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Crash Course Theater
Rules, Rule-Breaking, and French Neoclassicism
Season 1
Episode 20
The French Neoclassical revival had a BUNCH of French playwrights following a bunch of rules. Unsurprisingly, some of the most interesting plays of the era broke those rules. Today, we'll talk about the rules, and we'll talk about Racine (who followed them), and Corneille (who was not so much a rules guy).
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11:28
Roman dramas lifted stories and characters directly from Greek dramatists like Menander.

11:52
Turns out, Roman theater looks A LOT like Greek theater.

11:02
How did Greek comedy evolve out of tragedies? And how did that become real comedy?

11:55
Let's look at Aristotle's rules for theater, and how they can be used for catharsis.

9:52
Western theater arose in Athens, Greece from religious rituals – including RITUAL MADNESS.

13:35
1.What is theater? And 2. Is it spelled -re or -er? The first question is a bit trickier.