist in achieving his purpose. Rather it is the understanding (PERCEPTION) he gains of life, of the way the world is, of what sort of a person he is. In the case of Oedipus, it is that he has done something so horrible that he never wants to see again and he tears out his eyes.