Literature Criticism
- Greek TheaterGreek theater was dominated by the works of five playwrights: Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, and Menander.
Literature Criticism Databases
- Literature Criticism Online (Gale)Contemporary Literary Criticism Online covers more than 3,000 authors currently active or active during the later 20th century.
Almost 95% of critical essays from the print series Contemporary Literary Criticism Online are reproduced in full in this online collection, which combines multiple search and browse options with an engaging format that matches the look and content of the print originals.
Clear and accessible introductory essays are followed by carefully selected critical responses to help users engage with a variety of scholarly views and literary conversations. Anyone seeking a deeper understanding of contemporary literature will find this resource valuable.
- MagillOnLiterature Plus (EBSCOhost)MagillOnLiterature Plus, produced by Salem Press, is the premier literary database, combining MagillOnLiterature and MagillOnAuthors. This database includes all the literary works, reviewed critical analyses and brief plot summaries that are included in MagillOnLiterature, as well as all the biographies and author essays included in MagillOnAuthors.
- MLA International Bibliography (EBSCOhost) (1926+)Produced by the Modern Language Association (MLA), the MLA International Bibliography is the definitive index for the study of language, literature, linguistics, rhetoric and composition, folklore, and film, covering scholarly publications from the early 20th century to the present. International in scope, it includes citations to journal articles, books, articles in books, series, translations, scholarly editions, websites, and dissertations, with links to full text in JSTOR, Project MUSE, and other resources. The database also includes the MLA Directory of Periodicals and the MLA Thesaurus, a proprietary, searchable collection of thousands of subject terms, and personal names used in indexing the bibliography.
Videos
- Myth, History, and DramaCall Number: UCF ONLINE General Collection NA 278.T5.M975Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 1989, 21 minutes
A survey of the sites of ancient Greek theaters. - Greek Drama: From Ritual to TheaterFilms for the Humanities & Sciences, 2001, 53 minutes
"Why do plays well over two millennia old still speak to audiences today? This program traces Greek theater from ancient harvest rites to the golden age of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. Key scenes from Antigone, Oedipus Tyrannus, Medea, and Lysistrata show how these works remain relevant by exploring the timeless themes of honor, class, gender, sexuality, and politics. Essential concepts such as catharsis, hamartia, and the use of masks and a chorus are discussed. Scholarly commentary by Helene Foley of Barnard College, Jeffrey Henderson of Boston University, Princeton University's Robert Fagles, and Peter Meineck of NYU's Aquila Theatre Company emphasizes the vitality of classical drama and the essential role it played in the everyday lives of the ancient Greeks" - Women in Classical Greek DramaFilms for the Humanities & Sciences, 2003, 36 minutes
"The presentation of powerful women in Medea, Antigone, and Lysistrata is contrasted with the circumscribed role of women in Athenian society by 6 university professors. Film clips from notable productions support this in-depth discussion." - Aristophanes: His Life and Theatre, The Gods are LaughingFilms for the Humanities & Sciences, 1995, 51 minutes
"This pseudo-biography juxtaposes elements of Aristophanic plays with the activities of contemporaneous people to show how Aristophanes became the father of political satire and why his theatrical innovations are still staples of the contemporary theatre."
Search for books
Search the UCF Library catalog for:
Notable Plays
Greek & Roman Comedy: Translations & Interpretations of Four Representative Plays by Call Number: UCF ONLINE General Collection PA3629 .G74 2001Aristophanes - Acharnians
Menander - Dyskolos; or, The Grouch
Plautus - Casina
Terence - Phormio
Three Plays by Aristophanes: Staging Women by Call Number: UCF Main Library General Collection -- PA3877.A2 1996ch2ck availability of print version
"These three plays by the great comic playwright Aristophanes (c. 446-386 BCE), the well-known Lysistrata, and the less familiar Women at the Thesmophoria and Assemblywomen, are the earliest surviving portrayals of contemporary women in the European literary tradition. These plays provide a unique glimpse of women not only in their familiar domestic roles but also in relation to household and city, religion and government, war and peace, theater and festival, and, of course, to men."
Greek Tragōidia (534 – c.400 BCE)
- Æschylus – Persians, Suppliants, Seven against Thebes, Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, Eumenides, Prometheus Bound
- Sophocles – Oedipus Tyrannos, Philoctetes, Ajax, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, Electra, Women of Trachis
- Euripides – Heracles, Medea, Hecuba, Alcestis, Orestes, Electra, Iphigenia at Aulis, Iphigenia among the Taurians, Helen, Andromache, Children of Heracles, Trojan Women, Ion, Phoenician Women, Suppliants, Rhesus, Hippolytus, Bacchae
Greek Satyr Plays (534 – c.400 BCE)
- Euripides – Cyclops
Greek Old Comedy (487 – 404 BCE)
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Aristophanes – Acharnians, Birds, Clouds, Frogs, Wasps, Knights, Lysistrata, Thesmophoriazusae, Peace
Greek Middle Comedy (404 – 306 BCE)
- Aristophanes – Plutus (Wealth), Ecclesiazusae
Greek New Comedy (306 – 150 BCE)
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Menander – Grouch (Ill-Tempered Man), Girl from Samos, Arbitration, Girl with the Shaven Head