User:Nealthane/Greek tragedy

Evaluation of Greek Tragedy
When looking at this article on Greek Tragedy, the author does a great job of including almost all relevant topics and areas related to the exploration of tragedy within Ancient Greece, especially during the 6th century. Most notably, the author begins looking at Greek Tragedy, from its unknown origins to the noted influence of Dionysian festivals in Ancient Athens in 534 BC and the first portrayal of a character in a play. It goes on to explore well-known tragedians, such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, even commenting on how some of their plays depicted aspects of everyday life (e.g., how the insecurities of a single person can give rise to one's own internal conflict). The tone the author uses is neutral, never failing to make a point as clear and concise as possible, as well as keeping to a third-person view point, so as to remain unbiased. However, I find that the author lacks citations in areas where certain claims are made but lack the necessary citations. In addition, as interesting as the article is, it could use improvement, such as: in areas where in-text citations are lacking, with regard to the notable tragedians mentioned and their influence on Attic Tragedy (specifically the inclusion of other notable plays and the impacts they might of had on Greek society), and more modern critiques in this area of interest.

Demos: An Exploration of People and Democracy in Greek Tragedy
'''It is difficult to determine what role the audience might play in a Greek Tragedy. Often, it comes down to a question whether allowing for any role at all might break that constructed theatrical illusion or whether the intention is just that, to have the audience partake in the act as if they were part of it. Interestingly, one such article, "The Demos in Greek Tragedy", frequently addresses the works of Euripides, demonstrating how any address he makes to the audience through his plays is usually implied and never made obvious, as that would not only break the narrative that is being constructed to draw in the audiences attention, it would also fail to subject the audiences disbelief. Interestingly, the article notes how often the audience is incorporated as being representative of the expected demos, usually by having silent actors, or individuals who are part of the Tragedy, to be seated with the audience, to ensure that the actor is engaging with the audience of the play .'''

'''Through further exploration into the role of the chorus, the author looks at what impact that role might have had when looking at it from the perspective of the demos. The author notes that it was often the case for tragic choruses to be of one type of social position (in both age, gender, nationality, and class). With regard to gender distinctions, the author finds that despite the fact that females choruses existed within Greek plays in general, they, like other enslaved and foreign individuals lacked the same kind of status as male Greeks, in the sense that they were not considered citizens and thus, not representative of the demos. In fact the author gives the example of how a female chorus in Aeschylus' "Seven against Thebes", is criticized as bad for citizen morale. Therefore, it becomes apparent that gender roles did differentiate the allocation of roles for men and women even in Greek Tragedy, most likely as a way of solidifying the already existing paradigm.'''

'''With regard to how choruses are thus set up in regards to male, this is done based on their "factions within the citizenry" (p.66) unlike in other cases where the chorus is not male based. For example, if the chorus were comprised of boys from Argive, then one would refer to them as "Argive boys" (p.66), whereas a much clearer distinction is made with males. An example include: "jury-service-loving old men (Wasps)" (p.66), which indicates that the chorus is composed entirely of older men who are part of a jury service, further indicating their role within the citizenry. In this way it is key to think of the citizen chorus as distinguished in status but, in all cases, also as a subset of the demos .'''

Greek Tragedy: A Performance
'''In discussing Greek Tragedy, it can often become misleading when trying to assess Tragedy as a Drama, detailing an event, or as a Performance, or the simple act of conveying a message/underlying theme, a moral. An article by Mario Frendo, looks at the latter as a phenomena of performance, whereby one must separate the meaning of the play from what it is actually saying, nor should one attempt to approach Greek tragedy through context (e.g., conventions of performance, historical facts, etc.).[3] In a sense approaching antiquity from a contemporary outlook, especially with regard to the construct and form of the plays themselves, would hinder any understanding of classical Greek society.[3] Relating to previous discussions of the origins of Greek tragedy, it is important to note that traditional stories/plays/songs were mostly or originally sung or speech based rather than written. In this way the author notes the necessity of focusing in on tragedy and its performative nature.[3]'''

'''Frendo furthers his argument by drawing on previous research into Greek Tragedy. He elaborates on the musical, often sing-song nature of the plays, and looks at oral tradition as the backdrop to the construction of these plays (e.g., oral tradition may play a role in the processes that lead to the creation of Greek Tragedy).[3] Interestingly, Frendo draws on the notion that the experience of tragedy requires a theatrical performance and is in that sense, a separation of tragedy from literature.[3] Furthermore, it becomes essential to look at tragedy as pre-drama, in the sense that it does not fit with the more contemporary envisioning of "drama" as we would've seen under the renaissance.[3] To repeat, a more performative nature rather than a dramatic processes or one that adheres to literature.[3] However, that being said dialogue based interactions were eventually brought into development but when looking at the percentage of script read by the chorus, who tend to decrease with regard to their involvement in the play, demonstrate in a sense, not only the performative nature of Greek tragedy but also bring to light the possibility that dialogic based strategies may have been employed.[3]'''

Deus Ex Machina: An Intervention Technique
'''An article by Thomas Duncan discusses the impact of dramatic technique on the influence of Tragic plays and the conveyance of important or essential outcomes, particularly through the use of Deus Ex Machina. This is a technique in which an action is halted by the appearance of an unforeseen character or through the intervention of a god, that essentially brings about a conclusion to the play itself. One such example can be seen with Euripides Hippolytus, a play in which Hippolytus' downfall is brought forth by the death of Phaedra, a once noble queen whose desire for her son Hippolytus was instigated by the disparaged Aphrodite stemming from her won hatred of Hippolytus' and his unending devotion to Artemis and subsequent disparagement or denial of Aphrodite. It is in this way, that we can already see how divine intervention sets in motion the main conflict of the play, unwanted desire and how that leads to the downfall of a royal family. However, it is not until the end of the play, when Artemis intervenes to tell king Theseus that he has killed his son by calling upon Poseidon, that he has fallen prey to the workings of Aphrodite by believing his wife's suicide note. Without this kind of divine intervention, Theseus would not have realized his mistakes and Hippolytus would not have been cleared of blame. Furthermore, it shows that if Euripides had not put forth the notion of divine intervention and its use in explaining the events then the spectator would not have been as affected by the revelation were it to have come from human insight. That furthers this notion of an underlying hubris, a way to elevate humans above gods and in that way bias divine interpretation. In this way, we can see how essential such a technique can be within the mechanisms of a Greek Tragedy and within the capabilities of the tragedian in conveying their play as more than just a story or explanation of events.'''

Aeschylus: the codification
Aeschylus was to establish the basic rules of tragic drama. He is credited with inventing the trilogy, a series of three tragedies that tell one long story, and introduced the second actor, making the dramatization of a conflict possible. Trilogies were performed in sequence over a full day, sunrise to sunset. At the end of the last play, a satyr play was staged to revive the spirits of the public, possibly depressed by the events of the tragedy.

In the work of Aeschylus, comparing the first tragedies with those of subsequent years, there is an evolution and enrichment of the proper elements of tragic drama: dialogue, contrasts, and theatrical effects. This is due to the competition in which the older Aeschylus was with other playwrights, especially the young Sophocles, who introduced a third actor, increased plot complexity and developed more human characters, with which the audience could identify.

In regards to character identification in Aeschylus' plays, one such example is Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, the Titan god of forethought and the inventing fire, of which he stole from Hephaestus and gave to humanity '''. Thus, bestowing upon humanity the knowledge of the arts, angering the gods . The essential idea behind this Greek tragedy, is that Prometheus is punished by Zeus not simply for the crime of giving humanity the knowledge of the gods, but also for believing that by doing so humanity would direct its gaze towards Prometheus as their new king, that they would in some way praise Prometheus as their savior but see Zeus as nothing more than a tyrant . This play is relevant to the overall notion of character identification as it depicts a being who acts on selfish intention and is therefore punished for it. Even more so, it touches on historical aspects of human culture and of how we can through story, or in this case play, give reason and context to our existence as well as history to our society and how we have evolved'''.

Aeschylus was at least partially receptive to Sophocles' innovations, but remained faithful to a very strict morality and a very intense religiosity. So, for instance, in Aeschylus, Zeus always has the role of ethical thinking and action. Musically Aeschylus remains tied to the nomoi, rhythmic and melodic structures developed in the Archaic period.

Demos: An Exploration of People and Democracy in Greek Tragedy
The role of the audience in a Greek Tragedy is to become part of that theatrical illusion, to partake in the act as if they were part of it. "The Demos in Greek Tragedy", frequently addresses the works of Euripides. The way he addresses the audience through his plays is usually implied and never made obvious, as that would not only break the narrative that is being constructed, it would also fail to subject the disbelief of the audience. The article notes how often the audience is incorporated as being representative of the expected demos, usually by having silent actors, or individuals who are part of the Tragedy, be seated with the audience, to ensure that the actor is engaging with the audience.

Through further exploration into the role of the chorus, the author looks at what impact that may have had  from the perspective of the demos. The author notes that it was often the case for tragic choruses to be of one type of social position (in both age, gender, nationality, and class). With regard to gender distinctions, the author finds that despite the fact that females choruses existed within Greek plays in general, they, like other enslaved and foreign individuals lacked the same kind of status as male Greeks. Those not considered citizens were not representative of the demos. The author gives an example of how a female chorus in Aeschylus' "Seven against Thebes", is criticized for being bad for citizen morale.

The author further notes how male based choruses were designated by name based on their "factions within the citizenry" (p.66). For example, if the chorus were comprised of boys from Argive, then one would refer to them as "Argive boys" (p.66). However, a much clearer distinction is made with adult males, such as "jury-service-loving old men (Wasps)" (p.66), which indicates that the chorus is composed entirely of older men who are part of a jury service, further indicating their role within the citizenry. The citizen chorus was not only distinguished by status but was also seen as a subset of the demos.

Greek Tragedy: A Performance
Greek Tragedy can often become confusing when trying to asses it as a drama, a detailed event, a performance, or even as something conveying an underlying theme. An article by Mario Frendo, looks at the latter as a phenomenon of performance, a separation in the meaning of the play from what it is actually being conveyed, and not an attempt to approach Greek tragedy through context (e.g., conventions of performance, historical facts, etc.). Approaching antiquity from a contemporary outlook, especially with regard to the construction and form of the plays, hinders any understanding of classical Greek society.

The origins of Greek tragedy were mostly based on song or speech rather than written script. In this way, Frendo states that Tragedy by its nature, was performative. Frendo furthers his argument by drawing on previous research into Greek Tragedy. He elaborates on the musical, often sing-song nature of the plays, and looks at oral tradition as the backdrop to the construction of these plays (e.g., oral tradition may play a role in the processes that lead to the creation of Greek Tragedy). Frendo draws on the notion that the experience of tragedy requires a theatrical performance and is in that sense, a separation of tragedy from literature. Further stating that it is essential to look at tragedy as pre-drama, that it does not fit with a more contemporary envisioning of "drama" as we would've seen under the renaissance.

After dialogue based interactions were eventually brought into development, the percentage of scripts read by the chorus tended to decrease in regards to their involvement in the play. Therefore, the author concludes that this not only demonstrates the performative nature of Greek tragedy but also brings forth the possibility that dialogic based strategies may have been employed.

Deus Ex Machina: An Intervention Technique
An article by Thomas Duncan discusses the impact of dramatic technique on the influence of Tragic plays and conveying important or essential outcomes, particularly through the use of Deus Ex Machina. This is a technique in which an action is halted by the appearance of an unforeseen character or through the intervention of a god, that essentially brings about a conclusion to a play. One such example can be seen with Euripides play, Hippolytus. In the play, Hippolytus' is cursed with an untimely death by his father Theseus, for the supposed rape and subsequent suicide of Queen Phaedra, his step-mother. However, Queen Phaedra commits suicide due to unwanted desire for Hippolytus (instigated by the goddess, Aphrodite) and thus, blames her death on Hippolytus. In this way, Hippolytus' demise is brought forth by a god, Aphrodite, whose hatred of Hippolytus' and his unending devotion to Artemis stems from his subsequent disparagement or denial of Aphrodite. In other words, because Hippolytus chooses to devote himself to the goddess, Artemis, whose themai, or divine domain, is chastity, for some reason, he decides to then deny the existence of another goddesses divine domain, Aphrodite's' themai, lust, the polar opposite to chastity. The play demonstrates how divine intervention sets in motion the main theme of the play, revenge, and how that leads to the downfall of a royal family. However, it is not until the end of the play, when Artemis intervenes to tell king Theseus that he has killed his son by cursing him, that he has fallen prey to the workings of Aphrodite.

Without this kind of divine intervention, Theseus would not have realized his mistakes and Hippolytus would not have been cursed. Without divine intervention, the events that transpired would not have been as effective in revealing certain truths to the audience if they were to have come from a fellow human. In this way, such a technique is essential to the mechanisms of Greek Tragedy and the capabilities of the tragedian in conveying their play as more than just a story or detailed event.

Aeschylus: Human Identification through Character Representation
Character identification can be seen in many of Aeschylus' plays, such as Prometheus Bound. In this play, Prometheus, the Titan god of forethought and the inventing fire, stole the inventing flame from Hephaestus and gave it to humanity. Thereby, bestowing upon humanity knowledge of the arts, angering the gods. The idea behind this Greek tragedy is that Prometheus is punished by Zeus not only for the crime of giving humanity divine knowledge, but also for believing that by doing so, humanity would, in some way, praise Prometheus as a champion for justice and see Zeus as nothing more than a tyrant. Through this the author notes his play relates to this character identification as it depicts a being who is not necessarily acting out of selfish intention but in many ways was willing to be punished for the betterment of Humanity.