Deus ex machina is a Latin saying that God means from the machine. This twist marks the sudden emergence of a deity in the ancient tragedy that resolves a conflict. In the Greek drama, there were conflicts, which could not always be solved by the action of the work: these conflicts were solved externally by the surprising intervention of a deity hovering above the theater stage by means of a lifting machine. In addition, deus ex machina is literally used when conflicts are solved by the sudden and unmotivated intervention of external powers in theater and everyday life (see Dénouement).
The saying is a loan translation from the Greek and derived from ἀπὸ μηχανῆς Θεός (~ apò mēchanḗs theós), which is of equal importance. This proposition is already found in Dion Chrysostomos, an ancient Greek philosopher and writer. Nowadays, the twist is still used mainly in connection with a dramatic work, but it is also used for films and literature or is generally used for the resolution of a conflict at the last minute.
This Deus ex machina was originally lifted over the stage or placed on the stage by means of a stage crane, the so-called theater machine, in the ancient theater. In this way the power of the divinity was portrayed, which influenced the events on the stage from above, dissolved conflicts and turned the fate of the protagonists suddenly and surprisingly.
Use of Deus ex machina
But such a machine god, that is, an external power, was not used in every dramatic work of antiquity, and was rather an undesirable, though at times also necessary, possibility of finally resolving a confused piece.
The Ars Poetica of Horaz, a Roman poet of antiquity, is an indication that a dissolution of this kind was not desirable. The Ars Poetica is a script written in hexameters. It played a decisive influence on the poetry of the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Classicism. Horace did not create an independent poetic in the brief treatise, but pointed to the characteristics which, in his view, were essential for the aesthetics of a work. There is the following:
nec deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus / inciderit.
Translation: no god is in the game, except there is an entanglement that requires a liberator.
Consequently, it was the declared aim to dissolve the action nodes of a drama by the protagonists themselves, and not to introduce an external power which brought the confused drama to an end or a solution. So only when a person is no longer able to resolve the conflict of the drama, the poet should reach for a deus ex machina that presents a solution.
Strictly speaking, it is always a question of the appearance of a deity. For example, it is the goddess Athene, who acts as a deus ex machina in the tragedy of the poet Aeschylus. In tragedy, Klytaimnestra murdered her husband Agamemnon (King of Mycenae), whom she hates, since he sacrificed the common daughter Iphigenia to the gods. Orestes, brother of Iphigenia, and son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, revenged on his own mother.
Thereupon, the Erinyes (revenge goddesses) and the shadow of the murdered mother appear, they now demand revenge on Orestes, because after all, Klytaimnestra had to pay for their offense. The situation is, therefore, complicated, especially because Orestes has acted only on the request of the god Apollo, and therefore the dispute about revenge and blood-corpse appears insoluble. Orestes asks for accommodation at Athena.
The goddess of protection, Athene, then acts as a deus ex machina as it appears surprising and makes possible a solution to the conflict. If Orestes were to die, the blame and mutual revenge would be driven to infinity. The acting figures are therefore not able to resolve the conflict. Athene acts as a court, adjusts himself to Orestes and promises the Erinys gifts and the worship of the citizens, in order to soothe them.
In the literary landscape, however, this external power is not always a deity. In the Middle Ages, for example, very often witches and demons are the result of such a dramatic conflict, but the Deus ex machina is partly a person who is brought into the game surprisingly and the seemingly insoluble situation suddenly dissolves or the appearance of a unexpected army, a sorcerer, a miracle, a natural catastrophe, or the like.
Short overview: The most important facts about Deus ex machina at a glance
As Deus ex machina is the emergence of a deity in ancient tragedy, which resolves a conflict which can no longer be solved from the action itself. The appearance of such a deity comes as a surprise to the viewer and ends the conflict.
Although the term is in principle a deity, there are numerous examples in the literary landscape that dissolve the conflict through another external power. It can also be witches, wizards, miracles, etc. What is most important is that the situation appears insoluble and is suddenly dissolved.
In everyday life the term also means all situations or distresses solved by a sudden helper or the unexpected solution of a difficulty.
