What is theatre?
Who is the Greek god of theatre
Dionysus
What was the seated section of a Greek Theater called?
Theatron
Who did Aristotle study under?
Plato
What is the human desire to imitate and act called?
The Mimetic Impulse
What was the first substantial work of literary written by Aristotle?
The Poetics
What is a closet drama?
A written play that is NOT intended to be performed
What was in the center of the orchestra called?
Thymele/alter.
What are the three main elements of a tragic plot?
Reversal, Recognition, and a Scene of Suffering
What do many Greek dramas have their origins in?
Myth
Which part of The Poetics survived?
The tragedy part.
Why do people create myths?
They desire to explain the world around them
Describe Greek Tragedy in its earliest form.
One actor paired with a chorus.
What kind of character is ESSENTIAL to producing tragedy?
A MOSTLY GOOD character
What was the Western form of “theater” present in 6-7 BCE
Religious Ritual
What is the Greek term for recognition?
Anagnorisis
What mythologist questioned theater’s origin, in collaboration with the “Cambridge Ritualists”?
James Frazer
How many playwrights competed in Dithyramb contests?
Three playwrights.
What three things define a tragic act, according to Aristotle?
Serious, Complete, and of a certain magnitude
How long did “middle comedy” last?
400 BCE to 320 BCE
What six things make up tragedy?
Plot, Character, Diction, Thought, Song, and Spectacle
Explain the “Ludic Impulse”
The idea that theatre may originate from games and playful instincts
What was the machine used to lower actors playing Gods called? AKA: The “God in the Machine.”
Deus ex Machina.
What are the three plays in The Oresteia?
Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides
Why were the rich cultures of Asian and African theater lost on the “Cambridge Ritualists?”
Euro-centrism
What makes epics different from other forms of tragic poetry?
It is descriptive rather than imitative. It tells rather than shows.