DRAMA

THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH DRAMA (OLD PERIOD)

Lecturer: Dr. Hj Nurhaeda Gailea, M.Hum

Directed By:

1. Sari Vani Vatmaulia 2223170001

2. Anisa Cholifah 2223170019
3. Siti Sofiyatul Janah 2223170034
4. Muhammad Rahman Ramadhan 2223170040
5. Yasinda Kania Afsari 2223170049
6. Mochamad Jati Lailatul Akbar 2223170074
7. Tuti Anggraeni Puspita Dewi 2223170094

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEARTEMENT

TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY

UNIVERSITY OF SULTAN AGENG TIRTAYASA

2019

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 PREFACE

First of all, thanks to Allah SWT because of the help of Allah, writer
finished writing the paper entitled “THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH DRAMA
OLD PERIOD” right in the calculated time.

The purpose in writing this paper is to fulfill the assignment that given by
Mrs. Nurhaeda Gailea as lecturer in Drama.

In arranging this paper, the writer truly gets lots challenges and
obstructions but with help of many individuals, those obstructions could pass.
Writer also realized there are still many mistakes in process of writing this paper.

Because of that, the writer says thank you to all individuals who helps in
the process of writing this paper. Hopefully Allah replies all helps and blesses you
all. The writer realized that this paper still imperfect in arrangement and content.
Then the writer hope the criticism from the readers can help the writer in
perfecting the next paper. Last but not the least hopefully, this paper can help the
readers to gain more knowledge about history of old English drama.

Serang, 29th August 2019

The writers

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER ............................................................................................................

PREFACE ........................................................................................................ ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................. iii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ...................................................................... 1

1.1 Background of the Study........................................................................... 1

1.2 Problem Formulation ................................................................................. 2
1.3 Purposes ..................................................................................................... 2

CHAPTER II DISCUSSION ........................................................................... 3

2.1 History Drama in the Beginning (Old Period) ........................................... 3

2.2 Types of Drama in Old Period ................................................................... 5
2.3 Theater Stage Old Drama ........................................................................... 6
2.4 Playwright and Its Works in Old Period .................................................... 9
2.5 Costume and Mask ..................................................................................... 10

CHAPTER III CLOSING ................................................................................ 13

3.1 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 13

3.2 Suggest ....................................................................................................... 13

REFERENCES................................................................................................. 14

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 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Drama is one of the best literary forms through which dramatists can directly
speak to their readers, or the audience, and they can receive instant feedback of
audiences. A few dramatists use their characters as a vehicle to convey their
thoughts and values, such as poets do with personas, and novelists do with
narrators. Since drama uses spoken words and dialogues, thus language of
characters plays a vital role, as it may give clues to their feelings, personalities,
backgrounds, and change in feelings. In dramas the characters live out a story
without any comments of the author, providing the audience a direct presentation
of characters’ life experiences.

The origin of the drama is deep-rooted in the religious predispositions of

mankind. Same is the case not only with English drama, but with dramas of other
nations as well. The ancient Greek and Roman dramas were mostly concerned
with religious ceremonials of people. It was the religious elements that resulted in
the development of drama. As most of the Bible was written into Latin, common
people could not understand its meanings. That’s why the clergy tried to find out
some new methods of teaching and expounding the teachings of Bible to the
common people. For this purpose, they developed a new method, wherein the
stories of the Gospel were explained through the living pictures. The performers
acted out the story in a dumb show.

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1.2 Problem Formulation
1. How the History of Drama Beginning?
2. What Types of Old Drama Period?
3. How the Stage of Ancient Drama?
4. Who are the Playwright and Its Works?
5. How the Costume and Mask in Old Drama Period?
1.3 Purposes
1. To find out the history of the emergence of old period English drama.
2. To find out the types of old period English drama.
3. To find out what types of literary works in the old period.

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 CHAPTER II

DISCUSSION

2.1 History Drama in the Beginning (Old Period)

The English drama was brought to England by the Romans. The drama was
chosen to educate the masses about various religious happenings. The drama
originated to depict biblical scenes as most people could not understand the bible
which was written in Latin. So, plays (without dialogues or costumes) were
performed in churches on special occasions. In a Handbook of Literature, it is
stated that drama arose from religious ceremonial. Greek Tragedy came from
Dionsyan rites dealing with life and death. Then comedy came up with satire in it.
The Greek authors of tragedies were Aeschylus and Sophocles. We have known
the development of drama from middle ages until twentieth century. Each period
has popular authors. Of course, each of it gives different focus.

Drama built on religion Roman theater, Shakespearean theater, and modern

theater were heavily influenced by the Greek theater of the 4th, 5th, and 6th
centuries B.C. Drama built on religion By the sixth century B.C., the cult of
Dionysus had spread across all of Greece with its celebrations of wine, women,
and song. Drama built on religion Eventually one brave soul felt possessed by the
god himself and stood up to chant as the Hypokrites, or “answerer” to the chorus.
This created the first character role to play opposite the chorus, and thus drama
was born. THESPIS (543 B.C.) Drama built on religion after this great innovation,
playwrights began to compete at the yearly festivals in Athens, creating tetralogies
of three tragedies and one satyr play (a farce or crude comedy). Who were these
playwrights? Sophocles The so-called “Sophoclean heroes”(such as Oedipus or
Creon) dominate six of the plays of Sophocles that we possess. They are stubborn
and self-willed, and they pursue their own purposes and fashion their own
identities. Athenians had traditionally identified themselves through family. Now
that democratic society had begun to focus on the individual, citizens were
compelled to define themselves through what their own actions. His first play
Triptolemos wins: 468 B.C. Number of victories by Sophocles: 18-24? Timeline

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of Ancient Greek Drama c. 625 Arion at Corinth produces first dithyrambic
choruses. 540-527 Pisistratus, tyrant of Athens, founds the festival of the Greater
Dionysia 536-533 Thespis puts on tragedy at festival of the Greater Dionysia in
Athens 525 Aeschylus born 499-496 Aeschylus' first dramatic competitions c. 496
Sophocles born 485 Euripides born 484 Aeschylus' first dramatic victory 468
Aeschylus defeated by Sophocles in dramatic competition 458 Aeschylus'
Oresteia (Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Eumenides) 456 Aeschylus dies

Actors and Masks in Greek Theater Roles in the play The main actors
(playing multiple characters each) –protagonistes –deuteragonistes –tritagonistes
Chorus –12 or 15 choreutes (dancers) –trained to sing and dance from their youth.
Actors and Masks in Greek Theater Who could be an actor? –Males –Young
males –Young citizen males –Young citizen males with some money or authority
in society –Young citizen males with some money or authority in society, and the
approval of the Honorable Archon. Actors and Masks in Greek Theater Who
could be in the chorus? –males –trained by a poet to sing and dance –twelve or
fifteen, depending on when the play was written –the leader was called the
coryphaeus (“head man” or “leader”). Actors and Masks in Greek Theater Masks
were used in Greek drama to portray character types or character emotions to the
entire audience, which could be up to 20,000 people crowded onto a hillside.
These masks fit over the head, with a wig attached, and had largemouth openings
so that speech would not be muffled.

Aristophanes, Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides are the named writers of

Greek works; after Thespis had long before supposedly set things in motion to
capture the essence of life in Greece. Characters could be commoners or gods,
heroes or village folk; and the ever-present Greek Chorus anchored all stories with
the one-voice "singing" the through line, or expounding upon any given situation
or element of plot. All important was the story, or the procession through events,
that either took the protagonist up or down the scale of highs and lows that he
would face to reckon with his "demons," be they internal or external. Ego,
illusion, vanity, purification and loss were countered with clowning and festivity
in the dramatic forms we know as comedy and drama. As the forms evolved,

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audiences and critics helped shape the success of any play. Many of the greatest
works are still performed worldwide in modern day theaters, as well as Greek or
Greek-style amphitheaters.

2.2 Types of Drama in Old Period

The Ancient Greeks took their entertainment very seriously and used drama as
a way of investigating the world they lived in, and what it meant to be human. The
three genres of ancient Greek drama were comedy, and most important of all,
tragedy.

 Tragedy

Tragedy dealt with the big themes of love, loss, pride, the abuse of power
and the fraught relationships between men and gods. Typically the main
protagonist of a tragedy commits some terrible crime without realizing how
foolish and arrogant he has been. Then, as he slowly realizes his error, the
world crumbles around him. The three great playwrights of tragedy
were Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. There are many "camps" and
theories regarding purpose and roots of Greek tragedy, and if you were to read
them all, you would likely glean several things: tragic roots in Homer's "Iliad"
and "Odyssey"; the relationship of characters to their imagined place in the
world; philosophies regarding life, death and the after-life; control issues and
power struggles; how to avoid or resolve suffering by making wise choices. In
three of Sophocles' works, title characters Antigone, Oedipus and Electra all
suffer hugely at the ego level, or learn "a life lesson" too late. In Euripides'
"Medea," the main character makes horrible decisions, founded on jealousy
that is confused with love and rooted in fear. In "The Persians," Aeschylus
shows the core of tyranny though it may have left Greeks filled with pride.
Religious themes, theologies, dualism and the clash between man and man or
man and ideology are woven through many of the tragic works. While
playwrights may have had ulterior wisdom or mystery teachings as a subtle
guise, entertainment and winning prizes seemed more obvious reasons for
writing the perfect tragic play.

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  Comedy

The first comedies were mainly satirical and mocked men in power for
their vanity and foolishness. The first master of comedy was the
playwright Aristophanes. Much later Menander wrote comedies about
ordinary people and made his plays more like sitcoms. Aristophanes wrote
about 40 comedies, most of which dealt with political and social issues of the
day in a somewhat crude and mocking manner. Memorable works include
"The Frogs," "The Knights," "The Clouds," "The Wasps." In his "The Birds,"
fantasy flocks are encouraged to create a new celestial city. In "Lysistrata,"
women fed up with war cut off sexual escapades with their mates. Social,
political or otherwise, the humor of the situations among gods and creatures,
men and wives made light of what might otherwise be confusing or intolerable
life situations. Later, Menander came along, writing over 100 comedies
focused on Athenian daily life. To these various situations, the average
Athenian could relate, thus easing his daily discomforts by enjoying a
comedy.

2.3 Theater Stage Old Drama

Thespis of Icaria, a Greek poet and first Greek actor, noticed how popular
these amusements were. To please the public taste he set up the first rude theater.
In the beginning it was only a few boards raised on trestles to form a sort of stage
in the open air. However, Thespis of Icaria soon built a booth, so that the actors,
when not on the stage, could be hidden from public view. The first plays, were
very simple, and consisted of popular songs rudely acted. Later, the plays became
more and more elaborate, and the actors tried to represent some of the tales which
the story-tellers had told. Some people disapproved of this kind of amusement.
One of them was was Solon, who said that Thespis of Icaria was teaching the
Athenians to love a lie, because they liked the plays, which, of course, were not
true. However, the plays continued. New actors started playing and great poets
wrote works for the stage. Soon, a huge amphitheater was built. It was so large
that there were seats for thirty thousand spectators. Theatre buildings were called
a theatron. The theaters were large, open-air structures constructed on the slopes

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of hills. They consisted of three main elements: the orchestra, the skene, and the
audience. Theater in ancient Greece became very popular. Tragedy, comedy, and
satyr plays were the theatrical forms. Tragedy and comedy were viewed as
completely separate genres. Three well-known Greek tragedy playwrights of the
fifth century are Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus.

Plays in ancient Greece were staged in amphitheatres, which were marked

by a round stage about three quarters surrounded by the audience. Since
amphitheatres were very large and could hold great masses of people (up to
25,000), the actors could hardly be seen from far back, and for this reason, acting
included speaking in a loud, declamatory voice, wearing masks and symbolical
costumes and acting with large gestures.

The chorus was a vital part of ancient drama. It had the function of
commenting on the play as well as giving warning and advice to characters. The
stage scenery was neutral and was accompanied by the real landscape surrounding
the amphitheatre. Plays were performed in broad daylight, which also made it
impossible, at least for night scenes, to create an illusion of ‘real life’ on stage.
That was not intended anyway. Ancient Greek drama was originally performed on
special occasions like religious ceremonies, and it thus had a more ritual,
symbolic and also didactic purpose. Another interesting fact to know is that the
audience in ancient Greece consisted only of free men, i.e., slaves and women
were excluded.

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 Orchestra: circular middle space, means “dancing space,” where the chorus
would be singing, having a stylized dance, and the stepped forward actors
would perform here
 Theatron: where the audience sat (all Athenians could and were expected to
attend the festival), if there was extra seating, space permitting, non-Athenians
or slaves could attend as well
 Altar: where they offered sacrifices to the God Dionysus, always an altar in
the plays (makes references to it sometimes)
 Proscenium: only about 5 feet deep, where the actors with actual speaking
lines were, usually stayed in their places, stood, delivered lines and chorus
sang
 Skene: background building, containing dressing rooms for actors and an
entrance on stage
 Backdrop: behind curtains, backstage, not much stage direction, movements,
behind curtains
 Exits: stage left or stage right, where performers went in and out Much like
modern operas

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2.4 Playwright and Its Works in Old Period

 Extant Works of Greek Tragedy

 Aeschylus
–Persians (472)
–Seven Against Thebes (468)
–Suppliant Women (463?)
–Oresteia Trilogy: (458)
Agamemnon
Libation
Bearers
Eumenides
–Prometheus Bound (450-425?)
 Sophocles
–Antigone (c. 442?)
–Trachiniai (450-430?)
–Oedipus Tyrannos (429-425?)
–Electra (420-410)
–Philoctetes (409)
–Oedipus at Colonus (401)
 Euripides
–Alcestis (438)
–Medea (431)
–Children of Heracles (ca. 430)
–Hippolytus (428)
–Andromache (ca. 425)
–Hecuba (ca. 424),
–Suppliant Women (ca. 423)
–Electra (ca. 420)
–Heracles (ca. 416)
–Trojan Women (415)
–Iphigenia among the Taurians (ca. 414)
–Ion (ca. 413)

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 –Helen (412)
–Phoenician Women (ca. 410)
–Orestes (408)
–Bacchae (after 406)
–Iphigenia in Aulis (after 406) –Cyclops (possibly ca. 410)
 Extant Works of Greek Comedy
 Aristophanes
–Acharnians (425 B.C.)
–Knights (424 B.C.)
–Clouds (423 B.C.)
–Wasps (422 B.C.)
–Peace (421 B.C.)
–Birds (414 B.C.)
–Lysistrata (411 B.C.)
–Women at the Thesmophoria (411 B.C.)
–Frogs (405 B.C.)
–Ecclesiazusae (c. 391 B.C.)
–Plutus (388 B.C.)
 Menander
–Dyscolus (316 B.C.)
–parts of:
Perikeiromene
Epitrepontes
Samia

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2.5 Costume and Mask

The Greek actors soon dressed in costume, and all wore masks expressing the
various emotions they wished to represent. The Greek term for mask is persona
and was a significant element in the worship of Dionysus at Athens. The mask-
makers were called skeuopoios or “maker of the properties,” thus suggesting that
their role encompassed multiple duties and tasks. Unfortunately, there are no
physical remains of ancient Greek masks as they were made of organic materials
and not considered permanent objects. Nevertheless, the mask is known to have
been used since the time of Aeschylus, an ancient Greek tragedian and considered
to be one of the iconic conventions of classical Greek theatre. From statues and
paintings of ancient Greek actors, it is possible to picture what kind of masks and
costumes were used. The actors were so far away from the audience that without
the aid of exaggerated costumes and masks, they would be difficult to see. Tragic
masks carried mournful or pained expressions, while comic masks were smiling
or leering. In a large open-air theatre, like the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens, the
classical masks were able to bring the characters’ face closer to the audience,
especially since they had intensely over-exaggerated facial features and
expressions. They enabled an actor to appear and reappear in several different
roles, thus preventing the audience from identifying the actor to one specific
character. Their variations help the audience to distinguish sex, age, and social
status. Actors who played tragic roles wore boots called cothurneses that elevated
them above other actors. When playing female roles, the male actors donned a

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‘prosterneda’ which is a wooden structure in front of the chest to imitate breasts.
There is little information on theatrical costumes. This is due to the perishable
materials they have been made of. Still we have some information drawn from
depictions on ancient pottery. An actor's entire head was covered by his mask,
which included hair. It has been theorized that the shape of the mask amplified the
actor's voice, making his words easier for the audience to hear. The cast of a
Greek play in the Dionysia was comprised of amateurs, not professionals and all
were male. Ancient Greek actors were forced to gesture grandly so that the entire
audience could see and hear the story, but most Greek theatres were cleverly
constructed to transmit even the smallest sound to any seat.

Actors and Masks in Greek Theater Masks were used in Greek drama to
portray character types or character emotions to the entire audience, which could
be up to 20,000 people crowded onto a hillside. These masks fit over the head,
with a wig attached, and had largemouth openings so that speech would not be
muffled. Masks in Greek Theater prevented the audience from identifying the face
of any actor with one specific character allowed men to impersonate women
without confusion helped the audience identify the sex, age, and social rank of the
characters were often changed by the actors when they would exit after an episode
to assume a new role. They wore costumes and masks to let audience know
exactly who you were looking at them. Could have had male and female parts but
all actors were males. It wasn’t like modern acting where actors conveyed
emotions, took away actor’s personality but with the mask infested them with
their role (i.e. king, queen, slave etc.). Different masks for comedy and tragedy.
They made interest in environment (i.e. accent, status), the characters act and talk
the same in tragedies. Modern day writing encourages unique depiction of each
character but not Greeks.

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 CHAPTER III

FINAL

3.1 Conclusion

Drama as we know it began in ancient Greece. The first plays were

religious affairs, with dancing and music. Then came a chorus, which
eventually had a Leader, who was the first actor in the history drama.
Aeschylus, a playwright, invented what we now call drama when he wrote a
play that featured two actors and a chorus, who symbolize the common
people or sometimes the God. Other important Greek playwrights were
Sophocles and Euripides.

The English drama was brought to England by the Romans. The first plays
were religious affairs, with dancing and music. The origin of old drama goes
to brief scenes that monks acted out in churches to illustrate Bible stories.
These later developed into full-length plays. A source of drama was
primarily Catholic traditions and ceremonies that were gradually becoming
worldlier. The Catholic church throughout Europe controlled almost the
entire ideological sphere, including literary art. Drama was developing in
churches where the whole society from the king to the lowest citizen
gathered.

3.2 Suggest

We are as the writer want to apology for the shortage of this paper. We
know that this paper is still far from perfect. So we need advice from readers
for the perfection of this paper. Thank you so much for the reader.

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REFERENCES

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