Greek Theatre

Components of the Theatre:

Chorus: The importance of the impact of the chorus relies more on what they look like and do rather than what they say: actor, set scene, commentary, contributes atmosphere and evoking drama, scene break from the weightier moments of the play

Origins of the theatre: began as a choral performance or a dithyramb- almost likened to an operatic performance in terms of the way in which they were performed. 

Bacchae: Third Stasimon:

Three Thematic Sections: Reminiscent of a Three Act Tragedy

Chaos, Hysteria, Ecstasy- imagery of a fawn playing in the green delight of a meadow juxtaposed with second section imagery of the Gods -hunting down the unholy man. The Final Section explores Happiness and Triumph over Hardship- Wisdom is the Balance between Order and Chaos as exemplified in Third Section

Retribution, Tradition, Punishment- Restriction contrasting with the wildness expressed in the first section

 The importance of the impact of the chorus relies more on what they look like and do rather than what they say

Past Paper:

Section A:

3.      Source A is useful in depicting how a Greek comedy may have been staged due to the depiction of costumes and masks that can be seen on the two lead actors in this scene. It is also apparent from this source that a man is playing the woman’s part, and this corresponds with our knowledge of Greek theatre as all women’s parts were played by men- the mouth  of the ‘woman,’ also appears to be gaping open which could be indicative of the exaggerated gestures we were to expect in Greek Comedy. We also can recognise the use of props such as the wineskin, the blade, the mirror, and the seat and this illustrates the kind of props we could have expected to see on stage however it is also worth noting that as this is an artist’s interpretation, we have no way of confirming that artistic liberties weren’t taken and while there is a considerable bit of information, we can glean from this we can’t see any of the machinery or anything beyond what’s on stage.

4.      Dionysus is dressed in a yellow Lionskin rug made to imitate that of Heracles. 

5.      Phrynichus, Lycis and Ameipsias are rival comedians and Aristophanes is seeking to poke fun at the ‘baggage-handling routines,’ in their comedies or at the very least pay homage. 

6.      A Donkey

7.      Dionysus is an appropriate figure due to his status as God of revelry and by extension the theatre as he is the patron God of the City Dionysia held in his honour in which this comedy would have been performed. 

8.      Aristophanes utilises a range of techniques in this extract such as scatological humour and references to bodily functions and defecation within the lines “shift your pole around and say you need a dump,” or “I really need to puke,” and this would have been well-received by an ancient audience as it relies on bodily functions that…