He fought the Ottomans while in the Spanish Navy. On his way back to Spain, he was taken hostage and held in Algiers for five years. This experience contributed to Don Quixote. This work was his most popular. In 1606, he moved to Madrid, where he died in 1616. Ancient Greek Theater forms the foundations of modern theater. Greek theater is said to have evolved from religious rites around 1200 BC, rituals that would eventually come to involve both dancing and poetry. As the subject matter became more complex, the art of drama was born. The performance of Greek plays is similar to that of modern theater, and so are its forms. The most prominent forms are tragedy and comedy, both of which are the basis for theater today as well. Many of the classic stories of Greek mythology found their way to theater, inspiring later theater eras significantly.

Ancient Roman theater was built on the Greek model, translating mythology for the stage. The primary difference was that Roman theater was less inhibited, both in terms of its depictions of violence and sex. Rome valued its arts, and theater flourished during these times. Many plays with Greek themes or based on Greek stories were written. Also, there were stock characters that made fun of caricatures and real people in Roman society.

Moliere is said to have influenced modern theater because of his use of irony and everyday life. His coincidence of opposites is when opposing terms are reversed and the audience must sort out the meaning. Especially of his concern were the concepts of virtue and vice.

Commedia...

This form was practices not on stage but usually by troupes in public places. Physical comedy was the emphasis of the form, and there was extensive use of props. Everything from street performance today to modern theater and especially comedy finds influence in these troupes and their signature style of performing.
Noh is a Japanese theater form, one that evolved separate from the Western tradition. Thus, it bears no influence of Greek theater. Instead, it features Japanese communication elements, such that the actors suggest their story rather than acting it out. The audience already knows the plot, so the play is mostly about the performance itself. Noh theater would have less meaning to a non-Japanese audience. There are five traditional types of noh performances -- fighting plays, realistic ones, ones with supernatural beings, ones with a female protagonist, and ones featuring gods. Noh is essentially a stage art, very different from Western theater, but in its context can be a powerful expression. Modern noh is quite similar to ancient noh, in contrast to the evolution of Western theater.

A modern form, theater of the absurd was developed in Europe in the 1950s. The idea is that human existence has no purpose. Such a view developed out of philosophy in the earlier 20th century, and would certainly have been influenced by the destruction of two world wars. Theater of the Absurd also built on traditions like Dadaism and Surrealism. This form is an example of modern interpretations of the theatrical form and the types…