This are answers on questions. not necessarily but it can give you an idea

1. Marrianne S. Ledesma-Aves
MALit
MIDTERM EXAMINATION
1. Discuss the emergence ofdramatic poetry. Identifythe important playwrights ofancient
Greece andpoint out the differencesbetweentragedyand comedyusing “OedipusRex” and
“Lysistrata,” respectively,asliterary piecesforanalysis. (25 pts.)
For Literature toflourishitmeansthatthe societyisat itspeak andhas achievedacertainapex
where itismore focusedonthe happinessandentertainmentof itspeopleratherthan colonizingother
countries.
Athenians, in the 5th
and 6th
centuries BCE, gave birth to Drama as part of their celebrationin
honor of the god of fruitfulness, vegetation,wine, and revelry, Dionysus. Dramatic Poetryhas been the
forerunnerof dramaaswe knowittodayanditcontinueditspopularityfromthe Classicalperiod,through
Middle Ages and up to Renaissance until its downfall when the use of prose in plays has been more
highlighted.
One of the mostnotable playwrightsof ancientGreece isAristophaneswhose worksinclude the
comedyLysistrataand isconsideredthe mostfamouswriterof GreekComedies.Aeschylus,onthe other
hand,is consideredasGreek’sfirstgreattragedianwhoproducedthe trilogyOresteia.There isnotmuch
thatwe know aboutAeschylus’lifeapartfromthe factthathe isaPersianfinancedbyPericleswhofought
against the Persians at Marathon in 490. Another additionto this list is Sophocles whose work includes
the tragicheroOedipus. Sophoclesisanactive AthenianwhowasalsoaStrategos,he isknownforwriting
good plotsand is consideredasGreek’sgreatestplaywrightaccordingto Aristotle, aprominentfigureof
Ancient Greece. The last on our list is the youngest, Euripides who won the Great Dionysia four times
despite competing twenty-one times. His winning piece includes the tetralogy Bacchae, Iphigeneia at
Aulis.
DramaticPlays flourishedinAncientGreece,especiallywiththe celebrationof the GreatDionysia
where the greekswatchaseriesofdramatic playsthatincludesthree tragicplaysfollowedbyone comedy.
Tragic Playsand ComedyPlaysdifferinsome aspectssuchas the play’sending,comedyplaysendwitha
marriage, or a scene where the husbands are reunited with their wives just as what happened in the
endingof Aristophane’sLysistrata.IncontrastwiththisTragicplaysendwiththe demise of thetragichero
just as how Sophocle’s Oedipus King ended with Oedipus’ possible banishment after realizing his pitiful
fate.In additionto this,comedyplaysusuallyendwiththe hero achievinghisgoal just as how Lysistrata
achieved her goal of preventing war by leading the women to restrain sexual favors to their men, while
Tragic Heroes usually fail to meet the goal that they initially set to achieve.It is also noteworthy to say
that most comedy plays are about common people while tragic plays are usually about monarchs and
their battle against politics, power, fame, and fate.
“Literature is a mirror of society” we have heard thisrepeatedlyand yetitstruthnevervanishes
nor declines, literature will always mirror the way a society revolves and evolves just as how Dramatic
Poetry as art has flourishedthrough the years and thoughit reached its peakand declinedafter several
centuries- still itsbeautyandstorieswill alwayshave itspermanence anduniversalityeveninthe present
times.
2. Discuss the GreekinfluencesonRoman civilization,especiallyinliterature and the arts. (25
pts.)
Oscar Wilde, an Irish poet, and playwright said that “imitation is the highest form of flattery…”
and this quotation perfectly sums up the Greek influences on Roman civilization, especially in arts and
literature. The clearest example of this “ flattery” is the Romans' imitation of the Greek gods and
goddesses, the Romansadoptedthe Greekpantheonbutchanged theirnames, such as Jupiterfor Zeus
and Juno for Hera.

2. Marrianne S. Ledesma-Aves
MALit
MIDTERM EXAMINATION
The Romans also duplicated the Greek art of sculpturing but instead of using bronze as a base,
the Romans replaceditwiththe use of marble.Itis noteworthythatboth GreeksandRomans are noted
to have highregard forhumanlife whichisevident inthe commonsubjectsof bothRomanandGreekart.
The Romansmay have triedto go away from the shadowsof the Greeks through the creationof
Aeneid,acharacterfromHomer’sIlliadwhichsomehow shouldserve asanEpicforthe Romans butinthe
end, theyjustacceptedthe fact thatthe GreekCulture isfarsuperiorasevidentwhenHorace said “Greece
hasconquered her rude conqueror” because evenif the Romanssucceededinconqueringthe Greeksat
the enditisthe Greekswhoconqueredthe Romansthroughtheirmagnificentculture,society,literature,
and arts.
If there issomethingthatthe Greeksshouldbe thankfulforthe Romans,itisthe factthatthrough
the Roman footprints the magnificent culture of the Greekshas spread and has been an important part
of most civilizations and even some of which can still be traced up to this days.
3. During the Middle Ages,the theater underwenta new cycle of development,similartothe
early Greeks' intentiontouse drama as a sacred activity. In contrast to the Dionysianfestival,the
medieval theaterbegan as a form ofChristian worship.Examine the evolutionof Englishdrama and
its distinguishingfeatures.Alongwiththis,cite textual evidence fromthe morality play, Everyman,by
demonstratingits characteristics. (25 pts.)
RichardLederersaidinhisworkthe AnguishedEnglish:AnAnthologyof AccidentalAssaultsUpon
Our Language that “There once was a time whenall people believedinGod and the church ruled.This
time wascalledthe Dark Ages.” The strikingironyof thisquotationisundeniable since Godiscommonly
associated with positive things such as love and freedom, the exact opposite of what happened in the
supposed reign of the church – the Middle Ages. It is in the Middle Ages that fear and sorrow ruled and
that belief is more important than life itself.
The initial function of the Greek theater which is to worship the Greekgod Dionysus along with
itsentertainmentandblisshadbeenconvertedtothe expressionof CatholicFaithwith the emergence of
Morality Plays such as Everyman.
Everymanisanexampleof amoralityplaythatemergedinthe Middle Agesasthe church’spower
increased and it is a play that
highlights the importance of
good deeds as a way to heaven.
This play started when God
commanded Death to fetch
Everyman, a character that
represents every man, to
present the account of his life.
Everyman in this play, just like most of us, is unprepared and frightened by the idea of presenting his
account of life toGod alone andaskedhisfriendstocome but none of themwill accompanyhim.Inthis,
the playexploresandhighlightsthe ideathatnone of yourfriends,familymembers,orworldlypleasures
would be there for your aid when it is your time to present the account of your life to God.

3. Marrianne S. Ledesma-Aves
MALit
MIDTERM EXAMINATION
The playendswithGood-Deeds,aidingdefendingEverymaninfrontof God and that made his character
ascend to the heavens as explained by the Doctor.
This example of a Morality play is a very
powerful tool in the hands of the wrong
people, in this way the Church was able to
manipulate societyintothinkingthatnothing
in this world is more important than a good
deed,andthoughthisisthe truthitalsoleads
to the abuses of the church that also lead to
its downfall in 1000AD.
4. Describe the EnglishRenaissance period,focusingon the growth of the theater.How didthe
theater,as shown inthe plays "Othello" and"Merchantof Venice," become amediumfor social
transformation in England?” (25 pts.)
“ Afterevery storm,there is a rainbow,”saidShannonL. Alder,an inspirational author,andthisfor me is
whatembodiesthe EnglishRenaissance periodthatfollowedafterthe Middle Ages.The Middle Ageshas
been harsh for the theatre with the church being at the center of the state and power, the freedom of
expression and artistry that the theatre initiallyenjoys has been purged and Morality plays are in the
limelightasit servesasone of the church’sways to control people,butthisall endedtogive way forthe
Renaissance.
The Renaissance theatre flourishedwithQueenElizabethIas its leaddefyingall attemptsfromreligious
entities to intervene with her government. The Elizabethan theatre, another name for the Renaissance
Theatre inhonorof itsmainsponsorQueenElizabethIherself,hadfirstemployedthe use of professional
actors and troupeswhoperformedplaysthat is entertainingandnot necessarilyreligiousinnature.It is
also under the reign of Queen ElizabethI that the Globe Theater was built and is still visible eventhese
days.
Queen Elizabeth I is an avid admirer of plays most specifically the plays written by William
Shakespeare whose works are greatly influenced by her. William Shakespeare is a prominent literary
figure of the Elizabethan Era whose works are known even up to the present times centuries after his
death.The worksof WilliamShakespearemirrorednumerousissuesinEnglishsocietyinawaythatwould
not be offensive to the monarchy but is related to each walk of life one of his works that are of the
mentioned nature is the Merchant of Venice and Othello.

4. Marrianne S. Ledesma-Aves
MALit
MIDTERM EXAMINATION
The Merchant of Venice and Othello both examine put into light the fears, insecurities, and
hardshipsthata foreignerlivinginthe Englishland.Itisalsointhese worksthatWilliamShakespeare was
able to open our eyes to these social issues and be able to relate them in this day and age.
Prepared by:
Marrianne S. Ledesma-Aves
MALit Student