The Importance of the Role That the Chorus Plays in Euripedes’ Medea
The Chorus is very much an important part of Euripedes’ Medea, and indeed many other works written in the ancient Greek style. In this play, it follows the journey Medea makes, and not only narrates, but commentates on what is happening. Euripedes uses the Chorus as a literary device to raise certain issues, and to influence where the sympathies of the audience lie.
In the list of characters at the beginning of the play, the Chorus is stated to be a chorus of Corinthian Women. This draws the first link between them and Medea. The Chorus follows Medea on her journey through this play. They act as narrators on important occurrences in the play; however, they also act as a device Euripedes uses to influence the opinion of the audience. He does this by presenting to the audience a moral voice in the Chorus. The audience can relate to them, because the Chorus is in a neutral position in the play. They are definitely an integral part of the play, but their role is not so much to influence the actual plot of the play, but more to echo what has happened in the plot and the thoughts of the protagonists, and to suggest moral solutions the audience. The Chorus uses language which almost makes it seem that they are speaking from the perspective of the audience, and in doing this they are guiding the audience responses to what Euripedes wants it to be:
‘Medea, poor Medea! Your grief touches our hearts.’
Through this relationship between the Chorus and the audience, Euripedes is able to influence the audience to sympathise with Medea. In their first stasimon, a mutual suffering is shown between Medea and the Chorus:
‘And my own heart suffers too.’
The Chorus is used as an instrument to help the audience to understand and feel Medea’s suffering, and so from this early point in the play, a sympathy is established for Medea because of her tragic circumstances.
This mutual suffering between Medea and the Chorus raises issues such as the treatment of women at the time when this play was written. When Medea married Jason, she married herself to him for life. She was expected to be totally obedient and to accept whatever her husband willed. For her to look upon another man other than her husband would have been totally unacceptable. Whereas Jason marries another woman while he...
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... the Chorus, they condemn her for it, but, they can see and understand the reasons behind why Medea did what she did. For this reason at the end of the play the audience still has some sympathy for Medea, although severely diminished from that at the beginning of the play.
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.
Although Jackie Robinson was not the best African-American baseball player of his time, his attitude and ability to handle racist harassment led the way for the rest of his race to play Major League Baseball, amongst other sports. Being accepted into professional sports also helped African-Americans become more easily accepted into other aspects of life. Jackie's impact in the world for the black population is enormous.
To begin comparing Euripides Medea and Ovid’s Metamorphoses Book 7, we need to look at three components: context, characters, and themes. Both Euripides and Ovid tell the story of Jason abandoning Medea for another woman; however, they do not always share a perspective on the female protagonist’s traits, behavior, and purpose. Euripides portrays a woman who reacts to discrimination by beginning a battle to gain revenge all who harmed her, which she is prepared to follow through with even if it means resorting to the most despicable methods. Ovid, on the other hand, tells of a much less severe figure whose modest goal is only to persuade Jason to return. Despite these written differences, both of their Medea’s create trouble by acting with emotions instead of with reason, and as a result, put themselves in undesirable situations. Euripides and Ovid present two different sets of motivations for Medea's behavior wh...
Aside from providing a time frame that initiates a sense of urgency to the play (Medea only has a day to complete her plans), the exchange between Creon and Medea introduces the theme of her cleverness.
It is the reversal of “tradition, order” and “all things”. In her commitment to revenge, Medea defies the expectation of Greek society, transforming from the “poor Medea”, who is “scorned and shamed”, “[lying] collapsed in agony, into a “vile murderess”, who’s “rage will not relax till it has found its victim”. Medea is an anti-hero; she underplays the supposedly righteous and moral principles of society in demonstrating the contradictions of Jason’s character and generally men, who are themselves guilty of being “swayed by passion” and being “oath breakers, guest deceivers and liars.” As much as Jason is disloyal, Aegeus is equally loyal; he is so beguiled by Medea’s offer of being “granted fertility”, that he is willing to provide “sanctuary” in Athens for a “child killer”. Just as Medea is motivated by her personal passions in neglect of civilised laws, no less are the men in the play. Furthermore, the fact that the ending of the play unfolds in the manner that it does, where Medea evades punishment “in this chariot which the Sun has sent to save her from the hands of enemies” is a testimony to the idea that the constructs of society and their supposedly cultivated principles are arbitrary in the larger scheme of our existence. Through the deus ex machina ending of the play, Euripides condemns humanity’s fixation on contrived ideals and values that ultimately affect greater merit than is actually
Euripides created a two-headed character in this classical tragedy. Medea begins her marriage as the ideal loving wife who sacrificed much for her husband's safety. At the peak of the reading, she becomes a murderous villain that demands respect and even some sympathy. By the end, the husband and wife are left devoid of love and purpose as the tragedy closes.
Medea and Lysistrata are two Greek literatures that depict the power which women are driven to achieve in an aim to defy gender inequality. In The Medea, Medea is battling against her husband Jason whom she hates. On the other hand, in Aristophanes' Lysistrata, the protagonist Lysistrata plotted to convince and organize the female gender to protest against the stubbornness of men. In terms of defining the purpose of these two literatures, it is apparent that Euripedes and Aristophanes created characters that demonstrate resistance against the domination of men in the society.
...ars. Jason begins to question why Medea has killed their children. In the stage directions it is noted, “Medea appears above the roof, sitting in a chariot drawn by dragons” (Euripides 1316- 1319). Only gods and prophets could command such creatures in Greek mythology. This action signifies the character Medea freeing herself from the guilt of killing her children and emotionally impairing her husband. Only through purity can one achieve such divinity. This makes Medea’s rebellion divine. Medea’s actions are a proof of mythology as symbolic of rebellion.
Jackie Robinson grew up in a time of pure racism. He faced bad people during his baseball career with them harassing him and calling him names. When he was with his team they were sometimes not allowed to stay in hotels during road games because of him. With all these hard ships he made a difference like he changed baseball by breaking the color barrier in the MLB. He also changed the world in the civil rights movement too. Because he was national icon people saw him marching for civil right and they changed their minds. Jackie was a brave man. In the face of adversity he didn’t back down he stepped up and made a difference.
*Although Medea is arguably the most intelligent character in Euripides’s piece, shown in her dialogue with Creon, she has become ridiculed, and viewed as barbarous and less desirable following her separation from Jason. She is no longer a wife to a Greek man. She is simply an outsider, and a burden on a prosperous
The Chorus in Medea consists of middle-aged Corinthian women who are present on-stage throughout the entire play. They defy their customary purpose of solely observing, and instead in Medea, they give their opinion on the events of the production and directly speak to the characters. For an instance, they warn Jason by saying: “you are acting wrongly in thus abandoning your wife” (p. 34). In this quotation, they voice the audience’s thoughts and feelings, while foreshadowing the consequences of the events.
Throughout the whole story, you are torn with emotions between the characters. At first, you feel sorry for Medea. Her husband, who she has saved from death, has left her for another woman. She has been "all/obediant" their entire marriage, transforming herself into the sort of wife required by society. You can't help but sympathize with her.
The problem set at the beginning of the play is that Jason has decided to marry another wife, Glauce. Medea is angered and will not let Jason off without punishment. The loss of Jason is not only a matter of passion; Medea has been completely humiliated by Jason's decision to take a new bride. Her pride shows again when she refuses Jason's aid. Though her situation is difficult, she would rather destroy all than accept help from one who has wronged her so horribly. Living as a barbarian among Greeks has made her more defensive, more full of hurt pride. To punish Jason, Medea had her children deliver poisoned gifts to the new bride, to kill her children, Glauce, and Creon. . Medea is not without feeling, nor is she a sociopath. She comprehends the difference between right and wrong, but chooses to follow the dictates of rage.
...play has many significant decisions but the decisions by Medea to get revenge, which leads her to murdering many people in the process, is the most dramatic decision of all. It shows all the horror that can come from our decisions, and that we should not let revenge rule our lives as it did Medea’s. Overall, the story was very entertaining with all of Medea’s unthinkable decisions and she received no punishments for what she did, really made the play unpredictable. Euripides used a variety of concepts throughout the play that leaves it up to the audience to interpret Medea, in a variety of ways. Revenge, betrayal, passion, love, etc. are all feelings portrayed in Medea and they are what help shape the overall meaning of the play. In conclusion, one can feel that Medea’s focus of revenge took over her life, and she made the decision to choose passion over reasoning.
Aristotle, a philosopher, scientist, spiritualist and passionate critic of the arts, spent many years studying human nature and its relevance to the stage. His rules of tragedy in fact made a deep imprint on the writing of tragic works, while he influenced the structure of theatre, with his analysis of human nature. Euripides 'Medea', a Greek tragedy written with partial adherence to the Aristotelian rules, explores the continuation of the ancient Greek tales surrounding the mythology of Medea, Princess of Colchis, and granddaughter of Helios, the sun god, with heartlessness to rival the infamous Circe. While the structure of this play undoubtedly perpetuates many of the Aristotelian rules, there are some dramatic structures which challenge its standing with relevance to Aristotle's guidelines, and the judgment of Medea as a dramatic success within the tragic genre.
Medea’s illegitimate marriage and the betrayal of Jason drive Medea to extreme revenge. Medea chooses to act with her immortal self and commit inhumane acts of murder rather than rationalize the outcomes of her actions. Medea see’s this option as her only resort as she has been banished and has nowhere to go, “stripped of her place”. To create sympathy for Medea, Euripides plays down Medea’s supernatural powers until the end of the play. Throughout the play Medea represents all characteristics found in individual women put together, including; love, passion, betrayal and revenge. Medea’s portrayal of human flaws creates empathetic emotions from the audience. The audience commiserates with Medea’s human flaws as they recognize them in themselves. Medea plays the major role in this play as she demonstrates many behavioral and psychological patterns unlike any of the other Greek women in the play; this draws the audience’s attention to Medea for sympathy and respect.