Comparing the Themes of Vincenzio Bellini’s Norma and Euripedes' Medea
Vincenzio Bellini’s opera Norma is considered by many to be a reworking of Euripedes' classic Greek tragedy Medea. Both plots have many identical elements of Greek tragedy such as a chorus, unity of location, and a human decision and action culminating in tragedy. Richard Wagner greatly admired Greek tragedies, believing them to be “The highest point ever reached in human creative achievement…” (Wagner 1). In his essay Theories of Art, Wagner gives five reasons for this “artistic perfection:” 1. It represented a successful combination of the arts-- poetry, drama, costumes, mime, music, dance and song-- and as such had greater scope and expressive powers than any of the arts alone. 2. It took its subject matter from myth, which illuminates the human experience in universal terms. (“The myth is true for all times.” (Wagner 2)) 3. Both the content and the occasion of performance had religious significance. 4. It was a religion of humanism and a celebration of life, even in death. 5. The entire community took part. Medea also deals heavily with the themes of female jealousy, its capabilities, and infanticide, as does Norma. Norma exhibits not only the embodiment of these themes, but also exhibits Wagner’s theories of effectiveness of Greek tragedy, therefore qualifying Bellini’s opera to be as effective in portraying the classic ideals of Greek tragedy as its counterpart, Medea.
Wagner believed that as time went on, Greek art slowly disintegrated, each individual art going a separate way, developing alone—instrumentals without words, poetry without music, drama without either, etc. He believed it further disintegrated with the introduction of Christiani...
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The majority of people have a very basic understanding of Earth, the planet we reside in, let alone the seven other planets in our solar system. The eight planets surrounding our star, the Sun, are separated into two very simple categories: Jovian and Terrestrial Planets. Throughout this paper, I will be explaining the basic structure and properties of the eight planets in our solar system, along with a brief history on the discovery of our solar system and what’s to come in the future. I will also go in depth into the difference between the Jovian Planets and the Terrestrial Planets, from the basic differences to the different structures and properties.
...his moon. There is about half water ice and half rocky material, which consists of magnesium and other elements.
The tragic play Medea is a struggle between reason and violence. Medea is deliberately portrayed as not a ‘normal woman’, but excessive in her passions. Medea is a torment to herself and to others; that is why Euripides shows her blazing her way through life leaving wreckage behind her. Euripides has presented Medea as a figure previously thought of exclusively as a male- hero. Her balance of character is a combination of the outstanding qualities of Achilles and Odysseus.
Othello is one of Shakespeare’s four pillars of great tragedies. Othello is unique in comparison to the others in that it focuses on the private lives of its primary characters. When researching the subject of Othello being an Aristotelian tragedy, there is debate among some critics and readers. Some claim that Shakespeare did not hold true to Aristotle’s model of tragedy, according to his definition in “Poetics,” which categorized Othello as a classic tragedy as opposed to traditional tragedy. Readers in the twenty-first century would regard Othello a psychological thriller; it definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat creating the emotions of terror, heart break, and sympathy. This paper will focus on what Shakespeare actually intended regarding “Othello” and its Aristotelian influences.
Jean Kilbourne, Richard Pollay, Sut Jhally, Bernard McGrane and other noted critics, performing a cultural
In 1729, Jonathan Swift published a pamphlet called “A Modest Proposal”. It is a satirical piece that described a radical and humorous proposal to a very serious problem. The problem Swift was attacking was the poverty and state of destitution that Ireland was in at the time. Swift wanted to bring attention to the seriousness of the problem and does so by satirically proposing to eat the babies of poor families in order to rid Ireland of poverty. Clearly, this proposal is not to be taken seriously, but merely to prompt others to work to better the state of the nation. Swift hoped to reach not only the people of Ireland who he was calling to action, but the British, who were oppressing the poor. He writes with contempt for those who are oppressing the Irish and also dissatisfaction with the people in Ireland themselves to be oppressed.
The issue Swift comments on is the horrendous Irish potato famine currently gripping the region to the north of England. The famine, although a serious issue is grabbed by Swift as an opportunity to critique the crown of England along with a few jousts at both the colonies of North America and the kingdom of France. Swift’s main audience in this piece is the people o Albion, who he entertains through his in his Oxford educated persona along with his irish bias very evident in his writing style. Swift’s argument is presented as a fantastic solution that will cure the irish of awful plight is merely a plea for the kindness of others to take hold and enact the citizens moral duties, as to not allow the Irish to resort to the barbaric tradition of eating one’s own kind.
Medea's first public statement, a sort of "protest speech," is one of the best parts of the play and demonstrates a complex, at times even contradictory, representation of gender. Medea's calm and reasoning tone, especially after her following out bursts of despair and hatred, provides the first display of her ability to gather herself together in the middle of crisis and pursue her hidden agenda with a great determination. This split in her personality is to a certain degree gender bias. The lack of emotional restraint is "typical" of women, and the strong attention to moral action is a common trait of heroes. Medea actually uses both of these traits so that her wild emotions fuel her ideals, thus producing a character that fails to fit into a clear mold.
During Swift’s time, English land-lords owned much of the land in Ireland. These affluent Englishmen practiced feudalism in which they employed the Irish to tend to their fields. The English, however, forced high taxes upon the Irish workers. This system prevented the Irish from obtaining much profit, which in turn forced the workers to face an endless cycle of poverty. The majority of the families in Ireland were subject to this system, which resulted in the great issue of the families not being able to care for their children after establishing this precedent; swift introduces his satirical proposal of transforming the burden of childcare into a profitable affair. Swift proposes the Irish market their children to be eaten. Swift suggests that this system will boost the Irish by giving families money in their pockets as well as an end to Ireland’s famine by introducing a new food source. Throughout Swift’s proposal, he presents multiple benefits from his system and how it will cause Ireland to prosper. As beneficial as Swift’s proposal may appear, he drafted his piece satirically, as not to be serious with his proposal but use it to initiate change. Swift realizes his proposal will shock his audience,...
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Jupiter is the fifth planet from the sun and the largest planet in the solar system. It is known as a gas giant and its mass is one thousandth of the mass of the sun, however, its mass is two and a half times the mass of all the planets in the solar system combined. It is considered a gas giant along with the three other planets Uranus, Saturn, and Neptune. These four planets are referred to as the Jovian planets or outer planets. The planet was known by astronomers since ancient times which may be one of the reasons the Romans named the planet after their Roman god Jupiter.
Again, satire involves exaggeration to reveal or shame concerns. This aspect of satire is seen when Swift writes that he “believe no Gentleman would repine to give Ten Shillings for the Carcass of a good fat Child which, as I have said will make four Dishes of excellent Nutritive Meat” (swift 316), this would allow the Mother earn “have Eight Shillings neat profit, and be fit for Work till she produceth another Child” (316). Swift’s statement was to address the economic issues. By buying and selling child as a food source this would help with two problems that Ireland is dealing with. First by selling the children it would put money back into the pockets of the people. This proposal would also aid in feed the people that are starving because of the poor condition and the bad growing
According to Plato, “Human behavior flows from three main sources, desire, emotion, and knowledge.” What exactly is emotion? Everyone has it, feels it, and sometimes we can’t control it. It is a dominating force that sometimes causes us to do the most remarkable and maniacal things. Strong emotion is a rational occurrence in human nature that can be demonstrated through examples in Medea, Sappho, and Force Majeure.
The Chorus, in this play, guides the audience. In the end, it is up to the individual as to what reaction they have to the play, but the Chorus is there to, in a way makes this reaction more complicated. One could leave the play totally condemning Medea, but the Chorus display’s Medea in a way that makes the audience sympathise with her, and so the moral conclusions that need to be come to side, become more complex. The audience has to base their reaction to Medea on what crimes they have seen her commit, and on what they have heard of her through the Chorus. Their integral part in the play acts in many ways, to follow, revise, and extend the plot of the play, and to influence the opinions and sympathies of the audience. It is a literary, and dramatic device that Euripedes uses, and uses well, to help portray a tragedy, and also a moralistic play, in which the Chorus is the voice that provides the morals.