Medea

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=1.) Plot=

A.) The Plot, A Brief Synapse B.) The Plot, A Five Second Review



A.) The Plot, A Brief Synapse

 * The story of Medea is a Greek tragedy that explains the course of Medea’s revenge on Jason through her own point of view.
 * Opening scene begins with Nurse explaining how Medea had, out of love for Jason, done great misdeeds and lamenting over the things that had lead to the initial joining of Medea and Jason, for now the love Medea had held for Jason had turned to pure spite, due to his greed and infidelity and also mentioning that she fears that Medea’s hate might extend to the children they sired together.
 * Jason is unfaithful in that he forsakes his vows to Medea and abandons his children in order to marry the princess of Corinth
 * In response to this Medea speaks badly of the royal family and of Jason and threatens revenge
 * Creon, lord of Corinth, responds by banishing Medea and her sons from the land, but after a brief dialogue with Medea, allows her one day to prepare to leave
 * Jason visits Medea and tells her that her banishment is her own fault, and justifies his marriage to the princess by stating he merely wished to advance their position in life beyond that of the poor and grant her sons high positions, to which Medea responds scornfully
 * King Aegeus of the Athens pays a visit to Medea, who then asks for refuge in his lands and promises to grant him a potion that would cure his sterility, to which he agrees.
 * Medea then plans to make good on her threats of revenge and hatches a plan to poison the royal family, sending the Nurse to go to Jason and tell him that she has had a change of heart
 * Medea speaks with Jason and tells him that she has come to her senses and that she sees that what he did was in the best interests of their children. She then asks for him to push for a repeal of the banishment of their children at the very least. Jason agrees to this and Medea promises to send her children to the royal family bearing gifts for the princess so that she may be more easily persuaded in changing her mind about the banishment.
 * Medea sends her children off with a crown and robe, covered in poison, as gifts for the princess, who then receives them and upon donning them, is set on fire by the crown, her father later dieing to the poison contained in the robe which acts as a super adhesive that binds to his very flesh and rips it out in chucks.
 * Upon hearing the events from a messenger, Medea sets out and murders her children and prepares to leave, when Jason reaches her he finds the gates locked and Medea on a flying chariot with the bodies of her two sons, which she refuses to give to him, and after a brief dialogue, leaves him to his despair.

B.) The Plot, Five Second Review 1.) The Plot Table of Contents Back to Main Page



B.) The Plot, A Five Second Review
Jason abandons his children and Medea to marry the princess of Corinth, this enrages Medea, who given so much up to be with and help save Jason, and drives her in to a killing frenzy of revenge where the princess, her father, and her two sons are slain so that Jason may suffer.

2.) Analysis of Major Themes 1.) The Plot Table of Contents Back to Main Page

 =2.) Analysis of Major Themes=

A.) Revenge and Pride B.) The Position of Women C.) Exile



A.)Revenge and Pride
The theme of revenge and pride is the driving force behind this entire story. As we can see from the following quotes:

“Great Themis, and husband of Themis, behold what I am suffering now, though I did bind that accursed one, my husband, by strong oaths to me! O, to see him and his bride some day brought to utter destruction, they and their house with them, for that they presume to wrong me thus unprovoked.” (spoken to the gods)

“All this have I done for thee, thou traitor! and thou hast cast me over, taking to thyself another wife, though children have been born to us. Hadst thou been childless still, I could have pardoned thy desire for this new union. Gone is now the trust I put in oaths.” (Medea’s first dialogue with Jason, after her banishment)

“O Aegeus, my husband has proved most evil…Jason is wronging me though I have given him no cause... He is taking another wife to succeed me as mistress of his house… Be assured thereof; I, whom he loved of yore, am in dishonour now. “ (Medea to Aegeus of her current situation)

From these quotes we can see that Medea feels that Jason has betrayed her and infringed upon her pride by going behind her back and becoming engaged with another women, casting aside, and demoting her to his mistress instead of his bride. She even comments that if he had not sired the children the children that she could have possibly forgiven him and let it slide but that he would commit such an act after having had children with her was too much to forgive.

Medea then uses these feelings of betrayal and trampled pride to carry forth her vile and repulsive actions of revenge, even going so far as to kill the children, which she admittedly loved and whose only fault was of being the spawn of their father, in order to complete the misery of Jason and rob him of all that he held dear.

B.) The Position of Women 2.) Major Themes Table of Contents Back to Main Page



B.) The Position of Women
Throughout the story we can see various references to the position of women in Greek society. We can see that they consider women of an inferior position and that they are prone to weakness of character. This is one of the reasons that Jason is so easily ready to believe that Medea has indeed repented. In addition, should women appear that contradict the preordained role of a weak and inferior creature, they are labeled too knowledgeable and liable to be a witch and shunned as Medea was by Creon.

Medea herself points out the hypocrisies of society that have put her in the situation that she is in.

“Of all things that have life and sense we women are the most hapless creatures; first must we buy a husband at a great price, and o'er ourselves a tyrant set which is an evil worse than the first; and herein lies the most important issue, whether our choice be good or bad. For divorce is not honourable to women… But when a man is vexed with what he finds indoors, he goeth forth and rids his soul of its disgust, betaking him to some friend or comrade of like age; whilst we must needs regard his single self. “ Here Medea is saying that women are treated rawly in that they cannot separate themselves from their spouse, where as the male counterpart can do so without there being any retributions or even at least some sort of verbal reprimand being made towards the male. Should a woman separate herself it is seen as a taboo act and is frowned upon by all of society. Should a man seek comfort with others, he is to be supported by his wife and still treated with respect

“nor can we disown our lords wife, coming as she does to ways and customs new, since she hath not learnt the lesson in her home, have a diviner's eye to see how best to treat the partner of her life. If haply we perform these tasks with thoroughness and tact, and the husband live with us, without resenting the yoke, our life is a happy one; if not, 'twere best to die”

Here she is saying that they cannot even feign to bear ill will towards the mans other wife for she may be of another custom and to reprimand her for this would be unjust, for her to even complain in the first place itself would be frowned upon and would be deserving of unfriendly attention.

And yet they say we live secure at home, while they are at the wars, with their sorry reasoning, for I would gladly take my stand in battle array three times o'er, than once give birth.

This pretty much just states what it says, what men use to justify their infidelity is a sorry excuse at best, for she feels that she suffers as much as men with her own troubles.

C.) Exile 2.) Major Themes Table of Contents Back to Main Page



C.) Exile
The theme of exile in Medea is apparent is several different levels

For one, she is physically exiled from her previous homelands because of what she did to help Jason obtain the Golden Fleece. Second, she is then physically banished from her current home for her plotting and scheming.

She is also exiled in that she is alienated by other people in that she is a foreigner and is constantly reminded of it and treated as such. Jason himself refers to her homeland as one of barbarians and makes mention that she should be grateful to him because he brought her to a civilized city, the inhabitants of Corinth would take on this same point of view and treat her as a savage rather than as a citizen. They also fear her because, as Medea points out, she has far more knowledgeable than most and is labeled a witch because of it, further distancing the citizens from her.

In addition to be separated because of her origins, actions, and reputation, she is exiled from other people because she is a women, and all women are exiles in that they are treated so unfairly, as explained in the previous theme.

3.) Characters 2.) Major Themes Table of Contents Back to Main Page

 =3.) Character List and Analysis=

A.) Medea B.) Jason C.) Creon D.) Nurse E.) Chorus F.) The Children



A.) Medea
– Medea is the protagonist of the story who feels that she has been deeply betrayed by her husband, Jason, who had taken another wife, and lets her despair over the mater turn in to rage, fueling her need for revenge and driving her to murder the princess of Corinth, whom Jason was to marry, the princess’s father Creon, and even her own two sons, though she is loathe to do it, so that she may complete his misery.

B.) Jason 3.) Characters Table of Contents Back to Main Page



B.) Jason
– Jason could be considered the antagonist of the story and appears to be a very conceded and vein person in his actions. Had he been a slight more thoughtful he would never have incurred the wrath of his wife and have avoided the entire tragedy of the story

C.) Creon 3.) Characters Table of Contents Back to Main Page



C.) Creon
– Creon plays a somewhat minor role, only having one dialogue in the story, but proves to be the spur that sets Medea into action when he sets forth, with a good deal of resolve, to banish Medea but instead gives in to his softer side and allows her one day to collect herself, even admitting that he knew it would be a mistake. Later on his prediction would prove to be true as Medea takes advantage of the one day to poison his daughter and himself.

D.) Nurse 3.) Characters Table of Contents Back to Main Page



D.) Nurse
– The nurse plays a very minor part, serving only to introduce to us a brief summary of what is occurring, adding her own sympathetic comments as well, and as a messenger to Jason.

E.) Chorus 3.) Characters Table of Contents Back to Main Page



E.) Chorus
– The Chorus’ part is one of a spectator that is never directly involved with the plot of the story but merely interacts with its characters at times, and stands in the background adding sympathetic comments of what is occurring to Medea at others.

F.) The Children 3.) Characters Table of Contents Back to Main Page



F.) The Children
– The children seem utterly oblivious to what is occurring around them, the only time anything is heard from them is when their mother goes to slay them, to which they comment on their hopelessness of their situation and then die.

4.) Discussion Questions 3.) Characters Table of Contents Back to Main Page

 =4.) Discussion Quesitions=

A.) Time Period B.) Author's Purpose C.) Literary Techniques D.) Literature Characteristics



A.) Time Period
What is the time period and how does it affect the literary style?

Medea was written during ancient Greek times (4th century BC), which affects many aspects of the literary concepts and structure. During this age female protagonists were quite rare; furthermore, female characters were usually characterized as being evil and weak. Medea was crafted to embody and depict the sinful nature of women. Euripides cleverly intertwines the lower status in society that criminals and women received.

B.) Author's Purpose 4.) Discussion Questions Table of Contents Back to Main Page



B.) Author's Purpose
What is the author's purpose in writing the selected piece?

Euripides Medea portrays an individual's struggle through the world and edifies the audience that conviction is opinionated. Euripides presents us with the question “Was Medea justified in her acts of cruelty towards Jason for what he did?” This paradoxing question has lead to many interpretations of society and the natural human spirit.

C.) Literary Techniques 4.) Discussion Questions Table of Contents Back to Main Page



C.) Literary Techniques
What literary techniques does the author employ in achieving his or her purpose?

Euripides employs irony to get his purpose across. Medea "wins" at the end of the play eventhough she commits unspeakable mental harm and injustices towards Jason. She was also critized and exiled, and yet she still feels accomplished and good. In addition to irony there are also elements of Juxtaposition which enables you to sympathize with either or both Jason and Medea.

D.) Literature Characteristics 4.) Discussion Questions Table of Contents Back to Main Page



D.) Literature Characteristics
How is the literature characteristic of the time period?

Ancient greek mythology heavily focused on dire choices heroes had to make that would define the essence and morality of that hero. If that hero exeriences lack of misjudgment it most likely lead to the downfall of the hero resulting in a tragic hero. Divine intervention was not uncommon and was used as a justification for any course of action. In addition to this Greek literature was heavily focused on revenge and rage.

5.) Works Cited 4.) Discussion Questions Table of Contents Back to Main Page

 =5.) Works Cited=

"Jason and the Golden Fleece." Jason and the Golden Fleece. 11 Oct 2006 .

"Euripides: Medea." Medea. The Internet Classics Archive. 11 Oct 2006 .

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