Warning: Use of undefined constant referer - assumed 'referer' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 102

Warning: Use of undefined constant host - assumed 'host' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 105

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 106

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 109
Greek Actors - Essay

Greek Actors


The actors in ancient tragedies were hired and paid by the state and assigned to the tragic poets probably by lot. By the middle of the fifth century three actors were required for the performance of a tragedy. In descending order of importance of the roles they assumed they were called protagonist ‘first actor’ (a term also applied in modern literary criticism to the central character of a play), Dueteragonist ‘second actor’ and tritagonist “third actor’. The protagonist took the tile of the most important character in the play while the other two actors played the lesser roles. Since most plays have more than two or three characters (although never ...

Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers

and helped eliminate the physical incongruity of men impersonating women. The masks with subtle variations also helped the audience identify the sex age and social rank of the characters. The fact that the chorus remained in the orchestra throughout the play, and sang and danced choral songs between the episodes. Allowed the actors to exit after an episode in order to change mask and costume and assume a new role in the next episode without any illusion-destroying interruption in the play.
The main duty of an actor was; of course, to speak the dialogue assigned to his characters. This however, was not the only responsibility of the actor. He occasionally had to sing songs solo of with the chorus or with other actors. The combination of acting and singing ability must have been as rare in the ancient world as it is ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.


Already a member? Login


CITE THIS PAGE:

Greek Actors. (2007, November 6). Retrieved May 2, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Greek-Actors/73911
"Greek Actors." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 6 Nov. 2007. Web. 2 May. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Greek-Actors/73911>
"Greek Actors." Essayworld.com. November 6, 2007. Accessed May 2, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Greek-Actors/73911.
"Greek Actors." Essayworld.com. November 6, 2007. Accessed May 2, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Greek-Actors/73911.
JOIN NOW
Join today and get instant access to this and 50,000+ other essays


PAPER DETAILS
Added: 11/6/2007 10:25:27 AM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 339
Pages: 2

Save | Report

SHARE THIS PAPER

SAVED ESSAYS
Save and find your favorite essays easier

SIMILAR ESSAYS
» Ancient Greek Theatre Architec
» The History Of Greek Theater
» The History Of Greek Theater
» The History Of Greek Theater
» The History Of Greek Theater
» History Of Greek Theater
» Greek Theatre
» Greek And Roman Art
» Mixed Messages In Greek Theatr
» The Classification System In Gr...
Copyright | Cancel | Contact Us

Copyright © 2024 Essayworld. All rights reserved