Drama & Poetry !

1) a) Tragedy was important Aristotle. A lot of Aristotle ideas come from Greek Tragedy. These ideas from Greek Tragedy helped shaped Aristotle and his plays. According to Martin and Jacobus, “For Aristotle, the tragic hero quests for truth” (215). Aristotle uses tragic heroes in his plays. He also uses the idea of climax from Greek Tragedy which is the “moment or truth” (Martin and Jacobus 215). These are just a few of examples of how Aristotle uses Greek Tragedy in his plays.

b) There is a difference between “old comedy” and “new comedy” to the Greeks. According to Martin and Jacobus, “Old Comedy is associated with our modern farce, burlesque, and the broad humor and make-believe violence of slapstick” (228). Old Comedy is found a lot in standup comedy. On the other hand, Martin and Jacobus explains New Comedy as being “suave and subtle” (228). New Comedy also, has type characters. This is where the ideas of good and bad stereotypes come into play. These stereotypes just like in modern days their characters can be predicted.

2) Both, “willing suspension of disbelief” and “aesthetic distance” is important to the audience. Coleridge was the first come who came up with the term “willing suspension of disbelief.” Martin and Jacobus explains “willing suspension of disbelief” that “we must agree to imagine that the events onstage are actually occurring in ancient Greece or Denmark” (219). In order for this to happen the director of the play must do their part as well. There are certain ways the actors must act and the decorations must make one feel that they are in Greece or Denmark. This is important to the audience because the viewer is taken from where they are into another place in the world. Some people have a hard time separating what is real and what isn’t. This is called “aesthetic distance.”  This is a very important trait for the audience to have. One might try to help the actors because they know things that don’t know. For example, the audience might know where Peter is. His wife many be looking for him and an audience member that doesn’t have “aesthetic distance” might try to tell the actor where Peter is. It is important to be moved by a play but one has to know what is real and what isn’t.

3) Greek amphitheater: The Greek amphitheater was designed with all of the viewers in mind. The layout allowed everyone to be able to see and hear what was going on the stage.

Elizabethan stage: The Elizabethan has a wooden roof on top of it unlike the Greek amphitheater. The middle of the stage was open to sky. This was a place that the lower class went for their entrainment. 

Proscenium theater: The Proscenium theater is different from the Greek amphitheater and Elizabethan stage because it “framed” the audience allowing them “more directly spatially and, in turn, perhaps, emotionally” (Martin and Jacobus 224).

4)

Rhythm- “The Tyger” by William Blake is a great example of how rhythm. The poem is about a tiger. The poem has a tiger type rhythm to it. The reader can almost see and feel the tiger romping through the forest. The poems follows a iambic type rhythmic pattern.

Imagery- “Arms And The Boy” by Wilfred Owen there are many examples of imagery. Owen is trying to teach us that boys have to learn how to kill. In the first line of the first stanza the reader gets an image of a boy with a “bayonet-blade.” In the second stanza the reader see the comparison of “cartridges” to teeth. The third stanza the reader sees the boy wanting to eat a apple. The boy is not a natural born killer.

Speaker- “Ballard Of The Landlord” by Langston Hughes is a great example of speaker. This poem has three speakers in it. The first five stanzas is the tenant speaking to the landlord. The six stanza is the landlord speaking to the police. The police however only says on word at the end of the six stanza “Arrest.” The last stanza is the news reporter speaking. There are many different speakers in this one poem.

5) In “That Time of Year” the reader sees a lot of imagery that can be related to a symbol. The use of imagery in this poem helps the reader see that this guy in the poem is in love with a younger woman. In the beginning of the poem the reader get the images of “yellow leaves.” The reader also, can see and hear the where Shakespeare says “sweet birds sang.” I get the picture of fall time. Shakespeare then talks about the “setting sun.” This is related to the old man’s age and that his life is coming to an end.  I can picture a sun setting and it becoming nighttime. Shakespeare then talks about the “glowing” fire. I picture the passion that is inside of this man for this younger woman. It is becoming clear to the reader just how much he cares about this woman. In the indented couplet lines at the end of the poem we change from him to her. The reader gets the image that this woman cares about this younger man as well.  Throughout this poem the reader can see the love between these two people.

6) A symbol is a deeper meaning of a word. Words can have negative or positive connotations. According to Martin and Jacobus, a “symbol is a further use of metaphor. Being a metaphor, it is a comparison of between two things, but unlike most perceptual and conceptual metaphors, only one of the things compared is clearly stated” (208). The function of a symbol in literature is to make the reader think about what the writer is trying to say. In “The Sick Rose” by William Blake the word rose can have multiple meanings. An allusion is an opinion of a word. There can be different opinions of symbols in poems. Each reader can have a different symbol for one word. The word rose had many different allusions for what could stand for including: love, women, Puritans, politician, or England.