Show r 1 4 1 4 t THE TUE HERALDS Home Study Circle 4 1519 t by Seymour Seyour Eaton o 4 I Directed by Prof Seymour Eaton t SeyoU Eton 4 4 f 4 GOLDEN GLE AGES AGE OF LITERATURE VT THE GREEK GRE DEAHA DR BY CHAS C FOSTER SMITH PH D The drama dra is an original orgina creation creton of ot the Green genius Here as in mao inso so many other othar forms of ot literature the Greeks Greek were without models According to Aristotle the claimed came to lave ilav Invented the drama the axis ans as tragedy the comedy and the very ver name drama by which the Dorans designated action acton waa wati w appealed to in proof The Greek Gre drama grew gew out iut ut of or the celebration of ot the adventures and suf ref terin of the god of ot who was wa regarded as a the representative of ot the reproductive powers of nature his suf sur suffering feting fering symbolizing the decay d cay and ad sleep cold and ad storms of or nature In winter his joys the reawakening of nature natura in inthe Inthe inthe the spring Of or the three thre kinds knas of dra drama drama I ma tragedy was named goat song either because beus a goat was originally the prize given gien or more probably be because becse because cause the chorus consisted com of ot satyrs disguised as goats Comedy moans mons either village viage song or more mor probably song sn of the comas comus or revel band The Th satyr sty drama dra named from Its Is chorus of or satyrs atYs and taking Its Is subjects subject from mythology held Its is place after ater tragedy and comedy had borrowed most of its functions probably ly through a a sort of o religious conservatism Dramatic representations were ere no not given at Athens Athen at any and all an times as a nowadays but at the festivals of ot the god of wine Tragedy was wa admit admitted admitted admitted ted to the public festivals at Athens othen In B C comedy seventy years eal later The The chief glory of the greater glater Dionysia In the month was the new tragedies exhibited Then Athens made mae holiday before her allies flies whose tribute was battle batte of or Platea Athens Athen which had borne bore the brunt brnt brnt of the war wa was wa In ruins ruis her walls wails ls and o temples disman dismantled tied ted and ad her be territory laid waste wate Just fifty years e later Pericles Perce died In that tat short period prOd Athens Athe had become the art center of ot the ancient world tragedy had culminated and ad war wa already show showIng big Ing In signs sig of f decays decay deay and comedy had hd reached its it acme under In n English literature there ther Is almost a perfect parallel In the speedy and ad splendid development of or the drama d from Marlowe to Shakespeare In Greek Gre tragedy there are but hut two tW supremely great get names besides beides Aeschylus lus lusIe 1 e a Sophocles and Euripides Aeschylus Is said to have written nine ninety ninety ninety ty plays Sophocles 13 Euripides Eurpides nine Of these have come down to toUs toUs tous Us from Aeschylus and Sophocles only seven each and ad from Euripides eight eighteen een the Agamemnon and thus of and ad the Antigone and Oedipus of ot Sophocles belonging long unquestionably to the great greatest ge est eat dramas of ot all aU time In the te Prometheus the Titan Tit who In defiance deface of ot the tyranny of ot Zenus has brought fire to mortals moras suffers such punishment as a only a god gd could de devise de I vise or a a demigod endure endur Everything Is on a a colossal scale the other char characters characters aters being gods or demigods carI the chorus sea se nymphs and the scene the te bare bare cliffs of the Caucasus mountains i What Wat means me Aeschylus found to effect a reconciliation justifying both Prometheus theus thetis teus and ad Zeus we can only guess ge since the other plays plas of the he trilogy are lost lost But Aeschylus reverent piety would not have hae been satisfied with wih anything less and the whole was wa doubtless quite quie different from Shelleys magnificent treatment of the same problem problem I IThe The Agamemnon Agamennon gaeton which belongs belong to i ithe the only extant complete trilogy deals dels the his with murder of or Agamemnon on hi return from Troy by his queen Cly OF ATHENS RESTORED then brought by representatives J io to I i Athens Athen before delegates from all al other Greek Grek cities clie and before the whole as assembly o of her own citizens At the th in br ary which was waa more of a home festi festival f sU sUval val comedy had chief place At Athe the country Dionysia Iri in December usual usually ly only plays were given n which had been already exhibited In the city ci The greater Dionysia like Uke a modern wo e mil steal festival lasted only ji p few days ilaya three thre or four and on each eh J day dav ay reg regularly rec ulu ly three tragedies one one comedy and andone andone andone oney one satyr were exhibited which with wih the dithyramb and ad other musical fea features features features tures made me a very ver full day If I a poet wished to exhibit at the greater geter Dionysia he applied to the chief archon arhon if i at the to the second archon for tor a chorus If I his re request request quest ques was waa granted there was wa assigned ed him a who chose from the t e singers singer of or his tribe a chorus had these thee trained by the poet or chorus leader and provided for tor their maintenance and costumes This liturgy asit was called cUe was waa at once a a burden nod and an honor and was wa often ofen performed with wih great gret I magnificence and expense The cho chorus chortis I Ir rus r consisting in tragedy of ot twelve I I later ater fifteen persons In comedy of i executed dance dace move move movements j I ments strophe and antistrophe as I they thet Sang sag and Indispensable accompaniments I were the flute player and and the lyrist The three actors original originally l lly ly one Increased by bt Aeschylus to two by ly Sophocles to three distributed all aU aUthe the roles among amon them the parts part of wo women women women men being taken taen by nen e The actors were allotted to the parts and paid pid by bythe bythe bythe the state In the costumes of at the trag tragic tr trIe tragIc ic Ie actors especially characteristic were the long flowing robes the buskin or boot bt and the imposing headdress and mask mak the whole being intended to t lend dignity and increase the stature staure For comedy characteristic was the or low lowshoe lowshoe lowshoe shoe but the dress dres was more like Uke that of ot everyday life There was not much opportunity for action acion on the Greek Grek stage and none for play of feature so that the prime requisite requite for tor an actor was waa a a fine musical voice The audi audience ence enc at Athens Athen numbering 2000 to and sitting in the open air had sensitive ears ea so that the actor must have a distinct musical voice YO ice which could carry far The people whose feeling for rhythm was wa probably as nice as a that of modern musical audi audiences audience audiences ence for for time would storm if it the meter was w spoiled spied a quantity missed a syllable dropped or an accent mis misplaced misplace misplaced placed place The antique Greek theatre consisted in the main of ot two to parts the auditori auditorium um urn or theatre proper and the oval or round rund orchestra for tor the evolutions of the chorus chorus As A dramatic spectacles were given give tn p the open air the Greeks generally availed themselves of ot the side of or a hill nU so shaped as a to constitute a sort of natural amphitheatre At Athens the theatre of ot Dionysus occupied occupied occupied pied the southeast slope of the Acropolis his lis where the spectators sat with lh their backs baks to the Acropolis and ad their faces faes toward towar Mount and the sea Aisles Ailes radiating from the center cente en enabled the spectators to reach reh the rows of t marble benches ben he The part re reserved served seved for for the thc movements of the ac actors actor tots tors tor whether higher higer than tha or on a level with wit the orchestra was was small smal actors actor were few tew The Te back ba of the stage represented In tragedy a temple or pal pai palace ace ae in comedy a privat house or a street The scenery scene was wa simple con consisting consisting of or hangings or painted panted wood woodwork wo woodwork work work and ad triangular revolving prisms at either side properly decorated fa fit facilitated change of scene The cur curtain curtin tain tin tam was w pulled up not let down The Tile subjects of ot tragedy were taken tae from mythology or mythical history and the persons were the gods or demigods and anti antiheroes heroes of at the race rade ra the main man outlines of ot the story being bing always away known how to the audience aude e Tragedy Tody was wa really rUy a a religious religions ious ions Iou celebration Comedy on the te ther hand had represented not the solemn but the frolicsome spirit of ot the season sen and the subjects and characters were taken from used used daily daly life le as was ws the language In marked contrast with Athenian lateness of ot development in general gener was the sudden growth of or the drama In Inthe Inthe Inthe the early part pa of the fifth century co coincided coincided erY an era em of great get national activity aU ity and ad a great gt national audience that th thas was Iy as the heir hair of or all aU the acquirements of or the race We know the names nae but little more moe of or several of or the h earlier dramatists but the te real rent father tather and ad founder foun er of or tragedy dy was wi who was wa born br in 52 B C and ad fought In Jn the Persian Peria wars lr ID Jo after ate att the J The characters character are all aU hu human humah man mah and the character drawing Is clear clea and ad powerful outdoes outdo Lady Macbeth on her bel own ground goud and ad the th scene In which the captive prophetess atom etess etc Cassandra Cassndra goes io to her death is I without a parallel for effectiveness In Inthe Inthe inthe the Greek Grek drama The whole is a great masterpiece and doubtless stamps Aeschylus as a one of ot the half hat dozen greatest poets ets of the world The Oedipus Tyrannus of Sophocles powerfully sets set forth the successive steps by which the prosperous King Oedipus O discovers dl cover that he has nitwit unwittingly tingly murdered his own father and ad be become become come the parent of children by his hi own mother moter The inevitable way in which the action moves straight and uadia undistracted tred toward the catastrophe doubt doubtless doubtless doubtless less justifies Aristotle Aristote in treating the Oedipus Tyrannus as a the type tye of the highest Greek tragedy Antigone the daughter of this same Oedipus is in Sophocles hands hads the most mot interesting woman In Greek Grek liter literature ler literature and ad hence this is the most mos cel celebrated Greek drama drama She defies the th law Jaw of the land Iad in burying buring the corpse corse of her brother and suffers martyrdom in consequence It Is Im lm Impossible Impossible possible to conceive of loftier ofer language than her defiance of ot Creon Nor did I deem dem they edicts strong enough That thou a mortal morl man over overpass overpass pass The unwritten change chanse chane ps laws of ot God that tat know not They are not of today toty nor yesterday But B live Jve forever foreve Of the three great tragic poets poet Aeschylus is the poetic genius The legend that the god Dionysus di directed rented the te boy in a vision slon to devote himself to the tragedy might well have been true true A very demiurge he Is Isle isale ele elemental mental menta of sublime im mi imaginative power creator of ot the most splendid lyrics The masterful selu of at his C the plastic plato beauty of his Iphigenia the sublime un unyieldingness of his Prometheus these things and many more place him among ancient poets pots perhaps second only ony to Homer Sophocles had perhaps the happiest lot among the ancients health beauty wealth victory victor with wih his first frt tragedy anti an the primacy priay In letters leters for foran all an his sixty years thereafter such re repute repute repute for gentleness as to make him the Idol of ot the people and for good goo judg judgment I meat ment met as a to Induce the populace to elect him general generl and counselor And Ad so he was wa the te nt fit ft exponent artistic and ad spiritual of the age of Pericles Very Ver different from both was wa Euri Eurl Euripides the lonely thinker philosophical radical Innovator in poetry and music prophet of or a cosmopolitan humanity kinsman of ot the troubled spirits spirit of ot all al ages age forerunner of ot romantic drama most Jost appreciative of or feminine worth I realist and ad so s bringing his characters down dow Into the te everyday atmosphere I and ad hence charged with wih replacing the heroic by the te sensational He is seen at his best in such plays as a The Alcestis and Iphigenia In I Both Aeschylus Ae and Euripides are nearer to us that Sophocles The I Hebrew Scriptures have hae prepared us for Aeschylus whom we recognize as I akin to Job and Isaiah IaIa through his more modern moer spirit we can apprehend Euripides most readily Qt all aU Sophocles I ales cles ce is i an a Athenian of ot Athenians and ad adI fully to appreciate him hm we must mut be beI b become I I come in a sense j I Good Goo translations are and andi ad adI i Miss MiS of or Ae hylus Plump Ires tres of Aeschylus and ad las CamP CamPI Campbells I bells beUs of or Sophocles Ways Way s of or Euripides Euripide j I and most excellent versions of single 1 plays plas might be mentioned e g Brown BrownI Bro BroI I lugs ings Alcestis Alcestia and Her HerI Hercules I ings cules cule To be read red ha lii l conner connection eone I tion ton therewith may be recommended i besides beide the histories of or Greek litera literature Iture ture I tur chapters in Jebbs Classical Greek Poetry Symonds S monds Greek Po PoI Poeta I ets eta Social Life In Greece Gree Ancient Classical Drama etc et There Tere were many comedians comedia before Magnes Crates Cant Cratl Crt nus and others but for us comedy means mon primarily He belongs belon to the second half hlf of ot the fifth century was a a contemporary and ad cordial hater of Euripides and ad left comedies of ot which eleven elevena are a extant He represents what bt called caled old comedy i e personal and ana at political satire and was ws the great geat bur burlesque burlesque lesque leue critic of Athens Demagogues I like Cleon Ceon philosophers like Socrates poets pt like Uke Euripides were ridiculed and andI ad I maligned When Wen liberty of ot personal per sat satire satIre satire ire was wa somewhat curtailed by b law lW or taste tae was wa changing tended toward tow what was afterward called cled new comedy or the te comedy of manners maners But the te great gat exi in inthis IntI inthis this tI field fed was w of ot whom not a complete play ts is i extant ett though we have adaptations of his h comedies In I the Latin of or Plautus and ad Terrence Aria Aris Ais was wa and ad remains doubtless the greatest comic poet of the te world word but the comedy chiefly f and ad the moderns mode again have learned lee it i especially from Plautus agn and ad Terence so that tat the comedy of ot the coe lost lot has been be not less far reaching in its it Influence than that tat of ot |