Fifth Issue

compared to the other theater genres – language is the major factor that shapes the spirit
of the performance, embodies ideas in the speech act and gives emphasis to the qualities
of the figures.
Furthermore, an important difference between Karagiozis and his Turkish
counterpart, Karagoz, can be traced in the level of language usage. Karagiozis is free
from the obscene language of Karagoz, and the liberation from this style adds to the
essence of Karagiozis as a highly differentiated style of the Shadow Theater.
The transition from the Turkish to the Greek Shadow Theater was a gradual
process along three basic phases.
In the first period (1850 – 1880), the Turkish element is still prominent. Inspired
by life events or mythology, the early plays are Turkish and the themes and structure are
similar to those of Turkish Karagoz. The gradual presentation of everyday life situations
that are common for Greeks, and the introduction of themes based on Greek folk tradition
reveal the first steps of adjustment to Greek reality, but, still, the new genre presents an
entirely different thematic content from contemporary theater plays.
In the second period (1880 – 1910), the creation of many new Greek plays –
comedies and heroic plays – marks the beginning of the hellenization process, which
occurs through an interactive process of communication between the player and his
audience. By the end of 19 th century, Greek Shadow Theater is a well established
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