Examples Of Ethos Pathos And Logos In Medea

1. In Medea, Euripides uses pathos, (appealing to the emotions or feelings of the reader in his work). He does this in order to portray Medea’s feelings towards Jason. In the play, Medea’s husband Jason leaves her for another woman who exhibits wealth and high status in the town of Corinth. Jason commits this narcissistic act in order to provide for Medea and their kids. This enrages Medea, leading her to engage in vengeful thinking, causing Medea to think irrational thoughts such as: “Oh why can’t a bolt of lightning strike me, what point is there in living anymore? I want death to come and sweep me off, let me escape this life of suffering” (Euripides 3). In Medea’s lament, she exclaims these lines in an empty room of the house

In Euripides’ tragedy Medea, Medea’s characteristics of a madwoman are displayed through the reactions of other people. Medea, a sorceress in the town of Corinth, becomes embodied with rage once she finds out that her husband Jason leaves her for another woman, who has status and wealth. This turns Medea from an innocent human to an evil, vindictive psychopath. The king experiences fear of Medea to the point where he exiles her from the town and gives her one day to leave. When ordering the exile for Medea, Creon says:

I’m afraid of you… There’s a chance you might well instigate some fatal harm against my daughter… you’re a clever woman, very experienced in evil ways; you’re grieving the loss of your husband’s… I hear you’re making threats to take revenge on Jason, on his bride, and on her father. Before that happens, I’m taking some precautions. Woman, its better you hate me, then for me to grow soft now and then regret it later. (Euripides 4)

The king, who carries more power than Medea fears her because of the rampage her emotions are causing. Due to the threats being made by Medea, the king wants to isolate the madwoman before her anger destroys the town of Corinth. The king, taking precautions such as the exile and admitting his fear of her exhibits Medea embodying the madwoman persona through the reactions of other

In the tragedy, Euripides represents foreshadowing in his work in order to create the terrifying tone of the play. In the beginning of the play, the nurse expresses her concern about Medea’s rage which increases as the play progresses due to her retaliating against Jason which will lead to horrific events taking place as the play progresses. The nurse says, “As her temper grows even more intense, it will soon catch fire” (Euripides 2). Euripides’ portrayal of foreshadowing by demonstrating the nurse’s fears of Medea committing drastic actions causes suspense. This adds to the harsh violence personifying Medea through her actions and thoughts. This conceives the scarce tone for this work. This keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. Euripides uses foreshadowing to maintain the petrifying tone of Medea. As Medea gets increasingly angry with Jason for the havoc he wreaks on her, the actions Medea executes will tend to escalate. This causes the tragedy to become thrilling and