1211
■Agamemnon→man muss learn from suffering
■Oedipus→fate
■Aristotle_Poetics
Aristotle's Poetics is the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory and the first extant philosophical treatise to focus on
literary theory. In it, Aristotle offers an account of what he calls "poetry".
Definition
1.dramatic irony
This type of irony is the device of giving the spectator an item of information that at least one of the characters in the narrative is unaware of (at least consciously), thus placing the spectator a step ahead of at least one of the characters. For example, in Oedipus the King, the audience knows that Oedipus himself is the murderer that he is seeking; Oedipus, Creon and Jocasta do not.
2.tragedy
Tragedy is a form of drama based on human suffering that invokes in its audience an accompanying catharsis or pleasure in the viewing.
3.tragic hero
A tragic hero is the protagonist of a tragedy. Aristotle suggests that a hero of a tragedy must evoke in the audience a sense of pity or fear. The focus of the tragic hero should not be in the loss of his prosperity. Ought to be a man whose misfortune comes to him, not through vice or depravity but by some error of judgment. For example King Oedipus kills his father from impulse and marries his mother out of ignorance.
4.tragic flaw
The term hamartia derives from the Greek, which means “to miss the mark” or “to err”. In tragedy, hamartia is the protagonist’s error or flaw that leads to a chain of plot actions culminating in a reversal from his/her good fortune to bad. What qualifies as the error or flaw can include an error resulting from ignorance, an error of judgement, a flaw in character, or sin. For example, in Oedipus the King, the tragic flaw of Oedipus is hubris, as he tried to escape from the fate.
5.Hubris
Hubris means extreme pride or self-confidence. When it offends the Gods of ancient Greece, it is usually punished. For example, when Oedipus is told by the oracle that he will marry his mother and kill his father, he arrogantly thinks he can outrun his fate.
6.Catharsis
Catharsis (from the Greek katharsis meaning "purification" or "cleansing") is the purification and purgation of emotions—especially pity and fear—through art or any extreme change in emotion that results in renewal and restoration. It is a metaphor originally used by Aristotle in the Poetics to describe the effects of tragedy on the spectator. For example, when Oedipus discovers that his wife is his own mother and the person he had killed on the crossroad was his own father.
7.chorus→dance and sing poetry
A Greek chorus is a homogeneous, non-individualised group of performers in the plays of classical Greece, who comment with a collective voice on the dramatic action. The chorus consisted of between 12 and 50 players, who variously danced, sang or spoke their lines in unison and sometimes wore masks.
8.three unities
The unity of action: a play should have one main action that it follows, with no or few subplots.
The unity of place: a play should cover a single physical space and should not attempt to compress geography, nor should the stage represent more than one place.
The unity of time: the action in a play should take place over no more than 24 hours.
9.deus ex machina ("god from Machine")
Deus ex machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved by the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability or object. A frequently cited example is Euripides' Medea, in which the deus ex machina, a dragon-drawn chariot sent by the sun god, is used to convey his granddaughter Medea, who has just committed murder and infanticide, away from her husband Jason to the safety and civilization of Athens.
10.flashback
A flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point in the story. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story's primary sequence of events to fill in crucial backstory. For example, Medea starts from the talk of the nurse and the tutor, talking about how pitiful their mistress is because of her husband's betray.
11.foreshadowing
Foreshadowing or guessing ahead is a literary device by which an author hints what is to come. It is used to avoid disappointment, and sometimes used to arouse readers. For example, the nurse warns the children to hide from their angry mother which foreshadowing what is to come – their deaths, at the hand of Medea herself. She also appears as the voice of reason, stating that the children are not at fault for what Jason has done.
This type of irony is the device of giving the spectator an item of information that at least one of the characters in the narrative is unaware of (at least consciously), thus placing the spectator a step ahead of at least one of the characters. For example, in Oedipus the King, the audience knows that Oedipus himself is the murderer that he is seeking; Oedipus, Creon and Jocasta do not.
2.tragedy
Tragedy is a form of drama based on human suffering that invokes in its audience an accompanying catharsis or pleasure in the viewing.
3.tragic hero
A tragic hero is the protagonist of a tragedy. Aristotle suggests that a hero of a tragedy must evoke in the audience a sense of pity or fear. The focus of the tragic hero should not be in the loss of his prosperity. Ought to be a man whose misfortune comes to him, not through vice or depravity but by some error of judgment. For example King Oedipus kills his father from impulse and marries his mother out of ignorance.
4.tragic flaw
The term hamartia derives from the Greek, which means “to miss the mark” or “to err”. In tragedy, hamartia is the protagonist’s error or flaw that leads to a chain of plot actions culminating in a reversal from his/her good fortune to bad. What qualifies as the error or flaw can include an error resulting from ignorance, an error of judgement, a flaw in character, or sin. For example, in Oedipus the King, the tragic flaw of Oedipus is hubris, as he tried to escape from the fate.
5.Hubris
Hubris means extreme pride or self-confidence. When it offends the Gods of ancient Greece, it is usually punished. For example, when Oedipus is told by the oracle that he will marry his mother and kill his father, he arrogantly thinks he can outrun his fate.
6.Catharsis
Catharsis (from the Greek katharsis meaning "purification" or "cleansing") is the purification and purgation of emotions—especially pity and fear—through art or any extreme change in emotion that results in renewal and restoration. It is a metaphor originally used by Aristotle in the Poetics to describe the effects of tragedy on the spectator. For example, when Oedipus discovers that his wife is his own mother and the person he had killed on the crossroad was his own father.
7.chorus→dance and sing poetry
A Greek chorus is a homogeneous, non-individualised group of performers in the plays of classical Greece, who comment with a collective voice on the dramatic action. The chorus consisted of between 12 and 50 players, who variously danced, sang or spoke their lines in unison and sometimes wore masks.
8.three unities
The unity of action: a play should have one main action that it follows, with no or few subplots.
The unity of place: a play should cover a single physical space and should not attempt to compress geography, nor should the stage represent more than one place.
The unity of time: the action in a play should take place over no more than 24 hours.
9.deus ex machina ("god from Machine")
Deus ex machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved by the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability or object. A frequently cited example is Euripides' Medea, in which the deus ex machina, a dragon-drawn chariot sent by the sun god, is used to convey his granddaughter Medea, who has just committed murder and infanticide, away from her husband Jason to the safety and civilization of Athens.
10.flashback
A flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point in the story. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story's primary sequence of events to fill in crucial backstory. For example, Medea starts from the talk of the nurse and the tutor, talking about how pitiful their mistress is because of her husband's betray.
11.foreshadowing
Foreshadowing or guessing ahead is a literary device by which an author hints what is to come. It is used to avoid disappointment, and sometimes used to arouse readers. For example, the nurse warns the children to hide from their angry mother which foreshadowing what is to come – their deaths, at the hand of Medea herself. She also appears as the voice of reason, stating that the children are not at fault for what Jason has done.
Syllables
◆spec-→to look, see
ex.spectator
◆aud-→to hear, listen
ex.audience
◆arch→chief, first, rule
ex.anarchy
Meaning: a state of disorder due to absence or nonrecognition of authority.
ex.matriarchy
Meaning: a system of society or government ruled by a woman or women.
ex.archangel
Meaning: an angel of high rank.
◆ex-→out of, away from, lacking, former
ex.exile
◆flawless(adj.)
Meaning: without any blemishes or imperfections; perfect.
◆petrified(adj.)
Meaning1: so frightened that one is unable to move; terrified.
Meaning2: (of organic matter) changed into a stony substance; ossified.
◆bull's eye(n.)靶心
ex.spectator
◆aud-→to hear, listen
ex.audience
◆arch→chief, first, rule
ex.anarchy
Meaning: a state of disorder due to absence or nonrecognition of authority.
ex.matriarchy
Meaning: a system of society or government ruled by a woman or women.
ex.archangel
Meaning: an angel of high rank.
◆ex-→out of, away from, lacking, former
ex.exile
◆flawless(adj.)
Meaning: without any blemishes or imperfections; perfect.
◆petrified(adj.)
Meaning1: so frightened that one is unable to move; terrified.
Meaning2: (of organic matter) changed into a stony substance; ossified.
◆bull's eye(n.)靶心