The Tragic Tragedy Of Medea By Euripides - 1844 Words

In Medea by Euripides, an unfortunate tragedy arose from devastating circumstances, centralizing around intense grief and rage. In the center of the horrific situation was Medea, who was the daughter of King Aeetes. She was the former wife of Jason, until he decided to abandon his family and duties as the head of the household by marrying Glauce, the Princess of Corinth. She murdered her children, Glauce, and Creon, the King of Corinth to satiate her overwhelming lust for blood and revenge. Undeniably, Medea is the epitome of the phrase, â€Å"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.† Her burning desire for vengeance and destruction extended far beyond intense passion. Thus, leading to the question: â€Å"Is Medea, simply, the face of insanity or pure evil?† Although her actions were horrific and barbaric enough to be considered an ailment of insanity, the reality is that she was the devil incarnated considering she strategically formulated a plan to achieve her demented agenda. Evidently, Medea was not insane and did not commit the murder out of insanity, but pure evil, which is fully crystal clear from her deranged actions and thoughts. Medea is the poster child of an individual that is clearly evil. Even prior to the murders, she displayed signs of pure wickedness and evil. For instance, Medea instigated the murder of King Pelias by encouraging and manipulating his daughters to engage in patricide. Medea tricked Pelias’ daughters into committing such a heinous act by promising themShow MoreRelatedThe Tragedy Of Medea By Sophocles1611 Words   |  7 Pagesnecessary for a top-notch tragedy. While these norms may seem to be easily understood through the reading of Aristotle’s fine-tuned poetics, there is a different understanding that needs to be interpreted to truly grasp the significance and qualifications that makeup a good tragedy. Of the many tragedies that Euripides provides us with, I chose the tragedy of Medea to further analyze, and present a strong argument for why I think Aristotle would find Medea a top-notch tragedy. According to AristotleRead MoreThe Concept of the Tragic Hero: an Analy sis of Jason and Medea in Euripides Medea1442 Words   |  6 PagesIn ‘Medea’, Euripides shows Medea in a new light, as a scorned woman that the audience sympathises with to a certain extent, but also views as a monster due to her act of killing her own children. The protagonist of a tragedy, known as the Tragic Hero is supposed to have certain characteristics which cause the audience to sympathise with them and get emotionally involved with the plot. The two main characters, Medea and Jason, each have certain qualities of the Tragic Hero, but neither has them allRead MoreEvaluation of Euripides Essay942 Words   |  4 PagesEvaluation of Euripides Euripides has met the conventions of Attic Tragedy up to a particular extent. Although he was often criticised for his work, he followed the structure and cycles of the traditional tragedy. However, his stance on the themes and ideas set him apart from the other writers. It is unreasonable to compare Euripides with the traditional writers of Attic tragedy without understandingRead MoreThe Concept of the Tragic Hero: an Analysis of Jason and Medea in Euripides’ Medea’1429 Words   |  6 PagesIn ‘Medea’, Euripides shows Medea in a new light, as a scorned woman that the audience sympathises with to a certain extent, but also views as a monster due to her act of killing her own children. The protagonist of a tragedy, known as the Tragic Hero is supposed to have certain characteristics which cause the audience to sympathise with them and get emotionally involved with the plot. The two main characters, Medea and Jason, each have certain qualities of the Tragic Hero, but neither has them allRead MoreAristotle, A World-Renowned Greek Philosopher Once Noted1412 Words   |  6 PagesAristotle, a world-renowned Greek philosopher once noted a tragedy is â€Å"the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself...in a dramatic, not in a narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions (Bywater, 1920, p. 35).† These words encapsulate the perception that tragedy is a mimicry surrounded by an underlying purpose through a direct action that arouses the audience’s emotions of fear and reliefRead MoreMedea Essay1654 Words   |  7 PagesSusan Smith murdered her own two children in 1994. Kathleen Folbigg killed her only child in 1998. Caro Socorro killed her three children in 1999. And in 431 B.C. the fictional character, Medea, murderedmurdured her own two sons. When hearing about these extreme atrocities we are repulsed. What sane mother could murder her own children? But thats just the point isnt it, no sane mother would kill her own young. No, each of these women had underlying psychological issues that led to them committingRead More A Tragedy Makes A Hero Essay1019 Words   |  5 PagesA Tragedy Makes A Hero Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy. A tragedy can be described and executed in many ways, whether it is through cinema, television or a play for theatre, as long as it has a solemn kind of ending. It is characterized as a very sad event, action, or experience for a certain character in the piece. According to Aristotle’s â€Å"Poetics,† a tragedy needs six elements, a plot, character, language, thought, spectacle, and melody, as in many dramas do, butRead MoreAnalysis Of Medea845 Words   |  4 PagesThe first person point of view can be found in the beginning of the work, for example, when Medea says â€Å"I hate this life†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Puchner, pg. 532, line 150). By Euripides using the second person point of view, it allows the readers to connect to the characters on a more personal basis for example, Medea says â€Å"†¦ you’ve made threats†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Puchner, pg. 536, line 294). An example of the third person point of view is Medea telling Jason that â€Å"he’s such an idiot† (Puchner, pg. 537, line 379). By there being multipleRead MoreThe Tragic Hero Of Euripides Greek Literature1117 Words   |  5 PagesIn Greek literature, tragedies tend to have a traditional format: a tragic hero, reversal of fortune due to a tragic flaw, moment of recognition, and catharsis. In order to be considered a tragic hero, the character must be born noble, is usually a ruler, and has a tragic flaw which causes peripety. Typically, the hero’s realization of self-inflicted doom is what allows a release of emotions. This raises a question of who the tragic hero is in Medea. The tragic hero is thought to be Jason, howeverRead MoreTragedy In Oedipus Rex And Antigone By Euripides784 Words   |  4 PagesThe three Greek plays compared in this paper are the famously known Greek tragedies; Oedipus Rex and Antigone by Sophocles and Medea by Euripides that not only have the common genre of tragedy, but share the same motifs; homicide, suicide, and suffering . What is intriguing about these commonalities is that these playwrights, Sophocles and Euripides, use them. Homicide is an act when a human permanently harms another leading in death and these plays like to use it quite a bit. In Oedipus Rex, by