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Structure of Greek Tragedy
Structure of Greek Tragedy
Aeschylus
Sophocles
Euripides
525-455 BCE
497-406 BCE
480-406 BCE
Many of the plays are lost and we can only estimate the number of times that these
tragedians won based on other records kept at the time. Of the estimated 123 plays
that Sophocles wrote only 7 exist today in their entirety.
It is important to note that one win at the City Dionysia = 4 successful plays.
Therefore for Sophocles, the 24 times he won is actually equivalent to 96 plays!
(However, lack of sources may mean that some of these wins were actually at other
festivals)
Ancient Greek tragedians followed a basic formula for their performances although
the tragedians modified this structure, adding more/less episodes and
increasing/decreasing the importance of the chorus as they saw fit.
The Prologue opening scene of the tragedy where the theme is revealed
The Parodos entrance of the Chorus who often provide the context/background
Exodus conclusion of the play and where the Chorus leave the stage.
In Antigone there are 5 episodes meaning that the structure of the play looks like
this:
Prologue
Parodos
Episode One
First Stasimon
Episode Two
Second Stasimon
Episode Three
Third Stasimon
Episode Four
Forth Stasimon
Episode Five
Fifth Stasimon
Exodus