Revenge in Aeschylus' The Oresteia Trilogy and Sophocles' Electra The act of revenge in classical Greek plays and society is a complex issue with unavoidable consequences. In certain instances, it is a more paramount concern than familial ties. When a family member is murdered another family member is expected to seek out and administer revenge. If all parties involved are of the same blood, the revenge is eventually going to wipe out the family. Both Aeschylus, through "The Oresteia Trilogy,"
Comparing Women's Revenge in The Oresteia and Medea Clytaemnestra and Medea are two women who are seeking justice for a wrong committed by their husbands. Clytaemnestra?s husband, Agamemnon, did not wrong here directly but rather indirectly. Agamemnon sacrificed their daughter Iphigeneia, in order to calm the Thracian winds. For Clytaemnestra this brought much hatred towards Agamemnon. Here Agamemnon had betrayed Clytaemnestra and their daughters trust, and for that she sought revenge. Medea's
Vendetta and the Ritualized Revenge Motif in Popular Italian Film Italian cinema is conventionally associated with neorealist films and their contribution to the international art film movement. However, while these films tend to draw on the ideas and artistic creativity of individual directors such as Fellini, Antonioni, and De Sica; there is also a strong tradition of genre cinema evident in more popularized examples of Italian film. Emerging in the post-war era, these filone, or formula films
Revenge of the Killer Genre After years of repeated thematic motifs and unchanging, stereotypical characters, films within a genre often lose their vitality. The conventions become predictable and the underlying myth becomes boring and banal. The innovative director will seek to revitalize a popular myth through a "generic transformation" (Cawelti 520). This essay shall demonstrate how Quentin Tarantino borrows a traditional myth from the gangster genre, subverts it and subsequently installs a
An Analytical Essay on Hamlet as Ghost Story, Detective Story and Revenge Story William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, is a ghost story, a detective story and a revenge story all within one plot. Throughout the play, qualities of all three types of stories are displayed. The ghost story consists of Hamlet Senior and the circumstances surrounding his untimely demise at the hands of the present King, Claudius. He is being tortured in hell until his death is properly avenged. The detective aspect
Yasmin Nunez In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it is the desire for revenge that lies behind the motives of young Hamlet. His moral struggle towards revenge becomes an obsession leading to a change in character. His actions strongly imply that madness has overcome him. However, there are hints present in the text that implies his madness was feigned in order to achieve his revenge. Immediately following the appearance of old King Hamlet’s ghost, Hamlet warns Horatio that he may act mad, which foreshadows
Hamlet: The Methods of Revenge In the play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, two of the character's fathers are brutishly murdered. The first murdered character is King Hamlet who is supposed to be revenge by his son prince Hamlet. The second murder is Polonius who is supposed to be revenged by his son Laertes. Both Prince Hamlet and Laertes go to seek revenge for the death of fathers, however they will each use different methods to accomplish their deeds. Prince Hamlet has a meeting with the dead
Wuthering Heights: Revenge – The Strongest Theme When Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte, first appeared in 1847, it was thought to be obscene and crude (Chase 19). To the common person, it was shocking and offensive, and it did not gain popularity until long after it was first published. When the piece of literature became widely read and discussed, however, Bronte was declared as a “romantic rebel against repressive conventions and a writer who made passion part of novelistic tradition”
retribution come from different entities for fairly different reasons. So why is revenge such a factor in The Odyssey? Fear and the overwhelming feeling of payback are two answers. Homer gives numerous examples of how certain characters demonstrate their power in a fury of rage. He writes of the payback Zeus gives to those who break the rules, of Poseidon’s hatred towards Odysseus, and of Odysseus’s revenge to those who have dishonored his home. Zeus is the most powerful of all gods. All
When one is done wrong in a particularly hurtful or offending way, getting revenge is sometimes thought of as the most satisfying way of regaining ones sense of self worth. This plan, however, holds an immense possibility of backfiring in ways never dreamed of. In fact, the outcome of the situation at hand is sometimes made worse than it might have been if this course of action is taken. Arthur Miller demonstrates this in his tragic play The Crucible, by showing the reader that although giving in
Revenge More Important than Oedipus Complex in Hamlet A boy's streak of vengeance is not always merely Oedipal. Hamlet's revenge, and the situations that spur it, are not based on his love for his mother, but on the need to avenge his father's death. Although Hamlet is the only one who hears the ghost talk, others experience the sight. This proves that he does not subconsciously create the hallucination in order to rid his mother of her new lover. Once learning that his father was murdered,
continuing cycle of revenge. Someone is murdered and then a relative must kill the murderer, therefore becoming a murderer himself. A new chosen one is then selected to take revenge on that person who killed before him and the cycle goes on and on. The furies also play a part in this cycle of revenge. They seek out those who kill their blood relatives and haunt them and torture them for eternity. So basically they also take revenge for the ones that have been murdered. Revenge is a continuing theme
Hamlet: Revenge Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, is a tragic play consisting of numerous deaths. The deaths that took place played a very important role in the unfolding of the play. In reading this play the reader can almost guess who was going to die. A prince named Hamlet is the main character. Hamlet is a college student who one day planned to take over the throne in Denmark, but treachery would spoil all of Hamlet's plans. The King, Hamlet's father, was found dead
The Revenge of Iago in William Shakespeare's Othello In Shakespeare's "Othello," Iago carefully and masterfully entraps Othello into believing that his wife, Desdemona, is having an affair with Cassio. He does this through a series of suggestions and hesitations that entice and implant images into Othello's head that lead him to his own demise. More importantly, Iago gives Othello the motive to murder his own innocent wife Desdemona, satisfying Iago's immense appetite for revenge. The
The Scarlet Letter: Revenge Revenge is the act of retaliating in order to get even with someone for the wrongs they have done. In the novel “The Scarlet Letter,” the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, uses Roger Chillingworth to reap revenge on Arthur Dimmesdale for his affair with his wife, Hester Prynne. Chillingworth becomes so devoted to revenge that is all his life revolves around. Chillingworth then devotes the rest of his life to taking revenge on Dimmesdale. As the novel progressed, Chillingworth
The Price of Revenge in Sleepers and Valentine Many people advocate the philosophy of "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," but few of them realize that to take revenge is often to sacrifice oneself and that the very purpose of law is to put an end to revenge. People are willing to sacrifice their freedom, their careers, and even their lives for revenge. Lorenzo Carcaterra's novel Sleepers, and Tom Savage's novel, Valentine, evidently express this. Although its true that it might take couple
The Paradox of Revenge in Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado ?The Cask of Amontillado? raises a question pertaining to the multiple character of the self (Davidson 202); Can harmony of one's self be restored once primal impulses have been acted upon? This question proposes the fantasy of crime without consequence (Stepp 60). Edgar Allan Poe uses first person point of view, vivid symbolism and situational irony to show that because of man's inner self, revenge is ultimately not possible
influence over Brutus than he ever did in mortal form. “Caesar is more powerful in his spirit for to affect Brutus than in his mortal form. It is in this ghost form, Caesar full-fills his revenge on Brutus.'; (netessays.net) Revenge did not occur in the ancient world only in plays and stories. Revenge was a way of life, an every day belief of the ancient times. In ancient times, the times of the Greeks and Romans to be precise, the inhabitants believed that death was most certainly not the end
Sweetness of Revenge Susan Glaspell’s play, Trifles, seems to describe the ultimate women’s suffrage story. No longer will men have an upper hand against women after reading this story. Cleverness will be the key to retaining power from the men in this story. The one thing that woman are criticized for, the idea that women tend to look at the ‘little picture’ instead of the ‘whole picture’, will be there path to victory. Two stories of revenge are told in this story, the revenge of suppression
Revenge in Oedipus at Colonus A prevailing concept throughout Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus is that of revenge. Oedipus is given the opportunity to avenge many of the wrongs he has accumulated in his lifetime, and he takes the opportunity. Oedipus suffered through the latter portion of his life. Although the gods should be credited with the majority of his pain, he was wronged by mere mortals during his life. Did he have the right to seek revenge in general? Yes, he did. There is more to