Sophocles & Greek Drama

1. Sophocles & Greek Drama

2. Types of Greek Drama • The ancient Greeks took their entertainment very seriously and used drama as a way of investigating the world they lived in, and what it meant to be human. • The three genres of drama were comedy, satyr plays, and most important of all, tragedy.

3. Comedy, Satyr Plays, and Tragedy • Comedy: The first comedies were mainly satirical and mocked men in power for their vanity and foolishness. • Satyr Plays: These short plays were performed between the acts of tragedies and made fun of the plight of the tragedy’s characters.

4. Tragedy: Tragedy dealt with the big themes of love, loss, pride, the abuse of power and the fraught relationships between men and gods. Typically the main protagonist of a tragedy commits some terrible crime without realizing how foolish and arrogant he has been. Then, as he slowly realizes his error, the world crumbles around him. Sophocles was one of the great playwrights of tragedy.

5. The Origin of Greek Drama • Greek drama evolved from religious festivals in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and the changing seasons. • Tragedy was the favorite type of Greek drama. • The first Greek actor was Thespis who astounded audiences by pretending to be the person he was playing. It is from his name where we get the word “thespian”.

6. Sophocles • Sophocles was born into a rich family; his father got him the best tutors. These tutors included a famous musician who helped him acquire the skill he would use later in composing the music and words for the choruses in his tragedies. • Sophocles was a very prominent figure of his time. He often ended up being elected for political positions he didn’t particularly want!

7. He wrote a whopping 123 plays, but only seven tragedies survive to present day. • Sophocles and 2 other playwrights would present plays each year at the festival of Dionysus. Out of these competitions that Sophocles took part in, he won 1st place 18 times! • He changed the world of drama by adding a third speaking voice, scenery, and increasing the number of people in the chorus.

8. Oedipus the King • Although Oedipus the King was written almost 2500 years ago, you should recognize some of the themes and conflicts that we encounter still today: political struggle, moral vs. legal responsibility, suicide, revenge, punishment, divided loyalties, shame, guilt, love and death.

9. This play won 2nd place at one of the drama festivals earlier mentioned. • The play is set in the city of Thebes. • The tragedy contains one of the most famous riddles ever devised (the riddle of the Sphinx). • What goes on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three in the evening? • This play is part of a trilogy.

10. What is a tragedy? • What is a tragedy? • What are some examples of real-life tragedies? • What make these events tragic- and not just sad? • Was someone at fault? • What are some famous tragedies in literature?

11. Loyalty • How much loyalty do you owe your family? • Your friends? • Your nation? • What sorts of “debts” do people rack up? • Which debts do you think it is important to pay back? • What should you do when your loyalties are “divided”- say between loyalty to your parents and loyalty to your friends?

12. Leadership • What makes a good leader? • Which three qualities do you think are the most important? • What weaknesses do many leaders commonly have?

13. DOL • our Social Studies teacher asked us who have her as a teacher to write reports on the south she said it was to be an emphasis on africanamericans • capitalization (adjective) • reduction (redundancy, unnecessary words) • proper nouns (geographical region, ethnic group) • Our social studies teacher asked us to write reports on the South with an emphasis on African Americans.