Renaissance Tragedy Why not change things up?
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Renaissance Tragedy
Why not change things up?
Classic Tragedy with a Twist
Like many writers of the Renaissance,
Shakespeare found inspiration in the classics,
looking to the Greeks as masters of the
tragedy.
The Renaissance playwrights revived many
classic forms, including tragedy, as well as
storylines.
Classic Tragedy with a Twist
Renaissance tragedies end with a morbid twist:
the protagonist dies. This is in stark contrast
with Greek tragedies in which the protagonist
often lives.
Tragic Forms
During the Renaissance, various forms of the
tragedy emerged:
Tragedy of circumstance
Tragedy of miscalculation
Revenge tragedy
Tragedy of Circumstance
Most tragedies of circumstance deal with some form of a
monarch who is born into a certain circumstance rather
than choosing it.
Hamlet, for example, is born as the Prince of Denmark.
His uncle, Claudius, chooses to marry Hamlet’s mother in
an effort to grab the throne.
The tragedy in this type revolves around circumstance
rather than a character’s decision.
The basis of Hamlet’s tragedy lies in his circumstance,
not his choice.
Tragedy of Miscalculation
The basis of this tragedy lies directly in a choice
made by a character. Macbeth, for example,
despite having taken the witches’ warning to
heart, plots with Lady Macbeth to kill Duncan,
the king of Scotland. This proves to be a serious
miscalculation when Duncan’s son returns with
an army to avenge his father’s murder, resulting
in the death of the Macbeths.
Look for a serious miscalculation in the end of
“Hamlet.”
Revenge Tragedy
Revenge tragedies often combine elements of
both circumstance and miscalculation.
Revenge tragedies became quite popular
during the Renaissance. “Hamlet” has many
features of the popular revenge tragedies of
the day.
Influences on Renaissance Tragedy
Aristotle
Seneca
Medieval drama: Miracle and Morality Plays
Seneca
Introduced the five-act structure
Introduced the use of a chorus to comment on
rather than participate in the action
Stock characters: ghost; cruel tyrant; faithful
male servant; female confidante
Violent acts often reported by messenger
rather than acted out on stage
Sensational themes, often leading to revenge
and retribution
Seneca
High rhetorical style
Hyperbole: extreme exaggeration for effect
Aphorism: Concise statement of a principle: “Life is short.”
Epigram: A wise saying, often antithetical: “Man proposes but God disposes.”
Stichomythia: Repartee which resembles a verbal fencing match; words are echoed and repeated.
Soliloquy: Speech delivered while character is alone (solus) intended to communicate his thoughts
Seneca
The Senecan influence caused Elizabethan
drama to move from an exposition of events
or even the play as an allegory for life to a way
to explore human emotion, why we do the
things we do.
Seneca
Seneca was a famous Roman playwright. His plays
were notable for bloody events and a high body
count. In some of Shakespeare’s plays ( Julius Caesar), a lot of bloody conflict occurs off stage.
Seneca’s influence created the expectation that a
good Elizabethan tragedy would involve the death of
the protagonist.
The Three Unities
This notion is straight from Aristotle. In their
neoclassical form, they include
Unity of action: action of the play should include
one main action with few sub-plots.
Unity of place: the action should include one
place and the stage should represent one place
Unity of time: the action of the play should occur
during a period no more than a day.
Shakespeare clearly moves away from this notion as
is clear in Hamlet.
Renaissance Tragedy: Classical Influence
Altered the classical three act structure to five acts.
Included three characters of noble rank
Play should begin in medias res (in the middle of things)
Use noble language
Violence in general should occur off-stage
Medieval Drama
Refers to the drama of the Middle Ages
Grew out of the church and liturgy
Began as tropes, musical liturgies sung in Latin
that told the story of the Resurrection
Sung or spoken by priests who played angels
and the three Marys at the tomb of Christ
Renaissance Tragedy: Medieval Influence
The tropes moved out of the church. They
were performed outside the church and in the
vernacular.
The trade guilds became the acting troupes
which took over the productions.
Medieval Drama: Mystery Plays
Great “cycles” emerged that told the plan of
salvation from Creation to Judgment Day.
This served as the Church’s way to explain the
stories of the Bible to its illiterate people.
These plays became known as mystery plays.
Medieval Drama: Miracle Plays
Other plays depicting the lives of the saints
and the miracles performed by the saints
(especially Mary) emerged around 1100.
These are called miracle plays.
Medieval Drama: Morality Plays
Morality plays emerged later, around 1400.
These were allegories, in which abstract
virtues (mercy, justice) appeared personified
and competed for a human soul.
Dramatization of a moral allegory.
Medieval Drama: Interludes
Developed in late 15th and early 16th century.
Word play brief enough to be performed in an
interval of a play, performance, or feast.
Featured realistic detail and treatment of
material.
Focused on witty word play.
Moved drama away from the spiritual,
didactic tone of the miracle, mystery, and
morality plays.
Medieval Drama: Cycle Plays
Played outdoors on pageant wagons. Think
Macy’s Thanksgiving parade.
Later played on outdoor stages. The crowd
moved from stage to stage.
Three themes:
Old Testament: Creation to the Prophets
New Testament: Birth of Christ
Death and Resurrection of Christ
Medieval Drama: Cycle Plays
Became so secularized that the Church
disapproved.
Introduced comic elements.
Added scenes unnecessary to the dramatic
action.
Beginning of comic relief.
Related Documents
