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PART 1
GREEK THEATRE
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Introduction to Greek Theatre
When drama emerged in Athens in the late sixth century BC, it was the first organised theatre in the western tradition. Indeed, it is fair to say that drama is one of ancient Greece’s greatest gifts to civilisation, and one which has had a profound impact on the development of European drama ever since. One cannot fully understand the works of playwrights such as Shakespeare, Molière or Goethe without understanding the tradition from which they emerged. Athenian drama therefore continues to cast a long shadow today.
However, it is not just the influence which is important. The plays which have survived from the fifth century – some forty-three in all – continue to confuse, challenge and entertain today. In that sense, they are timeless. It is likely that whenever you are studying this course there will be more than one ancient Greek play being performed somewhere in the UK. Why do these plays continue to be performed? The short answer is that they engage with issues which we still wrestle with today, such as the conflict between the individual and the state, the nature of human relationships, the transience of human happiness and the nature of human suffering. Every human society has had to engage with issues such as these, and the Athenians managed to do so to a remarkable depth in their theatre.
This component asks you to read three great ancient plays, each written by a different playwright: two are tragedies (Oedipus the King and Bacchae) and one is a comedy (Frogs). Moreover, the component will allow you to learn about the dramatic culture in which they were first produced – at religious festivals in large theatres. In some ways, an ancient performance was very different from our own experience of watching a play today, and it is important to appreciate this. When we truly engage with an ancient play, we cannot but be enriched by it.
General bibliography
Cartledge, P. (1990). Aristophanes and his Theatre of the Absurd (London: Bloomsbury Academic).
Csapo, E. and W.J. Slater (1994). The Context of Ancient Drama (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan).
Dugdale, E. (2008). Greek Theatre in Context (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Easterling, P.E. (ed.), (1997). The Cambridge Companion to Greek Tragedy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Gregory, J. (2005). A Companion to Greek Tragedy (Oxford: Blackwell).
Revermann. M. (ed.), (2014). The Cambridge Companion to Greek Comedy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Scodel, R. (2010). An Introduction to Greek Tragedy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Storey, I.C. and A. Allan (2013). A Guide to Ancient Greek Drama, Blackwell Guides to Classical Literature (Chichester: John Wiley & Sons).
Wiles, D. (2000). Greek Theatre Performance: An Introduction (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
EXAM OVERVIEW: AS LEVEL H008/21
Your assessment is a written examination testing AO1 and AO2. It is
50% of the AS Level 1 hr 30 mins 65 marks
32 marks will test AO1: demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
•literature, visual/material culture and classical thought
•how sources and ideas reflect, and influence, their cultural contexts
•possible interpretations of sources, perspectives and ideas by different audiences and individuals
33 marks will test AO2: critically analyse, interpret and evaluate literature, visual/material culture, and classical thought, using evidence to make substantiated judgements and produce coherent and reasoned arguments.
The examination will consist of two sections.
All questions in Section A are compulsory. There are three question types:
•short-answer questions
•8-mark stimulus question using the prescribed sources
•16-mark essay
Section B has one question type:
•25-mark essay
There is a choice of one from two essays.
EXAM OVERVIEW: A LEVEL H408/21
Your assessment is a written examination testing AO1 and AO2. It is
30% of the A Level 1 hr 45 mins 75 marks
35 marks will test AO1: demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
•literature, visual/material culture and classical thought
•how sources and ideas reflect, and influence, their cultural contexts
•possible interpretations of sources, perspectives and ideas by different audiences and individuals
40 marks will test AO2: critically analyse, interpret and evaluate literature, visual/material culture, and cla...
