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Medea wrap-up

Medea wrap-up. Exploring themes, issues brought up, and the like. . Displacing Sovereign Good.

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Medea wrap-up

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  1. Medea wrap-up Exploring themes, issues brought up, and the like.

  2. Displacing Sovereign Good • Aristotelian morality – “assumes that all desire is essentially the desire to ‘do good’ but cannot account for any desire which does not trace back to this apparently formative motivation” (Evans p. 49) • In Medea, the perception of “doing good” is dependent on the individual character-driven wants • To Medea – protecting her children from a life without priviledge; avenging her betrayal; destroying her enemies • To Jason – bettering the standing of his home • To Creon – protecting his daughter • To Greek culture as a whole – helping friends; harming enemies What is Euripides saying?

  3. Conflict between reason and passion • “…the Greeks favoured reason over passion as an inherent feature of their civilized society. In this sense, they prided themselves on being different and superior to the barbarians” (Velasco p. 1). • As a barbarian, Medea is seen as more passionate • However, is Jason reasonable?

  4. Greek Obsession with Rhetoric • Rhetoric is the “art of persuasion through words, regarding words as a powerful means to lead and communicate human thoughts” (Velasco p. 1). • Many felt the inclusion of rhetoric in the play lowered the overall quality of the tragedy • The agons is where two characters have two parallel speeches (i.e. Jason and Medea’s throw-down).

  5. Medea and Jason: Switching Rhetoric Roles • Medea actually represents the strong argument - “the one who tries to solve the conflicts in the most rational way” (Velasco p. 7). • Jason is the weak argument – “the skillful speaker who defends an unfair behavior and dares to build arguments for his narrow-mindedness” (Velasco p. 8) • “Euripides has to resort to a foreign main character to expose that the pressure of a society in which truth can be replaced by rhetorical skills turns out to be destructive” (Velasco p. 14).

  6. Themes in the play • Medea as a Woman • Loyal wife and nurturing mother • Medea as Other • Barbarian sorceress and intruder • Medea as Hero • Honor-obsessed, intent upon actions and reputation • Medea as Athenian • Defining herself publically; using language and rhetoric • Medea as God • Final epiphany and pronouncements

  7. Other general themes • Revenge, power, and greed • Jason seeks power and greed through his quest for the gold fleece and his marriage to the princess • Medea seeks revenge over Jason, the princess, and Creon

  8. Reminder of Poetics and Tragedy • Aristotle's treatises “the Poetics” on Tragedy identifies the main elements of tragedy • Plot – mythos • Character – ethos • Thought – dianoia • Diction – lexis • Melody – melos • Spectacle - opsis • The key elements of plot are • Reversals – peripeteia • Recognitions – anagnorisis • Suffering – pathos

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