Greek Drama Vocab Notes

downfall of a hero/heroine by fate and the will of the gods. Typically they are trying to obtain some goal and in the process find a flaw within themselves, which leads to their ultimate downfall

short spoof of a myth (like a parody)

satire of public affairs and people (pokes fun at real life).

the seating for the audience

the stage

a colonnade that served as the backstage area

came off the stoa and looked like house fronts. Women were usually stationed here

a type of lyrical stanza. It is an elaborately structured poem praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. is structured in three major parts: the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode

A monologue or dialogue preceding the entry of the chorus, which presents the tragedy's topic

the entrance ode

A stanza in which the chorus moves in one direction (toward the altar)

the following stanza, in which it moves in the opposite direction. is in the same meter as the strophe

is chanted by the chorus standing still. is often omitted, so there may be a series of strophe- antistrophe pairs without intervening epodes

there are several (typically 3-5) in which one or two actors interact with the chorus. They are, at least in part, sung or chanted. Each sceneis terminated by a peaen

A choral ode giving praise to Dionysos

the exit ode

a release of tension / pent-up emotions the effect on the audience of a tragedy acted out on a theater stage. This effect consists in cleansing the audience of disturbing emotions, such as fear and pity, thereby releasing tension

fatal flaw and/or mistake

has a “change of fortune” (catastrophe). The catastrophe marks the protagonist’s failure and usually occurs at the end of the drama

has both “plot reversal” (peripeteia) and “tragic recognition or insight” (anagnorisis) connected with the catastrophe.

a pivotal or crucial action on the part of the protagonist that changes his situation from seemingly secure to vulnerable

a moment of clairvoyant insight or understanding in the mind of the tragic hero as he suddenly comprehends the web of fate that he has entangled himself in

the supposed force, principle, or power that predetermines events. The Greeks believed that their lives were dictated by it

the protagonist should be renowned and prosperous, so his change of fortune can be from good to bad

overweening pride or insolence that results in a misfortune of the protagonist of the tragedy

the inevitable punishment or cosmic payback for acts of hubris

The hero need not die at the end, but he/she must undergo a change in fortune

where something is proved to be or not to be, or a general maxim [truth, principle, or rule of conduct] is enunciated. can also reveal the theme (main idea/message) of a play

the expression of the meaning in words” which are proper and appropriate to the plot, characters, and end of the tragedy

the musical element of the chorus

spectacular effects depend more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet/author

rational

emotional