The Story of Dionysus
Tragedy and the Goat Song
The Mysterious Birth of Tragedy
The Choices of Creon
Commedia in Taming of the Shrew
The Pantaloon
Jokes, Shitck and Wit
The Modern Problem Play
Tragicomedy - A Raisin in the Sun




Zeus, the ruler of all gods, fell in love with a human woman named Semele. He went down to earth to court her. He told her he was Zeus, and she believed him. Eventually, she fell in love with him.
Hera, Zeus' wife, naturally was upset. So she came down as a wise old woman. She asked Semele how she could be in love with a man she knew nothing about. She told the lady he wasn't a man, he was Zeus. The old lady said, "Of course he says he's Zeus! Every man would say he's Zeus." But, she still believed him. This went on for a couple of weeks. The old lady would try to convince Semele that he really isn't Zeus. Eventually, the old lady told Semele that the only way to know for sure is to ask him to show his true form. At first, Semele didn't think it was necessary, but after some talking she didn't believe he was actually Zeus anymore. So, she went up to him and asked him to do something for her. He said, "Of course. I love you! anything." After she asked him to show her his Zeus form he replied, "No! Anything but that! Please!" Of course, now she really didn't believe him. She said "You promised!" So he had to. As a god, he couldn't break a promise. He transformed himself into one of his less radiant forms, and watched in horror as she burst into flames. No human can withstand the radiance of the gods. Instantly, two vines grew out of the ground and wrapped around the body of Semele, protecting the child inside her. Once Zeus was back in human form, he cut open the side of his leg and put the child in it to grow. Once the child was ready to be born, he took it out of his leg. He gave it to a friend, Ino, to raise. Hera found out, and drove Ino insane so he had to abandon the child. She then sent giants to destroy it. The giants found the baby, but since it was half god, half human, it could transform itself. It changed into many forms to scare away the giants. But that didn't stop them from tearing it to shreds, anyway. Zeus came in and saw what happened. The only recognizable thing was the baby's heart which was still beating. He took it and put it in a goat. He gave the goat to nymphs who lived in Persia. The goat grew into a human named Dionysus.
He discovered how to make wine from grapes. He became the god of intoxication, madness and chaos. A religion formed around him. People went into the forest and got drunk. These people were called "Maenads."
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It is winter. The harvest is in, the wine is made. The cines wither away and nature slips into the grey death of December. A solemn festival is held in honor od Dionysus, the god of wine once disguised as a goat. There are cries of lamentation as an innocent kid is slaughtered on the altar. With this wintry mood, the spirit of tragedy is born: Tragou-Othi "goat song."
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Theater has its roots from religious ritual. In Greece. in 600 BCE, theater began in the chants honoring Dionysus, the god of wine. These chants were called "dithyrambs." They were performed by a chorus of fifty people at an annual competition called "City Dionysia." This festival was much like the Academy Awards are today.
In 534 BCE, Thespis changed the dithyramb. He separated himself from the chorus. This was a new thing for the Greeks. Nobody had ever spoken out of the chorus before. By doing this, drama was born. Now. he could portray the struggle of the character instead of just narrating it. Now, he could have a real conversation with the chorus, instead of just narrating it. This one actor could act as two or more characters. but just one of these characters could be out on the stage at a time. In 470 BCE, Aeschylus introduced the second actor. This new person allowed conflict between the two people to appear on the stage. With conflict now available for playwrights to use, the Tragedy was born. Again this was a very new thing for the Greeks.
A Tragedy is when men are up against fates they cannot escape. A Tragedy has a series of unhappy events, and ends in disaster. The disaster is usually one or more of the characters dying. The two actors performing could act out the part of a few different characters. but there were never more than two actors. At least, not until Sophocles introduced the third actor sometime around 470 BCE. By adding the third actor, two actors could be having an argument while the third would be overhearing it.
There was a personal need for tragedy in the Greek times. Tragedy had never been expressed before. People just experienced it in their lives without any way to let it out. This need to express tragedy built up over the years through Dionysian worship, reached a high point when the worship was put into a festival, and finally came out when the second actor was introduced. Just like the plot of a Tragedy. It builds up,
reaches a climax, then falls. The Tragedy served as an outlet for people to put all their little personal tragedies out of their minds. and to realize some people's tragedies are a lot worse.

Tragedy was born sometime around 470 BCE with the introduction of the second actor to the dithyramb. The chorus became less and less important, and the play focused more on the individual. After that, other forms of drama came in, such as satyr plays, which are full of obscenities and make fun of tragedy and the gods.
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The first choice Creon made in the play "Antigone" was to not bury the body of Polynices. He didn't actually say it, Antigone said he said it. This went against the principles of the Gods. By not burying the body, he mixed up the upper and lower worlds. He "refused to send a corpse to the underworld" and "cheated those gods below and [held] it in the light where it should not have been." The body belonged to neither him nor the upper gods. That was a Dionysian choice. It was not a policy of his to not bury anybody who comes attacking the city and kills his brother in a fight. The whole story could have been prevented if he just buried the body like he was supposed to. But then there would be no play.
He declared that anyone who tried to bury the body would be stoned to death. That is kind of an Apollonian choice, because there are laws that people have to obey. But it is still unreasonable to leave a body out to rot.
After Creon heard Antigone covered the body, he was tempted to let her off the hook, but he realized he couldn't let his relatives get away with breaking his laws. He said, "Imagine how the public would react if l let my relatives defy the law." That was an Apollonian decision. That was a good decision, even if it meant that Antigone would die.
He decided to not stone Antigone to death because he felt he wasn't able to see her die like that. He had her put in a cave where she would starve to death or kill herself. He began to turn back on what he said, like he said he wouldn't. This is a conflict within himself. Dionysian.
His most important decision in the play was to set Antigone free from the cave. He was trying to bring order back to his kingdom. That was one of the two things he did that was Apollonian. He tried to set things right, even though it didn't happen like that. He should have never set things wrong in the first place.
Overall, Creon is a very Dionysian person. He thinks he is always right. which is individualistic. Until the very end, he thinks everyone should do what he says. He has a point. He is king after all. But he definitely overuses the power he thinks he has.
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Taming of the Shrew is a Comedy from Shakespeare's time, (obviously,) with bits of older comedy put in it. Actually, most of it is Commedia.
The first Commedia bit is in the induction. when Sly tries to take his "wife," Bartholomew, to bed. Bartholomew weasels out of it to avoid being discovered.
Notice how Taming of the Shrew is being performed for Sly. It is for his entertainment, just like a Commedia is performed.
Lucentio and Tranio swap clothes so that Lucentio can become Bianca's schoolteacher. Lucentio will be hired to tutor Bianca so he can court her. This was Tranio, the clever servant's idea. Straight out of Commedia.
Anything that involves abuse is Commedia. Such as when Katherina has tied Biancafs hands up and they fight. And when Petruchio and Katherina are "trying to outdo each other," she hits him. The battle between them is very witty and sometimes funny. Another Commedia bit.
Another bit of Commedia appears when Petruchio shows up to his wedding in strange clothes. Maybe it isn't Commedia, but it can definitely be funny.
You hear of Petruchio hitting the priest at his wedding. He threw wine on a person. Another bit of Commedia involving abuse. Actually, this one isn't very funny.
The whole scene with Petruchio's servants serving him food and water is a funny one. He beats and insults the servants a lot. That could be considered Commedia. Also, the scene with the tailor is full of abuse. There is more abuse in Act 5, scene l.
That is the last of it unless you think the scene with bringing their wives in is Commedia.
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A Pantaloon is a character from Commedia dell' Arte. He is an old man. He can be rich. but often he is not. He is usually grumpy and has a temper. Usually. he is fat or large. In Greek times he was disgusting. But he was changed. Now he doesn't have to be disgusting. There are many examples of Pantaloons today. Many are tbund in movies, TV and comics. Such as Mr. Wilson from Dennis the Menace, Mr. Dithers from Blondie. Mr. Fogarty from Luann. and Dilbert's boss. Any bosses are usually Pantaloons.

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A fisherman was lying on a tropical beach with his fishing pole propped up in the sand. his solitary line cast into the sparkling blue surf. He was enjoying the warmth of the setting sun, the cool caress of the sea breeze.
A grumpy-looking businessman came wandering down the beach and noticed the fisherman lying there. He wondered why this man was loafing instead of earning a living for himself and his family.
"You're not going to catch many fish that way!" Said the businessman. "You should get yourself a job instead of lying on the beach."
The fisherman looked up and smiled. "And what will my reward be?" he asked.
"Well," said the businessman, "you can build bigger nets and catch more fish!"
"And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman.
"You'll make more money and you'll be able to buy a boat" said the businessman, "which will enable you to catch even more fish!"
"And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman again.
At this point. the businessman found himself growing irritated with the fisherman's questions.
"You could buy a bigger boat," he said "then hire some people to work for you!"
"And then what will my reward be?"
The businessman became angry. "You can build a fleet of fishing boats, sail them all over the world. and let your employees catch fish for you!"
Once more. the fisherman asked, "And then what will my reward be?"
The businessman, now red with rage, began to shout at the fisherman: "Don't you understand? You can be so rich that you'll never have to work again! You can spend the rest of your days lying on this beach. looking at the sunset. You won't have a care in the world!"
The fisherman, still smiling, said to the businessman: "And what do you think I'm doing right now?"

The fisherman is like a Zanni. He isn't as silly or stupid, but he is definitely foolish. But at the same times he is wise. The "grumpy-looking businessman" probably isn't old, but he is the pantaloon. He could be old and it wouldn't affect the joke.

A telephone repairman was working late in a big office building and got lost. After wandering in circles trying to find an exit. he spotted a receptionist at the end of a corridor.
"How do l get outside?" he asked.
"Dial 9," she replied.

This joke says receptionists need to get out of their offices more. The receptionist might be the Zanni. And the man doesn't fit into any of the characters types of Commedia. He is just an ordinary man. There is no ordinary man in Commedia. I guess he could be called the pantaloon.


This comic is about exactly what it says in the middle frame. Kids consume a lot of resources,. watch a lot of TV, and will eventually grow up and get jobs after all they've "learned" frown the media. Calvin is the Zanni. But, he is also very wise. The person standing at the door is anything you want him to be. You don't see anything except his legs, so you can't tell much about him.
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Traffic in Portland has been a problem for many years. And it always will be a problem unless somebody does something about it. The traffic keeps getting worse with every new suburb built. lf this keeps up much longer. people are going to start moving out. If lots of people move out in a month's span, the economy will die. Lots of offices will lose their employees. Small businesses will fail. Some Starbucks' may even be forced to close. It would be a local disaster. Then, where would all the people go? Some of them would move far away, some would move to Vancouver. With more population in Vancouver, industries would suddenly do a lot better. The business would move from Portland to Vancouver, which would, again, be a problem for Portland. With less business in the industries, it would die. Portland would earn its name of Stumptown.

Heather Brundwitz saw this problem and decided she was going to try to do something to help. Even if it wasn't a very big thing, every little
bit would make a difference. To start, she told her dad, David Brundwitz, to get a ride with Mike on their way to work at the Bank of America tower. They worked late, until 9:30 at night. He didn't like this idea, because he would have to drive to Mike's house and leave the car there for the day. Unfortunately. Mike lived in the not-so-good part of South-East Portland which was known for car-jacking. So to leave the car there during the day, and at night, would be somewhat dangerous.
Heather and her dad argued for days about whether or not to car-pool with Mike. She asked him to tell everyone in his office to get a ride with someone to work. At least if he couldn't, other people could.
This worked, to an extent. Even though most people got rides to the Bank of America tower, only a few cars were eliminated from the road. Carpooling can only take so many cars off the road. There needs to be some other mode of transportation. Lots of people were already riding bicycles and walking. But still, the traffic was bad.
Heather went to college to study economics and technology. After graduating, she designed a completely new car. It used gyroscopes to allow it to hover about 15 feet off the ground. It allowed other cars to be driving under it at the same time. The only catch was that the car could weigh no more than l,500 pounds. No trucks could be up there. The old cars were not required to be traded in yet. That would be too much of a change.
This new design was implemented throughout Portland. It started slowly at first, then quickly grew to be very popular. The car dealers had to sell their "old" cars at ridiculously low prices to get the new cars in.
Gas stations had to add pumps for the fuel of this new car. It didn't run on gasoline, it ran on hydrogen, and the exhaust was water. That took a big chunk out of pollution, but the oil and gas companies weren't so happy about it. They filed lawsuit after lawsuit, but they always lost.
After a period of 40 or so years, three, then four, then five levels of cars were added. The bottom level was reserved for trucks and other cars that were carrying a load. They still hadn't found a way to get several tons oft-the grounds but the load limit in the air was now 4,000 pounds.
Heather, now 56, wanted to give other countries the designs for the new transportation system. Her younger brother, Jack, 34 years old, at first wanted her to keep the plans to the US. There was lots of arguing between them. Eventually, Heather snuck the plans past her brother and sent them off to Denmark with instructions to pass them on to other countries that had the money to construct it.
With some difficulty, several countries in Europe built the new cars. It was already being used all over the US.
This solved not only the traffic problems of Portland, but traffic and pollution problems all over the world.
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A part of this play that is both comic and tragic is the scene where Walter comes home drunk. He doesn't act his normal self. Actually, that's putting it mildly. Beneatha encourages him along because she is very interested in this side of him she has never seen before.
It is comic because of the way Walter acts. He doesn't think about anything he does. He gets up on the table and starts yelling weird things that don't make sense to anybody except himself. If you don't think about it, it is very funny. But, when you think about it for a while, it can be tragic. He is drunk and can't control himself. He got drunk to relieve himself of the problems and fights he has been having over the money.
One of Beneatha's comic parts is in the same scene. She goes along with Walter and his crazy actions. She encourages him and even yells some weird stuff herself. One of her tragic moments is when the audience first meets her. She is in an argument with Walter. They are fighting about who the money belongs to. Walter wants to invest in a business. Beneatha wants her Mama to do whatever she wants with the money, knowing that she will get some to go to medical school.
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