Question: What Was the Sequence of the Scenes in Greek Tragedy?
Answer: Greek tragedy was not divided into the five acts subdivided into scenes that are familiar from the plays of Shakespeare. Instead there were an entry and an exit scene, between which were scenes with dialogue followed by a segment of song by the chorus. Here is the regular order of a Greek tragedy from the opening parados to the closing exodus.
- Parados [when the chorus enters the orchestra]
- 1st Episode [dialogue scene]
- 1st Stasimon [choral song]
- 2d Episode
- 2d Stasimon
- 3d Episode
- 3d Stasimon
- [4th Episode]
- [4th Stasimon]
- Exodus [final scene of dialogue]
