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Role of women in ancient greek
The nature of Greek theatre
Role of women in ancient greek
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Beginning in 700 BC in Greece, drama and theatre became very popular and quite competitive. Just like in modern day, themes come and go and the ancient greeks went through three different phases of drama. They were tragedy, comedy, and then satyr play. Oedipus the King and Lysistrata were similar in some ways, for instance they both are fiction playwrights and they also show the importance of women.(acad…) Although they have plenty similarities, the two plays stood out but for completely different reasons. Oedipus the King was written in the time where tragedy plays were popular. You can see throughout the play that the storyline depicts the classic Greek definition of a tragedy. It included tragedies in many different forms like murder, lies, betrayal, and suicide. Some examples in Oedipus the King were Oedipus was left to die on a mountain and ended up killing his own father and marrying his mother. After that, Oedipus tries to commit suicide by stabbing his own eyes and blinding himself. Every scene shows some type of a tragedy and betrayal which is why it fits perfectly into the Greek definition of a tragedy play. …show more content…
To be more exact, it was Old Comedy, “which was a disguise used for political satire” in ancient Greece.(ucf.grtep…) Lysistrata was a story on Aristophanes comment on the war and how it needed to be ended but with a spin put on it. Back in 5th century BC, women were not allowed on stage so they had men dress up as women and tell the soldiers or men that they would not have sex with them until they stopped the war.(youtube…) People found this new type of theatre hilarious yet interesting and Lysistrata started it all. After Lysistrata, which was Old Comedy, came Middle Comedy, then New
Set ages apart, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex provide different perspectives on the topic of tragedy and what is defined as a tragic hero. Although Oedipus would be thought of as better representing the tragic hero archetype due to tradition and time period, the modern tragic hero of Oedipus Rex is more of a dismal one. Through analysis of their respective hamartias, it is exemplified that the New York businessman with his humble story proves to be more thought provoking than the King of Thebes and his melancholic tale. **By incorporating a more relatable character and plot, Arthur Miller lends help to making Willy Lowman spiral toward his own downfall while building more emotion and response from the audience than with Oedipus. When Oedipus learns of his awful actions, this invokes shock and desperation. With Willy Lowman, the audience goes for a bumpy ride until the eventual, but expected, crash. ** (NEEDS WORK)
In a modern day production of Lysistrata, a director’s role would involve the overseeing of the whole play making course and ensuring that all the cast members realize the vision of the production. This role covers all the steps of production from the interpretation of the script to the final performance. This means that the director has a say over a range of disciplines and has to have artistic vision. Lysistrata was produced in 411 B.C., at a time when Athens and Sparta had just concluded a two-decade long war and the general population was in despair. Comedies such as these were used then to communicate instructions to the people (mbc.edu). This essay will focus on the scene where Lysistrata has gathered all the women to convinces the to withhold sex from their husbands until they sign a peace treaty.
A detective story is a genre of fiction in which a person attempts to solve a crime. The detective may be a professional or an amateur, and generally has nothing to gain from solving the crime. However in Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King”, the main character Oedipus is not only determined to solve a crime, but he is also in pursuit to find his own identity. This is similar to Arthur Conan Doyle’s “A Scandal in Bohemia” where Sherlock Holmes has been hired to work as a detective in return for monetary compensation. Both situations enable Oedipus and Sherlock to gain from unraveling the mysteries that sweep their towns hence making these stories different from most detective stories.
Sophocles' Oedipus the King as Nothing More Than a Detective Story. The play “Oedipus the King” is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles in the early days of antiquity and is based upon an ancient story in Greek mythology. It was written around a time when Rome was in power. and Athens was the centre of the world.
Since the beginning of time epic tales have been passed on from generation to generation as a form of entertainment. Even though each epic is different in its plot, every epic has certain features in common. The prime example of their similarities is their main character, the hero of the epic. The hero's behavior changes from the beginning to the end of the tale. Since the plot revolves around the epic hero, in most cases, they are made to seem God-like, or larger then life, in their capabilities and strengths. The hero constantly has to conquer major obstacles to achieve their initial and final goal. Usually the hero is tremendously suspicious of other characters intensions. Also, this character usually demonstrates examples of hubris throughout the tale, which ultimately makes his journey more difficult. The epic heroes differences vary but in the epic tale, The Odyssey written by Homer, and the Greek drama, Oedipus The King written by Sophocles, the differences is what makes Oedipus fail and Odysseus succeed. In both these tales, the powerful gods enormously affect their decisions and the consequences they eventually have to face.
Oedipus is the main character in the play Oedipus the King. Oedipus is thought of as a tragic figure because he was doomed from birth. Tiresias, an old blind prophet, told Oedipus' parents about Oedipus' fate. He told them that Oedipus would kill his father and sleep with his mother. So, his parents decided to have him killed, only it did not happen that way. He was passed off by two shepherds and finally to the King and Queen of Corinth, Polybus and Merope to raise him as their own. Oedipus finds his way back to Thebes and on the way kills his father, but Oedipus did not know that one of the men he killed was his real father. This is the beginning of the prophecy coming true. In short Oedipus obtains the throne, Marries his mother and has kids with her. Oedipus' fate has come together without him even realizing what is going on. Eventually he is told what has happened and asks to be banished by his uncle/brother-in-law Creon. The tragedy in Oedipus' life began with his birth and the realization by his parents that his whole life was doomed.
Oedipus the King and Antigone, two famous drama play by Sophocles (496-406 B.C) which are deep tragic play with a dramatic ending. The excellent demonstration of rise of fate, prevention of misfortunes, curse due to determination, ironic outcome of various actions including deadly flaw of hubris can be contrasted commonly from the characters of these two plays. The character’s willingness to ignore the truth, act stubborn and proudness of power became the hubris for major characters on both dramas. Oedipus the King, is one of the perfect dramatic genre of tragedy which allows viewers and readers to go through various tension with the development of story.
Many motifs are shared between both the plays Medea, by Euripides, and Oedipus the King, by Sophocles. Both playwrights were known for their innovation in the theatre, so their plays both contain daring elements, along with the more common ones (Gainor, et al. 89/135.) The plays were written in the same time period so they contain the same morals that were being taught to the writers in ancient Greek society. Not only did the plays share the same popular culture beliefs, but they also contained a lot of the same characters- as they were believed to be real Gods, Goddesses, and creatures, by the society. I believe the most prominent motifs shared between the plays are revenge, duty, and death. Revenge plays a great deal in the decision making
Oedipus' destruction was foretold to his father and mother, Laius and Jocasta, when he was born. It was told to him again when he was a young Corinthian prince, to which he ran from home ("I heard all that and ran" 876). Tiresias tells it to him again during the passage of the Oedipus Rex. The destiny of Oedipus has been laid down, unalterable from the moment he was created. He was fated to marry his mother and kill his father. Phaedra is not controlled by fate. She is possessed by a frivolous deity ("the goddess' anger has landed on your head" p142), stung by her lack of praise and with a grudge against Phaedra's stepson Hippolytus. Thus it is the goddess, Aphrodite, that causes Phaedra to fall in love with the young Athenian prince. The suicide of Phaedra, and her lying words on the note she writes before she dies, brings destruction on the blasphemous Hippolytus, as his father Theseus curses his son. Both characters undeniably have supernatural powers acting upon their destiny. However, it is important to remember that her suicide and the destruction of Hippolytus are not on account of fate. She is under control of the goddess Artemis. Therefore her actions are not directly under her control. Oedipus on the hand has a path laid out by fate ("you were born for pain" 1305). It is a path that has been destined for him all of his life and he is aware of what the gods have set in motion. He is a "man of agony". However, it is Oedipus' fighting of the gods' judgement which brings the destruction. The path might have been laid out but it was Oedipus that walked down it. Oedipus' own innate character flaw (hamartia) of hubris (pride) is his own undoing and without it his fate could not have come to pass. His pride forced him to k...
Before the twentieth century plays were mainly written as either a tragedy or comedy. In a tragic play the tragic hero will often do something that will eventually destroy him. In the book Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the tragic hero. In this tragic play the main character, which is portrayed as Oedipus, will do a good deed that will in turn make him a hero. This hero will reach his height of pride in the story, and in the end the action, which he had committed earlier, will return and destroy this man who was once called a hero.
According to Aristotle, a tragedy must be an imitation of life in the form of a serious story that is complete in itself among many other things. Oedipus is often portrayed as the perfect example of what a tragedy should be in terms of Aristotle’s Poetics. Reason being that Oedipus seems to include correctly all of the concepts that Aristotle describes as inherent to dramatic tragedy. These elements include: the importance of plot, reversal and recognition, unity of time, the cathartic purging and evocation of pity and fear, the presence of a fatal flaw in the “hero”, and the use of law of probability.
The use of tragedy language in the story The effect of tragedy on the audience and all readers Plot Aristotle’s concept of a tragic story The importance of the tragic plot to the story Virtue and morality Identification of Oedipus’ character Oedipus obtains virtue, wisdom, and knowledge by judging poorly and making wrong decisions. Conclusion Oedipus as the ideal tragic hero Oedipus, the primary and key character of the drama, is a great and famous king with ideal traits and character in his individual personality.
The play, Oedipus the King, fulfills each of the 6 elements of tragedy according to the Aristotelian Dramaturgy. The play has a complex plot in which the protagonist has a reversal in his situation, a scene of recognition, and a scene of suffering. There are also characters in Oedipus the King that perform imitative actions to reinforce the plot. For example, the plot of the play includes a scene of suffering. For this scene of suffering to be manifested, the character, Oedipus, must first imitate the action of blinding himself.
Oedipus the King is one out of the three of Sophocles plays that survived. This play is Sophocles’ second written tragedy. A tragedy has tragic events that usually lead to a downfall of the main character; in Oedipus the King, the main character is Oedipus. This tragedy has been translated into many versions. Each translation gives a slightly different meaning based on the translator.
Oedipus the King is an excellent example of Aristotle's theory of tragedy. The play has the perfect Aristotelian tragic plot consisting of paripeteia, anagnorisis and catastrophe; it has the perfect tragic character that suffers from happiness to misery due to hamartia (tragic flaw) and the play evokes pity and fear that produces the tragic effect, catharsis (a purging of emotion).