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| A group of 12-15 individuals that function as a mediator between the actors and the audience. They sing and dance, often interfering an interlude between episodes. they offer commentary on scences, question the actions of characters, offer advice and prophecy to actors, etc. They would sing and dance on a sub-stage in front of the actual stage. |
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| The audience already knows the story, and thus, they already know the characters and what will happen to them. This allows the audience to be in a superior position, knowing the past, present, and future. They can follow the action on two levels; they can be involved emotionally in blind struggles of characters like us who make decisions blindly, thus allowing the audience to learn from their mistakes. On another level the audience is detached and can make judgments on the characters' actions. |
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| A foil is a secondary character that contrasts with a major character. When juxtaposed within the play each brings out the extremes in the other in order to illustrate differences. Some foils in Antigone are Antigony vs. Ismene, Antigone vs. Creon, Creon vs. Haemon, Teiresias vs. Creon. |
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| Exaggerated pride or self-confidence often resulting in retribution. Often this is a fatal flaw which leads to a character's downfall in a tragedy. |
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| "god from the machine," was used in Greek and Roman drama to resolve hopeless situation. In ancient times, there would be a mechanism above the stage that would lower the gods, and the gods would be able to rectify the situation without question from the audience, given their culture and belief in the gods' ability to interfere in te affairs of humans. In other words, this is similar to our "suspension of disbelief," which allows an author to end a play without following the internal logic of the play. |
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| the purifying of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions |
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| is a moment in a play or other work when a character makes a critical discovery |
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| a sudden change of fortune or reversal of circumstances |
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| change to English idiom, pronunciation, customs, manner, etc. |
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