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How to analyze medea character
How to analyze medea character
Greek tragedy medea analysis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
More handpicked essays just for you.
How to analyze medea character
How to analyze medea character
Greek tragedy medea analysis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In Euripides’ text The Medea, Medea can easily be painted as the villian. She is a woman who killed her own children in an attempt to spite her husband. But, by examining the text, we can see that she deserves some sympathy. She has little to no control over her own life and has to rely on the will of men. And as a foreigner in Corinth abandoned by her husband, she faces even more challenges than the native women of Corinth did.
Intro: “It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane” (PHILIP K. DICK, Valis). In present day America laws have been placed that prevent people who are “insane” to be guilty of the crimes they commit. In short, insanity is the state of being seriously mentally ill relating to madness. This is presented in the book Medea written by Euripides through her point of view. In Medea, a surge of insanity purges her after she is betrayed by her husband Jason causing many cruel and harsh actions to follow from her.
We can tell from other Greek play writers, one famous one being Sophocles, that the mind and madness has been a central theme. However, the way it was portrayed back in that era differs now. Greek tragedy focusses on the supernatural aspect of this madness, blaming it either on the gods or an evil possessing them . This could mainly be down to a lack of understanding of psychology in this time but also as it certainly makes for a good tragedy. However, Freudian theories such as the Electra and Oedipus complex show us that from these themes of madness in Greek tragedy, we have derived a more psychological viewpoint which we now use to help diagnose and treat people with similar traits as the characters in these plays.
In Medea by Euripides, Medea 's character flaw that ultimately led to her downfall is revenge. Medea 's husband Jason left her to marry a younger, beautiful woman. Medea becomes outraged, and all she thinks about is getting revenge. She kills Glauce, Jason 's new wife, and her father, Creon. She wanted her revenge to be perfect she even killed her own children to get revenge on Jason leaving her.
The author Richards of "Review/Theater; Amid Pain and Din, A Mighty Medea," describes the male characters as arrogant, condescending and egotistical. During the play Medea, the males are characterized as only interested in what will give them power and they are not concerned with the feelings of the women or Medea in the play. “The male characters in "Medea" don 't come off well. But then they never have, and Alistair Elliot 's stripped-for-action translation of the play further emphasizes [Euripides] ' feminist sympathies. Either the men are smug and patronizing (like John Turner 's Creon) or else they 're smug and self-serving (like Mr. [Tim Oliver Woodward] 's Jason).
“While seeking revenge, dig two graves- one for yourself,” quoted by Douglas Horton. This quote highlights the fact that revenge takes away from the person who seeks it as much, if not more, than the person who did them harm. Medea is entitled to be upset but her quest for revenge leaves her worse than she started. While trying to crumble Jason’s life, Medea ultimately demolishes her own, and she has no one to blame but herself. All throughout Medea by Euripides, Medea tries to get back at her ex-husband and father of her children, Jason, after he left her for a younger woman.
Euripides’ Medea, is a play that follows the journey of a young woman seeking vengeance against her husband, well now ex-husband. The steps she takes to get her revenge make Medea seem like a monster. However, her actions and the torments she has endured make it appear as though she may suffer from a mental illness. So the question is, does Medea have some form of mental illness, or was she just enraged by the injustices committed by her “loving” husband? Evidence leans more toward her being mentally unfit than her being a murderer.
Andrew Messing states that Euripides carefully made Medea into the stereotypical woman: "emotional," "self _ deprecating" and " prone to ask favours or forgiveness. " But we can see it from different angle, typical stereotypes are about both gender not only sticks for women. Women always responsible of the demotic life. They also stay as homes caring of their babies. They are weak and fragile.
In the play, Medea, by Euripides, Medea seeks revenge upon her unfaithful lover, Jason. She goes so far that in the process she poisons his new bride and murders the children of her own blood. Throughout the story Medea is characterized as an evil woman who is vengeful, deceitful, and insane. The characterization of Medea reveals that once a person decides on vengeance there is no stopping the devastation that follows.
Paul Vu Dr. Elizabeth C. Ramírez THTR 475A.03 2 May 2017 Macbeth and Medea: Breaking Expectations Macbeth by William Shakespeare and Medea by Euripides are known for their powerful critiques on the social expectations of women. Women during the time of Elizabethan and Greek theatre were often stereotyped and considered the weaker sex. Men were depicted as strong individuals who supported and protected women. However, both Shakespeare and Euripides broke expectations by portraying strong and iconic female characters in their respective plays. The idea of a strong female character was often unheard of during the time of Elizabethan and Greek Theatre.
The nurse is explaining the root causes on how Medea became so vengeful. Medea is a very passionate and prideful woman. Medea was different from other women in Greece. “She has a temper that is vile and violent”( line 35) says the nurse. These feelings Medea had caused her to form the most devious plan she could think of.
Lush explains “Although Euripides did not cast Medea as a male solider as its protagonist, the play depicts Medea as suffering from the background Trauma, betrayal, isolation and consequent symptoms attributed to combat veterans with lasting psychological injuries” (Lush, 2014, p. 25). Hence using Lush’s view on Medea’s character as a devoted warrior suffering from Traumatic hardships in her experiences with the man she gave everything to, we can understand why she wanted revenge. Medea believes Jason owes her more than just the normal husband-wife obligations a man swears to when marrying a woman; in her view, she helped him be the man that he is and supported him throughout his heroic journey. Without her, Jason would not have succeeded in retrieving the Golden Fleece. Without her, he would not have had his father resurrected.
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (I.v.90). Hamlet is about a young prince who is mourning the loss of his father. He then tries to seek revenge on his uncle Claudius because he poisoned his father. Throughout the play Hamlet’s behavior starts to change which causes him to become mad. The theory about all this is a Psychological Approach.
Amongst Euripides' most famous plays , Medea went against the audience's expectations at his time. Indeed, the main character of the play is Medea, a strong independent female who neglected moral and society's expectations of a woman. She was therefore in all ways different to how women were perceived in Ancient Greece. This essay will explore how Euripides' controversial characters demonstrate that his views were ahead of his time.
Medea, the protagonist, is a woman driven by extreme emotions and extreme behaviors. Because of the passionate love she had for Jason, she sacrificed everything .. However, now his betrayal of her transformed the beautiful loving passion to uncontrollable anger, hatred and a desperate desire for revenge. Her violent and temperamental heart, previously devoted to Jason, now moving towards its doom.