Greek drama

Three types of drama

• Comedy 
• Tragedy
• Satyr Plays

COMEDY
usually satirical;
made fun of powerful men & the foolish things they did.

Tragedy

Major Themes of Tragedy

• love
• loss
• pride
• abuse of power
• relationship between humans and gods

Usually, the main character commits some terrible crime without realizing it. When he finds out what he's done, his life is completely ruined.

main Greek tragedy writers

• Aeschylus [esh-il-us]
• Sophocles [so-fo-cleez]
• Euripides [yer-ip-id-eez]

Aristotle's rules

• Should evoke fear and pity from audience
• Tragic hero is essentially a good guy
• Hero's downfall is his own fault

Parts of a tragedy

Tragic hero

• main character
• must be essentially a good man
• must have some flaw
• must be responsible for his own downfall

hamartia

• a mistake or error
• literally means "to miss the mark"
• starts a chain of bad effects
• eventually causes the catastrophe

plot

• Hero starts in a good place
• Complication - hero makes a mistake
• Reversal of fortunes
• Recognition of mistake
• Suffering

Peripateia

pathos

catharsis