Medea

A detailed Summary of Medea

As an evil woman myself, I could fully understand this play. (Just a bit of a joke there.) Throughout the many plays that came before Medea, the themes dealt with prophecies or the gods. Media took a step beyond the simple, almost always predicted plots and brought the audience a new way to look at a story. Media was presented as a psychological play in a few ways. It brought in more dialogue, showed the thoughts and feelings of the main characters and brought about a conclusion both confusing and profound.

Before Medea, most Greek plays had the main narration to be done by the chorus. The chorus tells us what has transpired before the play begins, as well as what events might take place between scenes, such as horrible acts of violence that were usually not seen on stage. The characters, besides the chorus, were very simple. They were displayed with one main motive or feeling like revenge or malice and barely any dialogue. This was the case in the play Agamemnon. For example, on page 523 of our text, the chorus comes in and tells of the past and why Agamemnon and Menelaus went to war. They also tell of the reason why Clytaemnestra is angry. They speak until page 529 when Clytaemnestra recites a few lines.

In keeping with the complexity of Medea, Euripides changed the main character to a woman. And to add to this he decided to show the complex thoughts and feelings of Medea and the other main characters through themselves and not the chorus. Euripides chose to portray his characters as diverse and complex in thoughts and feelings as if they could be anyone, even a member of the audience. Medea, throughout the play, battles within herself the feelings of anger and hate that Jason has brought upon her. She comes to the conclusion that she must kill her husband's new bride, the King and also her children. When she conceives this plan she is confident, for she says "Next after that; for I shall kill my own children." (Medea, p. 659) But, after the pawns have been put into place, she begins to have doubts. "Friends, when I saw that bright look in the children's eyes. I cannot not bear to do it. I renounce my plans I had before. I'll take my children away from this land. Why should I hurt their father with the pain they feel, and suffer twice as much of pain myself? No, No, I will not do it. I renounce my plans." (Medea, p. 664) Once more though, she changes her mind. "Ah, what is wrong with me? Do I want to let go my enemies unhurt and be laughed at for it? I must face this thing. O, but what a weak woman even to admit to my mind these soft arguments." (Medea, p. 664)

In every Greek play, the gods play a role. As mentioned before, the Gods played a main role in the story of

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Approximate Word count = 1011
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English