Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Guest Blogger - Melanie J.
Ancient Greek Drama was unlike any other drama produced by man. Unlike the drama in theaters we see today, the Ancient Greeks included a chorus, tragic elements, and thought out rhythm throughout plays such as Oedipus. The purpose of a chorus in Greek Drama was to illustrate the “ideal” audience response to the action of play. This helped make the play understandable and relatable to the crowd. This is a brilliant way to help narrate a scene without directly interrupting the content of the drama. It also helps to express things that the main characters cannot say and provides a connection between actors and spectators. Next, tragic elements play a key role in the development of Ancient Greek Drama. For example, a chance happening where an incident occurs by chance, yet has an impact on the action of the play would be apparent when Oedipus kills his own father without knowing. The tension builds as the audience learns of what he did, while Oedipus is still puzzled as to who killed the king. Lastly, rhythm has a great effect on the flow of the drama. Strophes and Antistrophes help mirror each other perfectly; almost acting in opposite ways to complete each other. The combination of these three things greatly adds to make Ancient Greek Drama unlike any other tragedy.
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Do you think Oedipus is really puzzle about who killed the King, or is it all an act that he is putting on because he knows it was himself?
ReplyDeleteIf he was putting on an act, he certainly did a good job of hiding it. The main reason I say this is because of the scene with Tereseas, the blind prophet. When Oedipus is confronted with the truth, he simply rejects what the prophet says because it can't be possible according to him. At one point he even threatens to kill the man if he doesn't speak the truth, and what kind of person would go that far to fool people? On the other hand, it is quite hard to believe that Oedipus is stupid enough to believe that his wife hearing basically the same exact prophecy he heard about himself was a coincidence. What I mean to say is, at that point even if Oedipus was putting on an act, he should have realized how obvious it was at that point. Along with that, even if Oedipus decided to keep on facading, his wife should have noticed something. In general though, I have to come to the consensus that Oedipus was not trying to fool everyone like Hamlet might have been in Shakespeare, but if you have any way to prove otherwise, feel free to respond.
ReplyDeleteI think that in the very beginning, Oedipus fully believed in his own innocence because he still thought of himself as the son of Polybus, not Laius. However, when he speaks to Tiresias and the messenger there must have been an inkling of doubt in the back of his mind. Still, it's understandable that he would not want to accept the terrible facts and that he would find whatever excuses he could to deter himself from guilt.
ReplyDeleteI think it's possible hat he was putting on an act. He killed a man, and people will go to great lengths to hide that. Especially if Oedpius knew that he killed Laius. It could be taken wrong like he killed Laius to be king. Maybe that forced him to try and hide that he killed him. He didn't want anyone to see what he did as a secret plan of any sort.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Melanie's post, I completely agree that the Greek tragedy plays are both unique and beautifully crafted. I also believe the chorus provides an important role in the ancient theater. This musical element to the play adds to the drama, and as Melanie said "It provides a connection between actors and spectators." Compared to William Shakespeare's plays (which do not have a chorus) the Greek plays have a special element, which makes them easier to follow and comprehend.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Eura in the statement that he is somewhat forcing himself to believe that he was at no fault. As the story continues on there are certain happenings and people that make him start to realize that he is the guilty one yet he is still hesitant to believe it. I think that the big turning point is when Oedipus recognizes the slave/messenger, and asks him if the murder was done by a group of people or a single being. At first, the slave is too afraid to say the truth that it was one person's doing but soon enough Oedipus realizes that he did indeed commit the murder.
ReplyDeleteIn parallel to Taylor's post, I think that he felt guilty enough for killing a man but didn't want to fes up to killing his own father. There was no way of going around this fate and his parents thought they could avoid it by getting him "killed" but in the end he was rised in another city and knew nothing about what the fates had told his parents. I think he was slightly confused because he didn't know that the king was his father and didn't think anything of it being his father when he killed all of the men on that road.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Taylor. Oedipus was so fixated that Laius wasn't his real father that he couldn't have killed him. I think that he really didn't want anyone to think that he killed anyone just so he could be king.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that Oedipus was putting on an act because he really believed that his step parents were his real parents. He had no idea he was adopted, when he found out his fate, he ran away thinking that he would escape fate and save himself from killing his father, who was actually his step father.
ReplyDeleteZach makes a good point when he says that Oedipus had no idea he was adopted. When Oedipus learns he is going to end up killing his own father and end up marrying his mother he runs away from his step parents. He definitely had no doubt in his mind they were his actual parents. So I really don't think he suspected he was Laius's murderer.
ReplyDeleteMaddy makes a good point how do we know that it isn' all just an act? Also if Oedipus is acting how do we know that the mother hasn't been acting for a long time? Because we later realize that near the end we was faking her puzzlement but what's to say that she hasn't been faking from day one when she first saw him?
ReplyDeleteIn ancient Greek drama they use the chorus to help the audience understand what was going on. Nowadays we don't have a chorus but we do have things like music in movies that foreshadows an upcoming event or it helps to tell how a character is feeling. Both help the audience to connect with the actors and get a better understanding of what's going on. This just shows how we have a connection to Greek drama! -Taylor Thompson
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