MAJOR: CREATIVE WRITING

• Greek Classicism


  • Plays and performances were staged in amphitheaters
  • Amphitheaters were marked by a round stage surrounded by the audience
  • Actors could hardly be seen from far back, so they spoke in a loud, declamatory voice and used large gestures
  • Actors wore masks and symbolic costumes
  • The chorus played a vital part as narrators and advisors
  • The stage scenery was neutral, accompanied by the real landscape
  • Plays were performed in broad daylight
  • Plays were originally performed on religious occasions, with a ritual, symbolic and didactic purpose
  • The audience consisted only of free men, excluding slaves and women
• Middle Ages


  • Plays were primarily performed during religious festivities like mystery and morality plays
  • Plays were presented on wagons or pageant stages, travelling from place to place
  • Acting combined serious renditions with stand-up comedy and bawdy scenes
  • Actors performed considering the everyday experiences of the viewers
  • There was more interaction between audience and actors
• Renaissance England


  • The most common stage form was the apron stage, surrounded by the audience on three sides
  • It was still an open-air theater with lack of artificial lighting, so daylight was necessary
  • The stage set was often empty while costumes could be very elaborate
  • Scenes could change very quickly due to lack of scenery
  • Plays combined various subject matters and modes to appeal to a wide audience
• Restoration Period


  • Theaters and stages were smaller, with performances held in closed rooms using artificial lighting
  • The audience was seated in a fully illuminated room, so the division between audience and actors was not as clear-cut
  • Plays had the status of a cultural event, with the audience belonging primarily to higher social classes
  • Plays did not aim at creating a sense of realism, as there was no curtain and scene changes took place on stage
• Comedy


  Aims at entertaining and making the audience laugh, assuring a positive outcome
• Tragedy


  Typically ends in a catastrophe, trying to raise the audience's concern and confront them with serious action and conflicts, usually involving the death and tragic loss of the main characters
• Types of Comedy


  • Romantic Comedy
  • Satiric Comedy
  • Comedy of Manners
  • Farce
  • Comedy of Humors
  • Melodrama
• Romantic Comedy


  Involves extraordinary circumstances like magic, dreams, and the fairy-world, portraying the struggle of lovers to come together
• Satiric Comedy


  Has a critical purpose, usually attacking philosophical notions, political practices, and deviations from social norms, with the aim of making the audience 'laugh at' the characters
• Comedy of Manners


  Takes the sophisticated behavior of higher social classes under scrutiny, with the plot usually revolving around love or amorous intrigues
• Farce


  Often has an unlikely plot and typically provokes the audience to hearty laughter by presenting highly exaggerated and caricatured types of characters, utilizing sexual mix-ups, verbal humor, and physical comedy
• Comedy of Humors


  Based on the notion that a person's character or temperament is ascertained by the predominance of one of the four humors (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile)
• Melodrama


  A combination of romantic or sensational plots with musical elements, aiming at a violent appeal to audience emotions and usually having a happy ending
• Types of Tragedy


  • Senecan Tragedy
  • Revenge Tragedy/Tragedy of Blood
  • Domestic/Bourgeois Tragedy
  • Tragicomedy
• Senecan Tragedy


  The tragedies were recited rather than staged, with a five-act structure, a complex story, and an elevated style of dialogue
• Revenge Tragedy/Tragedy of Blood

  Made extensive use of elements like murder, revenge, mutilations, and ghosts, as well as artificial or real madness in some characters, and dumb shows or play-within-play structures
• Domestic/Bourgeois Tragedy


  Shifted the spotlight to protagonists from the middle or lower classes, with the protagonist typically enduring domestic disasters that aim to arouse empathy rather than pity and fear
• Tragicomedy


  Intermingles conventions concerning story, character, and themes derived from both tragedy and comedy, with multiple plots combining tragedy and comedy
• Amphitheaters


  Round stage surrounded by the audience, where plays and performances were staged in ancient Greece.
• Actors' performance style


  Actors spoke in a loud, declamatory voice and used large gestures. They also wore masks and symbolic costumes.
• Chorus


  A group of performers who served as narrators and advisors in Greek dramas.
• Stage scenery


  The stage scenery was kept neutral, with the real landscape serving as the backdrop.
• Performance timing


  Plays were performed in broad daylight, making use of natural light.
• Purpose of performances


  Plays were originally performed on religious occasions, with a ritual, symbolic, and didactic purpose.
• Audience


  The audience consisted only of free men, excluding slaves and women.
• Greek Classicism


  • Plays and performances were staged in amphitheaters
  • Amphitheaters were marked by a round stage surrounded by the audience
  • Actors could hardly be seen from far back, so they spoke in a loud, declamatory voice and used large gestures
  • Actors wore masks and symbolic costumes
  • The chorus played a vital part as narrators and advisors
  • Stage scenery was neutral, accompanied by the real landscape
  • Plays were performed in broad daylight
  • Plays were originally performed on religious occasions, with a ritual, symbolic and didactic purpose
  • The audience consisted only of free men, excluding slaves and women
• Middle Ages

  • Plays were primarily performed during religious festivities like mystery plays and morality plays
  • Plays were presented on wagons or pageant stages, travelling from place to place
  • Acting combined serious renditions with stand-up comedy and bawdy scenes
  • Actors performed considering the everyday experiences of the viewers
  • There was more interaction between audience and actors
• Renaissance England


  • The most common stage form was the apron stage, surrounded by the audience on three sides
  • Actors could not ignore the viewers
  • Performances took place in broad daylight, so the audience had to imagine night scenes
  • The stage set was often empty, but costumes could be very elaborate
  • Scenes could change very quickly
  • Plays combined various subject matters and modes to appeal to a wide audience
• Restoration Period


  • Theaters and stages were smaller, with performances held in closed rooms using artificial lighting
  • The audience was seated in a fully illuminated room, so the division between audience and actors was not as clear-cut
  • Plays were a cultural event for the higher social classes
  • Plays did not aim at creating a sense of realism, as there was no curtain and scene changes took place on stage
• Comedy

  Aims at entertaining and making the audience laugh, assuring a positive outcome
• Tragedy


  Typically ends in a catastrophe, trying to raise the audience's concern and confront them with serious action and conflicts, usually involving the death and tragic loss of the main characters
• The Roman poet Seneca (4 BC – 65 AD) is the precursor of tragic drama
• Revenge Tragedies made extensive use of elements like murder, revenge, mutilations, and ghosts, and used artificial or real madness in some characters and dumb shows or play-within-play structures
• Domestic/Bourgeois Tragedies shifted the spotlight to protagonists from the middle or lower classes, written in prose, and aimed to arouse empathy rather than pity and fear
• Tragicomedies intermingle conventions concerning story, character and themes derived from both tragedy and comedy