Session 5 World Literature 2nd Semester Topic: 3.1.4 Drama 3.1.4.

1 Elements of Drama - Plot - Theme - Character - Dialogue - Music/Rhythm -Spectacle - Convention - Genre - Audience - Stage Directions

4. Greek Literature 4.1 Early Greek Literature and the Greek Alphabet 4.2 Greek Myths and World Folktales 4.3 Major Characters in Greek Mythology

Drama
Drama comes from the Greek words meaning to do or to act. A play is a story acted out. It shows people going through some events in their lives, seriously or humorously. The speech and action of a play recreate the flow of human life. A play comes fully to life on the stage. Drama presents stories meant to be performed before an audience. Elements of Drama Essential elements of drama are found in any play that you see. You are presented with the elements of the drama considered by Aristotle as essentials to a good drama. They are: Plot: This is what happens in the play. Plot refers to the action or the basic storyline of the play. Theme: It refers to the meaning of the play. Theme is the main idea or lesson you will learn from the play. Characters : Characters are the people (sometimes animals or ideas) portrayed by the actors in the play. They move the action, or plot, of the play forward. Dialogue: This refers to the words written by the playwright and spoken by the characters in the play. The dialogue helps move the action of the play along.

Music/Rhythm : While music is often featured in the drama, in this case Aristotle was referring to the rhythm of the actors voices as they speak. Spectacle: This refers to the visual elements of a play: sets, costumes, special effects, etc. Spectacle is everything the audience sees as they watch the play. In modern theater, there are some changes but you notice that many of the elements remain the same. These are the elements of the drama in the modern theater: character, plot, theme, dialogue, convention, genre, audience. The additional elements are: Convention: These are the techniques and methods used by the playwright and director to create the desired stylistic effects. Genre : It refers to the type of play. Some examples of different genres include: comedy, tragedy, mystery, and historical play. Audience: This is the group of people who watch the play. The audience is considered by most playwrights and actors as the most important element of the drama as all of the effort put in to writing and producing a play is for the enjoyment of the audience. Stage directions : They tell actors how to say their lines and how to move on stage. Stage directions appear in brackets. The first direction tells an actor how to speak. The second direction tells an actor how to move. A drama is usually divided into acts or scenes. A new act or scene usually begins whenever the time or setting of the action changes.

GREEK LITERATURE AND MYTHOLOGY

This lesson covers the history of Greek literature and mythology. It discusses the origin of the Greek gods and goddesses and how they influence literature.

Objectives
At the end of the module, you should be able to: 1. discuss the development of Greek literature; 2. differentiate mythology from folktale; 3. distinguish the Olympian gods and goddesses. Early Greek Literature and the Greek Alphabet Greek literature developed because of the invention of the Greek alphabet. They benefited from this invention as it gave Homer the chance to record his two best epics: The Iliad and Odyssey. The two world famous epics give so many lessons to their readers like the pursuit of excellence among men and women, the depiction of the gods by Homer, the birth of the Olympic Games and the centrality of religion for communal

activity. The Greeks wrote a great deal, and a surprising amount of what they wrote is still available to us today, 2500 years later. Their writing is traditionally divided into types: the epic, poem, play, history, philosophical dialogues and treatises and legal speeches and political speeches. 1) the epic : Epic is a long poem which tells a story of a hero. Homer around 700 BC wrote two connected epics: the Iliad and the Odyssey. 2) the poem: Also around 700 BC, Hesiod wrote his famous poems: Theogony and Works and Days. There are also a number of shorter poems by Archilocus and Sappho from the 600s BC among others. Sappho's poems are the only surviving literature by a Greek woman. 3) the play: Plays are divided into tragedies and comedies. Tragedies are generally sad, while comedies are funny. The oldest tragedies that we still have were written by Aeschylus around 500 BC. We also have tragedies written by Sophocles around 450 BC and Euripides around 425 BC. Aristophanes wrote the oldest comedies that we still have today and were also written around 425 BC. Menander in around 350 BC wrote comedies later. Plays were also written in verse, like poems. 4) the history: About 400 BC, Thucydides wrote a history of the Peloponnesian War. After the Peloponnesian War, Xenophon wrote about his adventures as a mercenary soldier for the Persians. Polybius wrote a History of Rome in Greek during the Roman takeover of Greece. These are all written in prose (not in verse). 5) philosophical dialogues and treatises: The first written philosophy was written by Plato around 380 BC in the form of a kind of play, two or more people talking to each other. Later on both Plato and his student Aristotle wrote regular philosophical books, in prose without dialogues. 6) legal speeches and political speeches: The first speeches we have surviving are from the 300's BC. Greek Myths and World Folktales Literature is one of the most enjoyable human inventions. The long and lasting enjoyment we derive from it found in the earliest imaginative literature the ancient myth and tales about the beliefs, histories and delights of people from long ago. The word myth comes from the word mythos, a Greek word meaning story. For so many years, people all over the world have been telling stories. The stories that we read today have had affected by the Greek myths. By reading Greek myths-like those in this lesson- we help ourselves enjoy and understand the literature of our own time and place. Myth is a special kind of story, usually involving gods and goddesses. People created myths thousands of years ago to explain how the world worked and to show how human beings ought to act. Many myths were connected with celebrations and ceremonies. They were basic part of peoples lives and were passed along by word of mouth for many generations.

Like myths, folktales are stories told by folk, people who are not professional writers. Folktales, like myths, change as people tell and retell them over many generations. Unlike myths, they are not part of a collection of stories about gods and goddesses. Every century has its treasure of folk tales practical, enjoyable stories about ordinary people. The myths and folktales in this module are from Greece. They remind us that they have a way of expressing their customs, beliefs, ideals and attitudes in imaginative literature.

Importance of Greek Myth The cultures of the Greeks have been kept alive for so many years through mythology. Modern plays, novels, TV shows, movies and even advertisements refer to gods, goddesses, heroes, and their stories. Greek myth was very concerned with themes-overall moral or message. Greek legends have been favorite stories for many centuries. They are often mentioned by famous writers that it has become impossible to read widely in English, or in many other literatures without knowing what the best of the tales are about. Even though you do not believe in the Greek gods anymore, you enjoy hearing them because they appeal to your imagination. The Greeks thought all the forces of nature were spirits, so that the whole earth was filled with gods. Each river, each forest, even each great tree had its own god or nymph ( a minor nature goddess in the form of a beautiful young woman). In the forest lived the satyrs (spirits of the woods who were part man, part goat) who had pointed ears and shaggy legs of goats. In the waters danced thousands of green-haired, white limbed maidens. In the air rode, the wind god and the golden chariot of the sun. All these spirits like the forces of nature were beautiful and strong, but sometimes unreliable and unfair. Above everything, the Greeks felt that they were tremendously interested in mankind. From the ancient times, the Greeks began to create stories to account for the things that went on the change of seasons, the sudden storms or the good or bad fortune of the farmers every year. These tales were spread by travelers from one place to another. These were altered by poets and musicians but one thing is sure, the Greeks were able to create legends of their place and people. As you read this overview of the Greek gods and goddesses, take note that they are much more than ancient names on a list. They have personalities and responsibilities. They direct the forces of nature and govern the actions of human beings. They are the imaginative foundations upon which thousand stories were built.

There are 12 (13 if you count Hades) main gods that all lived on Mount Olympus in Greece-because of this, they were named the Olympians. They are the main characters in Greek Mythology. Greek Conception of God The Greeks conceived their gods as an expression of the disorder of the world in which they lived The Olympian gods, like the natural forces of sea and sky, follow their own will even to the extreme of conflict with each other, and always with a sublime disregard for human beings. Zeus [Jupiter] king of the gods He ruled over the gods. The God of the Sky, Lightning and Thunder. His symbol is the lightning bolt. His wife was Hera who did not stop him from having many children with many different women-mortal and immortal.

Hera [Juno] queen of the gods She was the wife of Zeus and his sister. She was not known as a nice woman. She often punished the women who had a relationship with her husband. She was in-charge of marriage and family. Her symbol was the peacock. Poseidon [Neptune] god of the sea He was a brother of Zeus and the twin brother of Hades. He was a fickle and difficult god to please. He was always represented with the trident. Hades [Pluto] god of the underworld He was the twin brother of Poseidon. Both Poseidon and he did not live in Mount Olympus. The only difference is their symbol or weapon. Hades wears the helm of invisibility while Zeus has the lightning bolt and Poseidon has the trident. Although he is not technically an Olympian God , he is a major Greek God. Ares [Mars]-god of War, Hatred, and Bloodshed Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera. He is considered murderous and bloodstained but, also a coward. Apollo [Apollo]-god of Light and Sun, Prophecy, Music, and Poetry Apollo was the twin brother of Artemis. Apollo was the more important. He was a very complex and powerful god. He was in charge of Delphi, Oracles, and Prophecy. His symbol is the lyre--early form of the harp. Artemis [Diana]-goddess of children , the hunt and agriculture She was also the silver moon goddess, was a goddess of unmarried girls and huntress of wild beasts in the mountains. She also could send deadly arrows from her silver bow. Artemis is Apollos twin. Athena [Minerva] -goddess of wisdom, strategic battle She was heavily involved in the naming of Athens, and was made a patron of the place. She was born from Zeuss own head. She was a very strong-willed and powerful goddess. Always wore helmet and breastplate, and carried a spear. Aphrodite [Venus]-goddess of love and beauty She was born from the foam near the island of Cyprus (foam= aphros in Greek). She was married to Hephaestus. Like Zeus, she often had relationships outside of her marriage. Hephaestus [Vulcan]-god of Fire and the Forge Hephaestus is the son of Zeus and Hera. It was believed that it was Hera who just brought him to this world. He was the only god to be physically ugly. He was lame, but a smith and an armorer. He used volcano as his forge. He is the god of fire, but kind and loving.

Hermes [Mercury] -god of Travelers and Thieves He was also the messenger of the gods. He wore golden, winged sandals which carried him dry-shod over the sea and land. He darted down from the peaks of Olympus like a kingfisher dropping to catch a fish, or came running down the sloping sunbeams bearing messages from Zeus to men. Mortal eyes were too weak to behold the dazzling beauty of

the immortals; consequently the messages of Zeus usually came in dreams. Hermes was also called god of sleep, and of thieves because they prowl by night. Healing was another of his powers. His rod, a staff entwined by two snakes, is commonly used as a symbol of medicine. Demeter [Ceres]-Goddess of Seasons, Grain, Fertility She was one of the most powerful goddesses. She was goddess of corn, grain, and the harvest. She made winter and spring. Her daughter--Persephone--was kidnapped by Hades. Dionysus [Bacchus]- god of wine As a god of wine, he was also the god of intoxication, madness, inspiration and prophecy, theater, and revelry. He was also the patron god of the art of theater. He was the son of Zeus and the mortal Semele, a Theban woman. He was the youngest Olympian, too. His symbols include the grapevine, ivy, cup, tiger, panther, leopard, dolphin and goat. Eros [Cupid] god of love He was the mischievous god of love, a minion and constant companion of the goddess Aphrodite. He was also worshipped as a fertility deity. The Greeks have left us many stories about their gods that it hardly would be possible for everyone to know them all. We can still enjoy them because they are good stories. In spite of their great age we can still understand them because they are about nature and about people. We still need them to enrich our knowledge of our own language and of the great masterpieces of literature