The two Greek plays, Medea and Antigone both exhibit opening scenes that serve numerous purposes. Such as establishing loyalties, undermining assumptions on the part of the audience, foreshadowing the rest of the play, and outlining all of the issues. Medea and Antigone share many similarities in their openings.
Both plays begin with providing the audience with the history and the consequences of certain situations that the characters were involved in. It also brings the audience to the present time, in which the play occurs. This enables the audience to have a clear and refreshed image of what aspect of the legend the play emphasizes or if any alterations were made. In Medea, the nurse is the first character who enters the play and reminds the audience of the legend of the Golden Fleece, and the love between Jason and Medea, from beginning to the end. She also brings them to the present state Medea is in, which is of complete despair and depression after Jason remarried. “And she hates her children now, and feels no joy at seeing them.” (Oates, 292). In Antigone, one of the purposes of the chorus is to provide history to the audience. Although, Sophocles did change the structure a little. The first to enter the play are Antigone and Ismene, who are engaging in conversation over defying the edict forbidding their brothers burial, which brings the audience to the present time. Shortly after, the chorus enters and recounts the reasons for the battle and death of Polyneices and Eteocles, brothers to Antigone and Ismene. The chorus appears every scene to serve as the voice of the culture, and counsels to the characters. “…Save those two of cruel fate, who, born of one sire and one mother, set against each other their twain conquering spears, and sharers in a common death.” (Oates, 192).
While the chorus and the nurse recount the background of the story they simultaneously set the mood of the play. Their speeches are expressed with such deep emotion that the audience can’t help but become involved. The nurse in Medea sets a very tense mood that remains throughout the whole play. “I fear she may contrive some untoward scheme; for her mood is dangerous nor will she brook her cruel treatment.” (Oates, 292).
Another similarity these two plays share is the defiance of the traditional role of women. The Greek culture was set in the role that women should take and it was rarely violated.
Dr. Seuss's original fable is a simple story told with a great moral that criticizes the commercialization of Christmas. The original story features an “Ebenezer Scrooge” type creature that lives up the mountains outside "Whoville." The Grinch indulges himself in the annual ritual of spoiling everyone's festivities with a series of nasty pranks. This particular year however he plans to sabotage the holiday season by dressing as Santa Claus, clim...
There is and added complication in that he would like to have another child to throw the reindeer droppings on the roof for. Even though he wants this more than anything, he is reluctant to approach his wife. He fears that she may not share his desire and that would just be too painful to accept. He would prefer to have a boy and vividly anticipates this imaginary child finding the evidence on the roof on Christmas morning. ...
Just as Newsweek, a form of media today informs the public about whether TV is good or bad for children, the chorus informs the audience about the play, Antigone. In the play, the chorus narrates the play and tells the audience what's happening. "These two only, brothers in blood, face to face in matchless rage, mirroring each the other's death, clashed in long combat" (Sophocles 314). The chorus gives background information such as this to better understand the plot of the play. The chorus is like a reporter on the news or a writer of this article. The chorus in Antigone interacts with the characters by asking questions just as a journalist would do in an article or interview. "But now at last our new King is coming: Creon of Thebes, Menoikeus son. In this auspicious dawn of his reign what are the new complexities that shifting Fate has woven for him? What is his counsel? Why has he summoned the old men to hear him?...
...tigone is between the two mindsets of the two conflicting characters. Sophocles bases Antigone on his standpoint about the argument of the man-made law against the religious law. The conflict between the two opposing characters creates drama throughout the story.
The play was admired by many in the fifth century BC. When there was word of a performance of the play Antigone, every actor hoped to have a part in the production. The theme of this play is referred to by many as “a conflict between secular and divine law” (Harsh 103). This is challenged by philosophers of Greek studies. Greeks did not believe that Creon was a tyrant therefore disposing the idea of conflict. These might be concepts present through the play but these are only formed by the defense of Antigone’s point of view (Harsh 104).
The chorus being a part of the audience allowed for the audience to have a more direct link between what was occurring in the play. However, the chorus itself added a comedic and introspective aspect into the play. For example, the chorus seemed to be one of the few characters that were aware of the situation that the characters were in and the fate of each one. An example of the comedic effect that the chorus adds is when he questions Antigone about whether she remembers doing the entire play with a door strapped on her back because her father wanted her to. This comedic effect seems to lighten the mood during an intense monologue that Antigone is about to give, which addresses the ignorance of Kreon. Also, the wedding between Antigone and Haimon is another high point of the play as all the characters, including Kreon and Eurydike, are in a moment of contempt during the marriage. The low points of the play include Kreon’s realization of his actions and the suicide of Antigone. Both Kreon’s realization and Antigone’s suicide creates a cathartic moment in the audience, as those watching give pity to Kreon and Antigone for dealing with a less than ideal situation. The scene that surprised me the most is the random musical number that was added intermittently in the play. For example, the dancing scene surprised me as due to the randomness in the scene. I would not expect a dance
Because the sole purpose of Antigone is to get a moral point across, the parallels between light and dark and physis and nomos are associated together, and used metaphorically to add diversity and imagery to an otherwise redundant script. In the first scenes, these light and dark images show the reign of Creon. These are followed by the indistinct and ironic middle scenes, and end with the gods choosing Antigone's actions over Creon's, leaving Creon spiritually dead and paying for his poor choices and conduct. These are very effective techniques, which allow Sophocles to more fully develop his play, and give it a more emotional edge.
The objective of this essay is to appraise at the HRA 1998, in terms of its enactment, application, practicability, and commitment to its principles. Furthermore, one will critically analyse the importance of the aforementioned act from a social worker’s perspective. One believes that the social workers must be familiar with the British law system and The Human Rights Act of 1998 and its capability of upholding and safeguarding the human rights. Furthermore, the social workers must know how to apply the aforementioned act as a tool for the betterment of their practice and the service users whom they represent.
Antigone and Hamlet are two distinctive tragedies, written by two different authors, in two separate centuries, yet both stories have considerable aspects in common. Antigone is about a girl who stands up to her uncle, the new King Kreon, after he refuses to bury one of her dead brothers, Polynieces, because she believes not burying him in wrong, especially on a spiritual level. Antigone is a tragic heroine because her tragic flaw, tenacious loyalty, leads to the down fall of not only herself, but more importantly her beloved fiancé, Haemon, and also his mother. Hamlet is about a prince whose father, King Hamlet, just died and whose mom, Queen Gertrude, just married his uncle, the new King Claudius. Hamlet is not ok with the situation. Hamlet
Because of our decision to expose the raw emotions of Euripides’ Medea in our rendition, the costumes will reflect the robust yet simple feelings of Medea. Our costumes convey the internal emotions of the characters throughout the play and adjust with each character’s circumstances. The colors of each character’s costume symbolize different feelings as well. For example, dark green is associated with greed, selfishness, and ambition while gold connects with riches and prestige.
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.
In The Great Mother, Erich Neumann attempts to provide a structural analysis of the archetype. He states in the preface that not only does it "provide the foundation for all psychotherapy," it also provides for each man a view of the world that "enriches his own personality" as well as his "new perspective on life and on mankind as a whole." When referring to an archetype, Neumann refers to "an inward image at work in the human psyche." By examining the separate aspects of the archetype, one can approach a more thorough understanding of the archetype and, finally, the implications of its structure and its appearances in the real world.
Social work practice is a profession where it works alongside the ‘code of ethics’, these consist of formal statements which represent values of the professional community. The national associations such as Britain state the core values within this field are human dignity and worth, social justice, service to humanity (human rights), integrity and competence. The professional field is regulated by the ‘British Association of Social Work’ (BASW). The core values within social work are huma...
An analysis of Medea through Aristotle’s Poetics Aristotle was a Greek philosopher, who lived during the period of 384 to 322 BC. He has been widely recognized throughout history as one of the most significant thinkers and philosophers. His work in Poetics has helped define the way in which Greek literature and even contemporary texts are read. To begin Aristotle helps us define what he considers tragedy and what he determines is not worthy of the term. He divides and analyzes one by one the parts that he considers are essential to any tragedy, and orders them according to what he believes is the most important.
Medea is a tragedy of a woman who feels that her husband has betrayed her with another woman and the jealousy that consumes her. She is the protagonist who arouses sympathy and admiration because of how her desperate situation is. I thought I was going to feel sorry for Medea, but that quickly changed as soon as I saw her true colors. I understand that her emotions were all over the place. First, she was angry, then cold and conniving. The lower she sinks the more terrible revenge she wants to reap on Jason.