Important notes of drama by Arslan

Oedipus complex:
Sigmund Freuds theory that a male child feels unconscious jealousy toward his father and lust for his mother. The name comes from Sophocles play Oedipus Rex, in which the main character unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother. Freud applies this theory in an influential reading of Hamlet, in which he sees Hamlet as struggling with his admiration of Claudius, who fulfilled Hamlets own desire of murdering Hamlets father and marrying his mother. In the Greek play by Sophocles, Laius, king of Thebes, is told by an oracle that he would be killed by his son and so leaves Oedipus out on the mountainside to die. Oedipus is rescued by a shepherd and taken to the king of Corinth who raises him as a son. Oedipus, in turn, is told by the Delphic oracle that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Horrified by this, he flees Corinth. At a crossroads he meets Laius, quarrels and kills him. At Thebes, he correctly answers the sphinx's question and hence wins the hand of Jocasta, his real mother, with whom he had two sons and two daughters. When at last the truth comes out, Jocasta hangs herself and Oedipus, finding her, blinds himself with her golden brooch.

Greek Dramatic chorus:

chorus, in the drama of ancient Greece. Originally the chorus seems to have arisen from the singing of the dithyramb, and the dithyrambic chorus allegedly became a true dramatic chorus when Thespis in the 6th cent. B.C. introduced the actor. First the chorus as a participating actor tied the histrionic interludes together; later, as a narrator, it commented on the action and divided it, creating acts. And as tragedy developed the chorus shrank in size and actors increased in number. Aeschylus began with a chorus of 50, but the number was soon decreased to 12. Sophocles used a chorus of 15. In the 3d cent. B.C. the comic chorus contained only seven persons and in the 2d cent. B.C. only four, the tragic chorus having disappeared altogether. The chorus had ceased to play a vital part in the drama; Euripides assigned to it lyrics not necessarily integrated with the action. Ultimately it was dispensed with in comedy as well. The chorus enters the orchestra during the parados, from the two ramps known as paradoi on either side of the orchestra. Once there the leader, coryphaeus, speaks the choral dialogue. Scenes of dialogue [technical term to learn: episode] alternate with choral song, which is called stasimon. In this way the stasimon is like the darkening of the theater or curtains down between acts. The final scene [technical term to learn: exodus] of Greek tragedy is one of dialogue. Songs 1. Like more modern choruses, the Greek chorus would sing songs concerning the drama and characters in the play. Exposition 2. Greek choruses served to provide the viewers with plot exposition, essentially acting as narrators for many parts of the drama. Audience Surrogates 3. The Greek chorus often acted as audience surrogates, questioning the other characters' motives or warning them about the consequences of their actions.

Filler 4. On a more practical level, the songs and speeches of the Greek chorus gave the other actors time to take a break while allowing the scenery to be adjusted and other changes made to the set. Spectacle 5. In the days of Greek theater, sets were very sparse and special effects nonexistent. The chorus lent a sense of epic to the setting, granting the play a grandeur it might not otherwise possess.

Dramatic Irony:
Definition: Dramatic irony is when the words and actions of the characters of a work of literature have a different meaning for the reader than they do for the characters. This is the result of the reader having a greater knowledge than the characters themselves. Dramatic irony is a relationship of contrast between a character's limited understanding of his or her situation in some particular moment of the unfolding action and what the audience, at the same instant, understands the character's situation actually to be. It is thus the result of a special sort of discrepancy in perspective, and hence is "moment-bound." There is on the one hand how things appear from a point of view that emerges within the action at a given moment, and which is constrained by the limitations of an individual's history up to that moment. (In fiction, this will be the picture held by some character -- say, the protagonist of a drama.) There is on the other hand a synoptic point of view that takes in the whole of an interpersonal history, part of which is unknown to that individual at the particular moment in question. For dramatic irony to emerge, some consciousness (in fiction, this will be the audience's) must be simultaneously aware of both perspectives. But some of the most famous and powerful uses of dramatic irony are associated with tragedy, where it serves to emphasize how limited human understanding can be even when it is most plausible, and how painful can be the costs of the misunderstandings, in some sense inevitable, that result. Some but not all cases of dramatic irony involve unconscious hypocrisy. In unconscious hypocrisy the speaker intends to be understood as meaning what his utterance would ordinarily be understood to mean, but is unaware that the situation is at odds with this meaning. (In conscious hypocrisy, benign or malign, the speaker is aware that the situation is at odds with what he gives himself out to mean. That is, he intends to deceive the hearer.) A classic instance of dramatic irony that involves no hypocrisy takes place in the scene in which Oedipus reproaches his brother-in-law Creon, whom he mistakenly but plausibly believes to have conspired to bring him under suspicion of having killed the former king of Thebes in order to have him expelled from the city so as to be able to take over the kingship in his stead. He tells Creon that a man is a fool if he thinks that he can sin against his kinfolk and escape the wrath of the gods. We note that the warning is phrased as a universal: it applies to any person. Oedipus is unaware that he himself has slain his own father (the very same king, no less) and committed incest with his mother. The audience, however, in the moment it hears Oedipus make this declaration, knows (1) the facts about Oedipus' parricide and incest, (2) the fact that Oedipus is unaware of these, (3) the fact that these transgressions will eventually be revealed before all Thebes, (4) the fact that Oedipus will suffer terribly at this revelation, and (4) the fact that the divine order (in virtue of the various prophecies and circumstances of their fulfillment) is firmly implicated both in the commission and the discovery (hence "punishment") of these crimes. It is this discrepancy between what Oedipus understands his words to

apply to and what the audience understands their scope actually to be that constitutes the effect the dramatic irony. At the same time, it would be grotesquely stretching the concept of "unconscious hypocrisy" to say that Oedipus is guilty of that at this moment. One reason is that even at this moment we know that Oedipus is the kind of person who, if it were demonstrated to him that he has "sinned against kin" in the ways described, would immediately recognize (as he eventually does) that the principle applies to him. That is, he may be mistaken about the facts, but he is not committed to a double standard. Another reason is that, under the circumstances in which he happens to have arrived in the situation in which the audience knows him to be, Oedipus here can in no way said to be self-deceived. An effect of this is that Oedipus retains his ethical dignity, and presumably for the original audience as well as for us -- in spite of the fact that they (unlike we) are in agreement with him that intention not to commit the prophesied abominations does not absolve him from the pollution of having done so nevertheless.

In Sophocles Oedipus Rex, dramatic irony is often present in Oedipus long speeches. Oedipus constantly sees things incorrectly, and is in denial that he has, in fact, killed his father and married his mother. This is first apparent when he demands the death of the man who killed Laios. Oedipus calls the man who did this an evil murder. Oedipus assumes that, as he became a citizen of Thebes after the murder, though he did kill someone, he is ruled out as a suspect of Laios assassin. In another speech, Oedipus accuses Creon of setting him up in order to get the throne, by framing him as the murderer. At this point, Oedipus is in denial that he is guilty, even though all of the evidence points to him. In reality, Creon does not want to be king at all; he enjoys his current position of wealth and power without any real responsibility. A third occasion of irony in the speeches is Oedipuss firm belief that the people who raised him were his biological parents. Oedipus refuses to believe that Iocaste is his mother, and that by escaping to Thebes, he did not escape the fate he was told of at Delphi. Because of Oedipuss denial and stubbornness, he did suffer greatly and commit the greatest sin.

Irony of fate or Cosmic Irony:

Cosmic irony or the irony of fate is attributed to literary works in which a deity, or else fate is represented as though deliberately manipulating events so as to lead the protagonist to false hopes, only to frustrate and mock them. This is a favourite structural device of Thomas Hardy. The expression irony of fate stems from the notion that the gods (or the Fates) are amusing themselves by toying with the minds of mortals with deliberate ironic intent. Closely connected with situational irony, it arises from sharp contrasts between reality and human ideals, or between human intentions and actual results. The resulting situation is poignantly contrary to what was expected or intended.

Verbal irony
Verbal irony is a figure of speech. The speaker intends to be understood as meaning something that contrasts with the literal or usual meaning of what he says. The different sorts of discrepancy between the meaning of what is said and what is in fact on the particular occasion meant with it give rise to different kinds of verbal irony: According to A glossary of literary terms by Abrams and Hartman,

Verbal irony is a statement in which the meaning that a speaker employs is sharply different from the meaning that is ostensibly expressed. The ironic statement usually involves the explicit expression of one attitude or evaluation, but with indications in the overall speech-situation that the speaker intends a very different, and often opposite, attitude or evaluation. Verbal irony is distinguished from situational irony and dramatic irony in that it is produced intentionally by speakers. For instance, if a man exclaims, Im not upset! but reveals an upset emotional state through his voice while truly trying to claim he's not upset, it would not be verbal irony by virtue of its verbal manifestation (it would, however, be situational irony). But if the same speaker said the same words and intended to communicate that he was upset by claiming he was not, the utterance would be verbal irony. This distinction illustrates an important aspect of verbal irony speakers communicate implied propositions that are intentionally contradictory to the propositions contained in the words themselves. Dramatic and verbal irony in Oedipus the king: Oedipus is self-confident, intelligent and strong willed. Ironically these are the very traits which bring about his demise. Sophocles makes liberal use of irony throughout "Oedipus the King". He creates various situations in which dramatic and verbal irony play key roles in the downfall of Oedipus. Dramatic irony depends on the audience's knowing something that the character does not and verbal irony is presented when there is a contradiction between what a character says and what they mean. Both of these elements are used effectively to develop the tale of Oedipus. Sophocles makes use of many situations involving dramatic irony. In fact, the entire play could be said to be an example of dramatic irony. The audience becomes aware of Oedipus' prophecy from the very beginning of the play. The reading from the Oracle stated that Oedipus was destined to murder his father and marry his mother. Although Oedipus is unaware of his fate, the reader knows the tragic future of the character. This use of dramatic irony allows the story to avoid the typical Greek tragedy structure and keep the reader intrigued as the events unfold. Verbal irony is also frequently used by Sophocles. There are many instances of this in Oedipus' dialogue. Such as the statement, "I will fight for him like I would fight for my father. My search will never end until I take in chains the murderer of Laius", in which Oedipus is unaware that he is actually the murderer. This also demonstrates verbal irony because Oedipus is in fact, fighting for his father Laius. Throughout the story Oedipus searches for his identity. The answers to his questions are visible to the audience, but not to Oedipus. Sophocles illustrates these answers, the truth, by making use of dramatic and verbal irony. These elements create the incredible journey of Oedipus' tragic life.

Liturgy:
-sacred rituals of the Church. An established formula for public worship, or the entire ritual for public worship in a church which uses prescribed forms; a formulary for public prayer or devotion. In the Roman Catholic Church it includes all forms and services in any language, in any part of the world, for the celebration of Mass.

Liturgical Drama
The liturgical drama was part of the Easter or Christmas church service (liturgy), consisting of the staging of separate episodes from the Gospel. Gradually, the liturgical drama was penetrated by realistic, everyday elements. The spectator aspect of the presentation was strengthened, and the variety of subjects was broadened. Scenes from the Old Testament and tales of saints and martyrs were included. Starting in 1210, the liturgical drama was performed in the parvis in front of the church. Both the clergy and laymen participated in the drama, as well as the goliards and tregetours, who were given

roles of traders, butchers, devils, and so forth. The most significant work was the Mystery Play About Adam (mid-12th century). Or plays performed in Latin by the clergy and the choir that sang the service, as part of the liturgy of the Church during the medieval period. As early as the fifth century, bible stories were represented in church by means of live tableaux accompanied by singing. From such simple beginnings, liturgical dramas developed gradually over several centuries as parts of the liturgy were embellished by tropes and then elaborated into dialogues and short reenactments of scenes from the Easter story and the Nativity. Eventually the laity began to participate and vernacular elements were included.

Mystery Plays: Mystery plays were Bible stories. There were four or five short mystery plays in
each presentation. Clergymen were the actors. Each presentation was broken up, and staged all over town. One stage was located right outside the local church. Another scene might be staged in a wagon that was pulled through town. Some scenes were placed in different parts of town. The audience moved from stage to stage. The mystery plays were quite fun and very well attended by commoners and nobles alike. The stories included the Birth of Jesus, The Wise Men, and the Flight Into Egypt. a genre of Western European religious theater of the late Middle Ages (14th to 16th centuries). Mystery plays were most highly developed in France. They were based on biblical stories and written by priests, learned theologians, physicians, and jurists. Religious scenes alternated with comic everyday episodes. Presentations, which generally took place in the public square, were organized by town authorities and artisans guilds to coincide with town celebrations, usually days when fairs were held. Although they were supervised by aristocratic and church circles, mystery plays were a form of popular art in which piety constantly clashed with blasphemy, and religious mysticism with the realities of everyday life, which were introduced into the plays by the performers, most of whom were local amateurs.

Miracle Plays: Miracle plays were plays about the lives of the saints and the miracles they
performed. Again, the clergy were the actors. These plays were staged like the mystery plays.

Morality Plays: Morality plays began with the rise of towns. Actors performed these plays. The
stories were about virtues and vices such as fellowship, good deeds, and death. The towns also produced miracle and mystery plays that were performed by actors. Some sets for some plays were really elaborate. Sometimes, there were no sets at all. This was especially true of plays performed in the cathedrals. The backdrop of the cathedral was the setting. A morality play is a type of theater, which was common in medieval Europe. It uses allegorical characters to teach the audience moral lessons, typically of a Christian nature. The morality play can be considered an intermediate step between the biblical mystery plays of the medieval period and the secular theater of the later Renaissance, such as the plays of William Shakespeare. The morality play has remained a cultural influence to some degree, though it has greatly waned in popularity. The basic premise of the morality play, however, in which an "everyman" character who is easy to relate to makes a journey and is influenced by characters along the way, eventually gaining some kind of personal integrity, is still common in many works of theater and film.

Interlude
a short dramatic piece, esp. of a light or farcical character, formerly introduced between the parts or acts of miracle and morality plays or given as part of other entertainments.

Senecan tragedy, a form of tragedy developed by the Roman philosopherpoet Lucius Annaeus
Seneca (c.4 BCE65 CE) in his nine plays based on Greek drama (especially that of Euripides), and further adapted by playwrights of the Italian, French, and English Renaissance. Seneca's plays were almost certainly closet dramas intended for recitation rather than stage performance. Composed in five

acts with intervening choruses, they employ long rhetorical speeches, with important actions being recounted by messengers. Their bloodthirsty plots, including ghosts and horrible crimes, appealed to the popular English dramatists of the late 16th century, who presented such horrors on stage in their revenge tragedies. These were preceded by a purer form of English Senecan tragedy, notably in Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville's Gorboduc (1561), the first English tragedy. The conventional fiveact structure of Renaissance drama owes its origin to the influence of Seneca. According to wikipedia Senecan tragedy is a body of ten 1st century (A. D.) dramas, of which eight were written by the Roman Stoic philosopher and politician L. Annaeus Seneca (Seneca the Younger). Rediscovered by Italian humanists in the mid-16th century, they became the models for the revival of tragedy on the Renaissance stage. The two great, but very different, dramatic traditions of the age - French Neoclassical tragedy and Elizabethan tragedy - both drew inspiration from Seneca. The Senecan tragedy also focuses heavily on the supernatural elements. French Neoclassical dramatic tradition, which reached its highest expression in the 17th-century tragedies of Pierre Corneille and Jean Racine, drew on Seneca for form and grandeur of style. These Neoclassicists adopted Seneca's innovation of the confidant (usually a servant), his substitution of speech for action, and his moral hairsplitting. The Elizabethan dramatists found Seneca's themes of bloodthirsty revenge more congenial to English taste than they did his form. The first English tragedy, Gorboduc (1561), by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton, is a chain of slaughter and revenge written in direct imitation of Seneca. (As it happens, Gorboduc does follow the form as well as the subject matter of Senecan tragedy: but only a very few other English plays - e.g. The Misfortunes of Arthur - followed its lead in this.) Senecan influence is also evident in Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy and Shakespeare's Hamlet: both share a revenge theme, a corpse-strewn climax, and ghosts among the cast, which can all be traced back to the Senecan model.

Blank Verse
Definition of Blank Verse Blank Verse is Poetry that is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Blank verse is often unobtrusive and the iambic pentameter form often resembles the rhythms of ordinary speech. William Shakespeare wrote most of his plays in blank verse.

Iambic pentameter: Each line of verse has five feet (pentameter), each of which consists of an
unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (iamb). Iambic pentameter is one of the most popular metrical schemes in English poetry.

Soliloquy
Soliloquy - a speech delivered by a character in a play or other literature while alone, or an utterance by a person who is talking to him/herself, disregardful of or oblivious to any hearers present. This technique is frequently used to disclose a characters innermost feeling, such as thoughts, state of mind, motives, and intentions or to provide information needed by the audience or reader. The term is from the Late Latin soliloquium, coined by St. Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo, from the Greek monologia which was derived by combining solus, meaning alone, and loqui, meaning to speak.

aside

An aside is words spoken to the audience or perhaps to another character while other characters are on stage. The other characters pretend to not hear and we the audience get to listen in on the thoughts. In William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Trebonius is told to stay close to Caesar's side and he replies to Caesar: "Caesar, I will (and in an aside to the audience) and so near will I be,/That your best friends shall wish I had been further." (II. iv. 124-125) The audience hears everything, but everyone pretends that Caesar does not hear Trebonius' threatening words. It is a device used so that the audience gets to hear the candid, inner thoughts of the characters. aside (uh-SIDE): an actors speech, directed to the audience, that is not supposed to be heard by other actors on stage. An aside is usually used to let the audience know what a character is about to do or what he or she is thinking. For example, in Othello, Iago gives several asides, informing the audience of his plans and how he will try to achieve his goals. Asides are important because they increase an audience's involvement in a play by giving them vital information pertaining what is happening, both inside of a character's mind and in the plot of the play.

CONVENTION:
A common feature that has become traditional or expected within a specific genre (category) of literature or film. In Harlequin romances, it is conventional to focus on a male and female character who struggle through misunderstandings and difficulties until they fall in love. In western films of the early twentieth-century, for instance, it has been conventional for protagonists to wear white hats and antagonists to wear black hats. The wandering knight-errant who travels from place to place, seeking adventure while suffering from the effects of hunger and the elements, is a convention in medieval romances. It is a convention for an English sonnet to have fourteen lines with a specific rhyme scheme, abab, cdcd, efef, gg, and so on. The use of a chorus and the unities are dramatic conventions of Greek tragedy, while, the aside, and the soliloquy are conventions in Elizabethan tragedy. Conventions are often referred to as poetic, literary, or dramatic, depending upon whether the convention appears in a poem, short story or novel, or a play. Convention A characteristic of a literary genre (often unrealistic) that is understood and accepted by audiences because it has come, through usage and time, to be recognized as a familiar technique. For example, the division of a play into acts and scenes is a dramatic convention, as are soliloquies and asides. flashbacks and foreshadowing are examples of literary conventions.