英语沙龙：希腊悲剧之父-埃斯库罗斯

Aeschylus：The Father of Greek Tragedy

Aeschylus was the first known dramatist to use morethan one character in his plays, and he thereforeinvented the concept of dialogue betweencharacters. Before Aeschylus, plays consisted of oneprotagonist and were narrated¹ by the chorus.

Some plays had a chorus of only one actor, whileothers used a large group. Aeschylus' plays alsofeature a chorus, but the majority of the storiesare told through dialogue. Many typical dramaticconcepts, such as props², scenery, and costumes, also originated in Aeschylus' works. He alsoinvented the dramatic trilogy. His tragedies were performed in sequences of three playsstretched out over time. After each trilogy was concluded, he staged a comedy called a "satyrdrama".

In a typical satyr drama, the characters are mythological³ creatures and the chorus is a satyr, amischievous creature that is half-man, half-goat. The language and meter used by Aeschylusin his plays was the forerunner⁴ of blank verse, or unrhymed iambic pentameter.

Blank verse became the dominant⁵ poetic⁶ and dramatic style of the English literaryrenaissance, which occurred nearly 2 100 years after Aeschylus. Writers such as WilliamShakespeare, John Milton and Christopher Marlowe almost exclusively used blank verse intheir famous works. Alexandrine, another writing style, is also derived⁷ from Aeschylus' verse.

1 narrated   

v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some of the story was narrated in the film. 该电影叙述了这个故事的部分情节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island. 笛福生动地叙述了鲁滨逊·克鲁索在荒岛上的冒险故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

3 mythological   

adj.神话的

参考例句：

• He is remembered for his historical and mythological works. 他以其带有历史感和神话色彩的作品而著称。
• But even so, the cumulative process had for most Americans a deep, almost mythological significance. 不过即使如此，移民渐增的过程，对于大部分美国人，还是意味深长的，几乎有不可思议的影响。

4 forerunner   

n.前身，先驱（者），预兆，祖先

参考例句：

• She is a forerunner of the modern women's movement.她是现代妇女运动的先驱。
• Penicillin was the forerunner of modern antibiotics.青霉素是现代抗生素的先导。

5 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

6 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

7 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》