How Is Jocasta Presented In Medea

Aristotle once wrote about tragedies in his Poetics : “Tragedy is an imitation of an action that is admirable, complete and possesses magnitude; in language made pleasurable… effecting through pity and fear the purification of such emotions.” Yet all of this is present in Medea and Oedipus Rex. Jocasta the wife and mother of Oedipus is one of the crowing characters in Oedipus Rex. She shows emotions from finding out her son is alive. To finding out that her son killed his father. Yet at the same time she stands like a pillar in defending Oedipus. When Jocasta comes in the throne room to find Oedipus trying to banish Creon for having the seer tell him that he is the reason for trouble in kingdom. Jocasta acts with concern when she asks Oedipus

Medea right off the bat is grieving over how Jason betrayed her. She shows this when she says “Ah, wretch ! Ah, lost in my suffering, I wish, I wish I might die.” (Medea Pg.4 ) She conveys such emotion in just one sentence. She believes her life is over, because Jason no longer views her as his wife. Yet at the same time she conveys even more when she shows in all her ranting that she knows she has no place to go. This is shown when she says “Oh, my father!, Oh, my country!, In what dishonor I left you, killing my own brother for it.” (Medea Pg.6) She also shows that she will kill for what she wants with this very statement. Yet when she starts to lay out her grievances with the women of Corinth do we start to see how she starts to rationalize her plan to get back at Jason. Yet even before that she is face with more tradgey when she told by the king that she banished from the kingdom. Yet she shows that more then cunning enough to use this to her advantage. All it does moves up her plans. This is seen when she asks the king “Allow me to remain here for just this one day.” (Medea Pg.12) Yet Medea shows how bitter she is with Jason when she tells him “It was not that. No, you thought it was not respectable as you got in years to have a foreign wife.”(Medea pg.19) When she meets the king of Athens does she show that she has bravery to stand her ground, and use a king as her pawn. She tells him “Swear by the plains of Earth and Helius, father of my father, and name together all these gods…”(Medea Pg.24) With this she has safety from the coming storm. Yet see still shows her concern for her children. She knows that after her act of getting back at Jason. Her children will be used as pawns against her. She tells why she does this when she days “To kill my children, and start away from this land, and not by wasting time, to suffer my children, To be slain by another hand less kindly to