Key Terms
Nine emotional, pre-cognitive states that are cataloged and explained across the Hindu religion
What are rasas?
A festival held annually in honor of Dionysus in the 5th century that all Greek citizens were required to attend.
What is the Dionysia?
An ascetic in Kanva’s hermitage, daughter the nymph Menaka, and mother of Bharata.
Who is Shakuntala?
"Come to these hands of mine,
your brother's hands, your own father's hands
that served his once bright eyes so well—
that made them blind."
Oedipus (Oedipus Tyrannus)
Imitative; relating to, characterized by, or exhibiting mimicry
What is mimetic?
The oldest, continuous theatrical tradition in the world, going back nearly 2,000 years while still being practiced today.
What is the Kutiyattam?
Queen of Thebes who faces fatal consequences for trying to outsmart the gods.
Who is Jacosta?
"When I am a headless ghost, unjustly killed,
Do you think I will spare that scoundrel?
Men cannot be deceived forever.
And Heaven will see this injustice."
Dou E (Snow in Midsummer)
Phrase to describe religious dramas (including Greek tragedies)
What is sacramental drama?
It originated as commercial street theater with a stage up on stilts.
What is Zaju theatre?
A generous, impoverished Brahmin who falls in love with Vasantasena.
Who is Charudatta?
"As my heart ponders whether I could ever
Have wed this woman that has come to me
To ring it back to mind, then like a bee
That hovers round a jasmine flower at dawn,
While frosty dews of morning still o'erweave it,
And hesitates to sip ere they be gone,
I cannot taste the sweet, and cannot leave it."
Dushyanta (Shakuntala)
A plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly or abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence (translates literally to "god from the machine")
What is deus ex machina?
He is as the first "actor" in Greek tragedy and the "Inventor of Tragedy."
Who is Thespis?
The man who frames Dou E for murdering his father.
Who is Donkey?
"Fortune shines and fades with the wheel of Destiny,
But friends desert a rich man who's fallen to poverty.
And more than that—
Poverty reduces a man to total shame,
Like losing his dignity (all the same),
Without his dignity he is prey to scorn;
Once scorned he must despair (being forlorn);
Disconsolate, he is put to much grief;
The grief's so much, good sense takes its leave.
Thus out of mind he is wrecked and feeble.
Thus poverty brings on all evil."
Who is Charudatta? (The Little Clay Cart)
A choral hymn of ancient Greece, especially one dedicated to Dionysus.
What is a dithyramb?
A major form of dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century and involves choric chanting.
What is the Noh theatre?
Formerly the warrior Kumagae, now a priest.
Who is Rensho?
"The wheel of fate turns and they meet.
'The enemy's right here!'
He cries and is about to strike
Returning good for evil
The priest performs services and prays
That in the end they will be reborn together
On a single lotus petal
And Rensho the priest
is an enemy no more.
Please pray for my soul,
Please pray for my soul."
Who is the chorus? (Atsumori)