Medea

A detailed Summary of Medea


In both of the plays Electra and Medea the chorus has a large part in terms of interaction in the play itself. The chorus offers advice to the characters of the play throughout their many times of turmoil. The chorus becomes the opposing view of Anaxagoras' theme of "Nous". The chorus is offering the sane view of the world to rather insane characters.

In Electra, the chorus consults directly with Electra at the beginning of the play. The chorus begs the irate Electra to accept their offer to take the gods into her life and live peacefully. Electra retorts by reminding the chorus of her slain father. Her mind controls her idea of revenge. This example symbolizes the split in opinions of Aristotle and Euripides' mentor. On one hand we have the idea of sanity and the chance to be moral, yet on the other hand there is the idea of " a mind made up" theory as in the case of Electra herself. Another example occurs later in the play. In order to help Electra while there is still time to abort her villanous plot, the chorus advises Electra on where she should journey to. Once again she refuses and this time she engages in a conflict with the messenger.

The chorus in the Medea takes on a similar role to that of the p


'O miserable mother, to destroy your own increase, Murder the babes of your body! Stone and iron you are, as you resolved to be.'

The Chorus is used as an instrument to help the audience to understand and feel Medea's suffering, and so from this early point in the play, a sympathy is established for Medea because of her tragic circumstances.

The chorus provides the opposing viewpoint to that which is held by the characters of the plays but not Euripides himself.. These two men believe that people operate under the influence of mind, which is not necessarily the morally or ethically correct way to act. This idea is clearly evident in the characters that Euripides has created. The chorus is the last grasp of sanity for these already disturbed people. But this does not mean that the chorus is any better or worse than the characters, but the chorus' idea of "Nous" or mind is simply different than that of the characters. The chorus' mind tells them to act a certain way just as the mind of the players which actually makes these two factions somewhat similar.

If this is not already the audience's opinion, then Euripedes enforces it so that it is.



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Approximate Word count = 1722
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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