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Drama Unit
Mrs. Bartel
http://www.ozturk.com.au/sultanitin1.html
Principles of Greek Drama
Catharsis: release of emotions in the
audience
5. The audience must feel pity and fear for this character
The “tragic flaw”
The “flaw” in the character is a defect which
keeps him/her from being aware of the situation
around him/her. The character does not
understand (for much of the story) his/her part
of creating the situation.
Ex: Pride (“Hubris”)
Skywalker thinks he is
so good, he can take on an
experienced Jedi all by himself
Examples of Flaws
Shakespearean Tragic Plot
Act I: Exposition
This is where the setting,
characters, and conflicts are
introduced.
Act V: Catastrophe/Resolution
The conflicts are resolved (usually death); chaos returns to order.
Roman Theater
200 B.C. Rome overtook Athens as the
cultural center for drama
Imitated Greek dramas-so considered
inferior
Major contribution: modern elevated stage
Middle Ages
Formal theater disappeared for ages
10th century-church took over
Presentations dealt with biblical events
and parables (A simple story illustrating a
moral or religious lesson)
Continued until 16th century
Pageant wagons used (movable stages to
act out biblical stories)
Middle Ages
Miracle plays: dramatized events from the
bible
Mystery plays: presented events from the
saints’ lives
Morality plays: presented allegorical
stories in which characters personified
religious or moral abstractions (Seven
Deadly Sins) saved by Mercy, Justice,
Temperance, and Truth
Gluttony
Mystery/Miracle
Renaissance Theater
1300-1600
“rebirth”-renewed interest in Greek and
Roman tragedies
Original comedies, tragedies, and pastoral
plays were created and performed
Commedia dell’ arte-popular comedy in
which professional actors improvised
Shakespeare-YEA!-Scavenger Hunt
Renaissance Theater
Three important developments
Secular themes (nonreligious)
Rise of professionalism in acting and play
writing
Plays preformed in English rather than
Latin
French Theater-Renaissance
Moliere (1622-1673)
Considered comic genius
Plays ridiculed people, ideas, medicine,
forced marriage
Raised status of comedy to level of
tragedy
Quote: “The duty of comedy is to correct
men by amusing them.”
Restoration Theater
Restoration of Royal family of Stuart to
throne (1660-1700)
Comedy of manners-satirizes social
customs.
Women were allowed to act for the first
time in England!
Nineteenth Century Theater
Romanticism-the belief that humans
should be guided by feelings and emotions
Freed artist from rules, lots of special
effects
Experimentation in theater!
operas
Romanticism
Three Main Types of American
Romantic Dramas
1. Quasi-historical characters interacting in a
scenically romantic distant locale (affection,
sorrow, and romantic longing)
2. Plays dealing with historical figures
3. Sinister gothic performances of mysterious and
supernatural adventures (horrify and amaze)
4. modern horror novels and women's romance
novels are both descendants of the Gothic
romance
Romanticism
Common Themes
Libertarianism: free from convention
and tyranny, the Democratic spirit
Nature: unspoiled scenery
Lure of the Exotic: picturesque,
romanticized view of the past, mystery,
superstition
The Supernatural: folktales, connection
of identity of self
Nineteenth Century Theater
Late 19th century, modern drama was
born
Henrick Ibsen (Norway)
August Strindberg (Sweden)
Anton Chekhov (Russia)
John Galsworthy (Great Britain)
Bernard Shaw (Great Britain)
Realism-portray people and situations as
they really are in everyday life
Contemporary Theater
Experimented with many styles (not one
style exists today)