Drama

1
Drama

• An overview

2
Dramatic genres and subgenres
3
Historical influences on Renaissance drama

• Ancient tragedies and comedies

• Medieval traditions morality and miracle plays

4
Tragedy

• Greek tragos goat oidè song
• Possible origins
• Prehistoric cults rituals involving choirs with
  people disguised as goats
• Alexandrine/Roman interpretation goat as a prize
  given to the winner of a contest (agon)
• Cult of Dionysus goat as sacrifice
• Dionysical oratory in the Dithyrambus
  (performance in honour of Dionysus) song and
  dance, masks, choir with a leader, originally
  improvised

5
Tragedy (cont.)

• Arion of Methymna poetic text shift from
  stories about Dionysus to other heroic stories
  from Greek mythology
• 6th Century BC extension of the oratory,
  introduction of one actor
• structure entry song (parados) actor reports
  (epeisodion) song sung by the choir (stasimon)
  antiphonal singing chorus/actor (amoibaion)
  exit song (exodos)
• introduction of a second actor in Aischylus
  dialogue, repetition of epeisodion and stasimon
• introduction of a third actor in Sophocles
• 5th Century BC classical tragedy, complete,
  topic taken from Greek mythology poetically
  refined, elevated style part of a religious
  service/ceremony in the shrines of Dionysus
• competition of dramatists during festivities in
  honour of Dionysus trilogies

6
Comedy

• Latin comoedia Greek komoidia
• komos festive parade oidè song
• Origins verbal comedy, playful comedy during
  parades (song, dance, pantomime)

7
Comedy (cont.)

• Early predecessor comical plays by Epicharmos
  (5th Century BC)
• Complete comedies in 5th-4th Century BC choral
  songs and dialogue staged at urban Dionysical
  festivities masks, costumes
• Satire, criticism of contemporaries, witty and
  aggressive, obscene (Kratinos, Eupolis,
  Aristophanes)
• Later less critical, conversational comedy
  (Menander)
• Roman comedy Plautus, Terence
• Theoretical treatment in the Renaissance
  (Castelvetro, Scaliger)

8
Morality play

• Late medieval type of drama written in a variety
  of verse forms
• Dramatized allegories of a representative
  Christian life
• Plot quest for salvation crucial events
  temptation, sin, climactic confrontation with
  death
• Personnel protagonist Mankind/Everyman,
  personifications of virtues, vices, Death,
  angels, demons

9
Miracle play

• Story from the Bible or life and martyrdom of a
  saint
• Originally short dramatizations as part of the
  Latin liturgical service
• Later complete plays written in English which
  were produced under the auspices of the trade
  guilds
• 14th Century AD whole cycles of plays are put on
  stage for the feast of Corpus Christi

10
Types of stage

• Amphitheatre (antiquity)
• Pageants (Middle Ages)
• Apron stage (Renaissance)
• Restoration stage (Restoration period)
• Proscenium stage (modern times)

11
Medieval pageant
12
Apron stage

• Shakespeares The Globe

13
Restoration stage
14
Proscenium stage

• Picture frame stage

15
Aristotles Poetics

• Descriptive as well as prescriptive approach to
  ancient drama
• Discussion of features of tragedy, part on comedy
  is missing
• Revised and extended by Renaissance scholars such
  as Castelvetro

16
(No Transcript)