Medea Discussion
Reply to this post with intelligent commentary on ONE of the topics below. Also, thoughtfully reply to the post of a fellow student.
Questions (choose one):
- What is the effect of Medea's delayed entrance at the beginning of the play?
- How is the scene with Aegeus of Athens relevant to Medea (at least two ways)?
- Why does Medea pretend to be reconciled with Jason?
- Discuss the use of deus ex machina.
- Discuss the following quote as it relates to Jason's character:
- "As to those acts of service you so loudly boast-- whom do I thank for them? I thank divine Venus, the goddess who makes girls fall in love. You did them because you had to do them; Venus compelled you..."
- Analyze the extended metaphor in this quote:
- "The wine I was pouring for you spilled on my hand-- Dear were the little grapes that were crushed to make it; dear were the vineyards."
- Discuss the contrasting attitudes towards women advanced by Medea and the chorus.
- How does Euripides allow us to feel sympathy for a woman who murders her children?
3.Why does Medea pretend to be reconciled with Jason?
ReplyDeleteThroughout this play, Euripides continually reminds the audience of the anguish and bitterness that Medea holds towards Jason. She expresses a strong dissatisfaction with her husbands choice in Glauce and outwardly speaks of her mourning. As the play begins to unravel, Medea, in vain, reconciles herself with Jason and shows her 'respect' to him and Glauce. She even goes to the point of offering fine gifts to Glauce as a peace offering. Her deceptive heart had other intentions that were later revealed in the offering of these gifts. Medea's plot for revenge succeeded and both Jason and Glauce were easily lured by Medea's cunning words.
Good analysis, Lindsey. You are right, those gifts were not a peace offering, but were a revenge offering, just like the rest of her luring reconciliation.
DeleteWhen you say, "Medea, in vain, reconciles herself with Jason...," I get the impression that you are saying that Medea wants to reconcile. So, your response makes me wonder: Does Medea have any desire to reconcile with Jason?
I like what you had to say! I completely agree with you. Those gifts of Medea were meant for revenge. I liked how you mentioned she had a deceptive heart with other intentions.
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ReplyDelete2. How is the scene with Aegeus of Athens relevant to Medea (at least two ways)?
ReplyDeleteBefore Medea meets Aegeus, she feels hopeless. Her husband left her and she has only one more day to stay in her home of Corinth. By saying, "What town will receive me? / What friend will offer me a refuge in his land," Medea realizes that she has no place to turn (page 13). Then comes along an old friend, Aegeus, the king of Athens. Although he does not appear to be a close friend, Aegeus gives Medea an idea. She begs him to give her refuge in Athens in return for drugs. The arrangement may sound like a joke, but Aegeus accepts it under the condition that Medea must get to Athens by herself. Medea now has a place to stay and forces Aegeus to swear by his protection. Under Aegeus' shelter, Medea casts away her hopelessness and prepares for her revenge.
In addition to ridding Medea of hopelessness, this scene provides Medea with comfort and security that she can act in revenge against her husband. She has a place to stay, and as long as she can get there, she is free to act immorally.
Finally, this scene gives Medea the idea to murder her children. Up to this point, Medea had it in her mind to murder Creon, Glauce, and Jason (p. 13). Not until after Medea makes her arrangement with Aegeus, does she plan to murder her children (p. 26). It is likely that because Medea does not make a deal with Aegeus to offer her children protection, she realizes that she can murder them instead of murdering her husband; and therefore pour more hardship upon Jason.
All in all, the scene with Aegeus is relevant to Medea by ridding Medea of her hopelessness, providing her with comfort and security, and giving her the idea to murder her children.
Diego~
DeleteYou did a splendid job in writing an analysis regarding the scene with Aegeus of Athens. You gave ample reasoning as to how this scene is relevant to Medea, allowing the reader to identify the consequences of Medea's choices. I too found it interesting that Medea chooses to murder her children instead of her husband, bringing more hardship upon Jason and allowing Medea a greater satisfaction.
Great Job!
I like what you had to say! I'm glad you used quotes and you made me see the significance of Aegeus in a way I hadn't before. Your response was very easy to understand and insightful. Good analysis.
DeleteQuestion 8:
ReplyDeleteThe author is able to make the reader still feel sorry for Medea, a woman who killed her own children, by showing her her internal feelings. Your first impression of Medea is that she is crazy or evil, but after hearing her background, you start to sympathize for the woman. Medea helped out Jason from the beginning, and soon fell in love with him. Once he left her for Glauce, she felt betrayed and hurt. Medea's idea of revenge was to destroy the things Jason loved most- his children. At this point, many of the readers take Medea's side and portray Jason as the villain; after all, he was the one that started this whole mess. The author made the character of Medea very relate able and sympathetic to the audience.
This is a good point; Medea is a complex character in her suffering. However I do think that along with drawing sympathy the author was highlighting the evil of the act (murdering her children), as having not logical or emotional justification.
DeleteYou make a good point. Your explanation is strong and precise. It summed up the whole idea very well. Nice work.
DeleteI liked your response! You said what everyone was thinking in a clear, organized way. I agree with you.
DeleteQuestion 1:
ReplyDeleteMedea's delayed entrance defines and builds suspense around her character. From the opening lines the Nurse is talking about Medea and her emotional state, already characterizing her and in a sense telling us what to expect when we meet her. Because of this, by the time Medea appears we already have a expectation of her and who she is; a betrayed and emotionally in a dark place of revenge. This is also a parallel of interpretations; who Medea is lines up with what those around her see, creating a harmony of her internal and external identity.
This was an incredibly thought provoking analysis. It just made me wonder if so much build up was created for Medea, how much is done the same for us? I kind of wish you had gone deeper with examples and specifics. Great job though!
DeleteQuite a straightforward answer. I agree about the suspense. We already have an image in our heads, an image that we may sympathize with as the Nurse gives us a biased summary of Medea's past that allows us to incline towards Medea's side of the story.
DeleteAnalyze the extended metaphor in this quote:
ReplyDelete"The wine I was pouring for you spilled on my hand-- Dear were the little grapes that were crushed to make it; dear were the vineyards."'
This metaphor is Medea relating the horrific actions Jason committed with spilling wine that was aged perfectly. The things put into Jason and Medea's relationship, like their children and the entire story of the Golden Fleece, went to waste in Medea's eyes. Those memories and outcomes were precious to Medea and were without sacrifice, but Jason just threw them away.
Very insightful, the thing about the precious memories being spilled I did not pick up on before so thanks!
DeleteAnswer to question 1:
ReplyDeleteMedea's delayed entrance was to create suspense. You are reading about a person but they aren't coming into the story yet. You know the person already because of all that the Nurse is telling you but you are waiting for the character to come out into the light of the play so you can see if everything you are hearing about her is true. You may wonder if the character will act like they are being described or if they will act differently and the character is just misunderstood.
3. Why does Medea pretend to be reconciled with Jason?
ReplyDeleteMedea pretends to be reconciled with Jason in order to give him the poisoned clothes to pass on to Glauce. She acted as if she wanted to be friends with him and she was happy for him, but she only tried to get close to him and gain his trust so that she could poison, and therefore murder, Glauce. It was a "lucky" coincidence that Creon died with her.
Good job Emma, I agree with your response. Medea was very "sneaky" in that way. She tried hard to get to Jason in order to kill Glauce.
Delete~"Discuss the use of Deus Ex Machina "~
ReplyDeleteThe phrase deus ex machina is a Latin theatrical term meaning "god from a machine". Deus ex machina is the introduction of a contrived character, often a god or goddess, into a play in order to miraculously rescue the hero or resolve a complicated plotline. Even forces of nature might be used as a form of deus ex machina. To the Greek being able to have this as their god, was a big relief for them. They knew that there wouldn't be conflict.
How does Euripides allow us to feel sympathy for a woman who murders her children?
ReplyDeleteThe audience is able to easily feel sympathy for Medea because of the way she is presented and what we learn about her. The audience gains sympathy before they even know that she plans to kill her children, because the play opens with the Chorus and Nurse explaining the horrible emotional state she is in, and how they feel badly for her. We are initially told the tale of a woman whose husband has done her wrong, and for this we feel bad for her. This is why we do not turn to hate her when she states her plot for revenge. Then, we learn of Medea's history with Jason. She left her homeland and her father for him. She accompanied him and gave up so much for him, only to be betrayed. Because this is explained after the audience learns what she plans to do, it actually strengthens their sympathy or reinforces it when they may have been doubting it.
Really, really good and insightful analysis on how Euripides wrote Medea!
DeleteHow does Euripides allow us to feel sympathy for a woman who murders her children?
ReplyDeleteEuripedes first presents Medea as a pathetic, crying woman who's heart is just broken. We, the readers, don't know about her apathy to murder nor her vengeful ways. No, she is just a woman scorned, and that first impression -and despite how many times we've been told not to judge solely on first impressions, we do- is already set in our heads as Euripedes slowly begins to shed light on Medea's less-innocent inclinations.
Second, she has a horde of following sympathizers that mourn about how pitiful she is at every second. The Nurse and the Chorus back her up and metaphorically spit on Jason. Even Aegeus likes her, and Aegeus is depicted to be just a unlucky king without children. The audience inclines towards the person with the majority vote.
I like the way you include a bit of human psychology into your analysis! I agree with both of your points. However, i believe that another factor is that we begin to form the idea that Medea is just mad (as in crazy) and it was the pain of betrayal that brought her there (aka not her fault) so we may sympathize even still.
Delete3. Why does Medea pretend to be reconciled with Jason?
ReplyDeleteMedea pretends to forgive and reconcile with Jason to lure him into a false sense of security, this way she could avoid being banished, and she would not be suspected of anything, therefore allowing her to successfully complete her revenge. Because of this false sense that Medea will not try to hurt him, Medea is able to kill Glauce, and inadvertently, Creon.
I agree that she did this so she could pull off her revenge with the fleece, but I do not think it was Jason's call as to her being banished. The king made it very clear that this was not going to happen.
Delete6. This metaphor is about how Medea gave up her kingdom to be with Jason. When she refers to the grapes, which were dear to her, she is referring to her brother, who she murdered to save Jason. It also alludes to her life, when she talks about vineyards, in giving up her kingdom, and her right to it. Her statement is showing what she did for Jason, but it may also be her questioning her sacrifice.
ReplyDelete1. What is the effect of Medea's delayed entrance at the beginning of the play?
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the play Medea is inside of her her home as the Nurse begins the introduction. She tells of Jason's betrayal to Medea and speaks of the pain and heartache Medea is enduring. It is not until after the nurse has finished her monologue that Medea appears.
Medea's delayed entrance allows us to begin to form our own opinion of her before actually hearing her speak. In particular, the words spoken by the Nurse form a feeling of sympathy for Medea before we meet her in character. This is why I believe the delayed appearance of Medea is important.