Questions and Answers for Medea
Medea
Introduce the mythological hero Jason in Medea.
To understand the Jason of "Medea", one must study him in the myth of "Jason and the Golden Fleece". In this story we learn how Jason was only allowed to take his throne after he had passed several...
Medea
How does the attitude of women in Medea differ from that of women today?
The attitude displayed by Medea is not necessarily all that different from what is felt and displayed by some women today. The strong-minded, half-supernatural Medea was just an extreme case; but...
Medea
Clytemnestra in Agamemnon and Medea are both strong women. Compare these two characters in terms of the amount of...
Both women are shown as extremely strong. However, their strength is limited by the conditions in which they live. Their demonstrations of power are not active solutions based on strength....
Medea
Did Medea take revenge in a right way? I want to know that was to murder her own children a perfect way to take...
Euripides' Medea, first staged in 431 BCE, was one of the most horrifying plays to come to the ancient Athenian theater. In the play, Medea is responsible for the deaths of Creon, Creon's daughter,...
Medea
Discuss class as a locus of power in Medea.
Class functions as a locus of power in Medea. When Jason and Medea arrive in Corinth, Jason quickly forgets the favors that Medea has done for him and weds King Creon's daughter Creusa. Medea is...
Medea
What does the theme of fire represent in Medea?
I am not sure if "fire" is a theme in the play. I think that "fire" can be a concept or a symbol in displaying Medea's rage and her intensity of emotion. "Fire" can be a symbol for her vengeance....
Medea
What are the rhetorical and figurative devices Medea uses in her monologue (lines 214–248) to formulate a persuasive...
Throughout her speech, Medea uses the first person plural, including her audience with herself, claiming to speak for all women and to share the same tribulations. This is a daring strategy, since...
Medea
"Medea's revenge makes her, in the end, far more guilty than jason." Discuss?
Because, in her revenge, she kills innocents. Her children are not at fault for their father's infidelities. Medea not only exacts revenge on Jason, but makes the children pay with their lives as...
Medea
Following Aristotle's definition of a hero in Poetics, to what extent is Medea a tragic hero?
In Aristotle's Poetics, a tragic hero is defined as a person of high rank who is brought low by a tragic flaw. The tragic hero's own actions are the catalyst for their ultimate fate, and this fate...
Medea
Why should we teach Medea?
Medea is an ancient Greek tragedy that was written by the ancient Greek poet and dramatist Euripides. It is based on the mythological story of Jason and Medea and their tragic relationship. There...
Medea
Is Medea a woman who has been wronged or a vicious murderer? Give an answer with evidence.
Medea is a woman who has been wronged and a vicious murderer. At the end of the play, the audience is left contemplating the horror of her children's murder, along with the fact that Medea herself...
Medea
How does the play reflect the inequality betweeen the genders?
In Euripides Medea, women have only limited freedom of action, reflecting the actual situation of Athenian society at the time when it was written. The female character who appears to be most...
Medea
Does Medea seek to promote the rights of women?
Euripides Medea has one of the strongest female heroines of Greek tragedy. Because of this, it is tempting to read it anachronistically as a sort of proto-feminist drama. This would be a mistake....
Medea
How does feminism play an important role in the main character of Medea?
Medea is a sorceress who is guided by passion, not laws.Consumed by her love for Jason, she helps him to escape from her father, even killing her own brother in the process. She is the extreme...
Medea
Who is Hecate? Why is she important in understanding Medea's actions?
In Ancient Greek mythology, Hecate was the goddess of magic, witchcraft, and the night. In Euripides's Medea, it's no exaggeration to say that she provides the title character with the very...
Medea
How are "passions" present in the play Medea and how or why does Euripides "purify" these...
The passions present in the play are the excessive amounts of emotion- both love and hate. The lesson is that moderation is best in terms of either of these passions, because excessive amounts will...
Medea
What attitudes towards women are reflected in the portraits of Clytemnestra in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon and Medea in...
The portraits of Clytemnestra in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon and Medea in Euripides' Medea do not necessarily reflect what would have been the playwrights' attitudes towards ordinary women in classical...
Medea
What sort of mechanisms are used to report offstage events in Medea?
Because drama is, in ancient terms, pure mimesis with no diegesis, events occuring offstage must be reported. Where, in a novel, the backstory or events not seen by a viewpoint character can be...
Medea
Using Medea as an example, what was the role of drama-theatre in Greek life as a democracy?
Going to a play in ancient Greek times was as much a religious/social experience as an entertainment event. Physically, the open amphitheatres provided plenty of democratic opportunities for class...
Medea
Instead of taking everything away from Jason and preventing the Corinthians from killing her children, why does Medea...
The terrible acts of the title character of Euripides's Medea would seem to make her one of the most barbaric characters of Greek drama. In fact, she is the only character in the surviving canon...
Medea
How would we justify the scene in Medea where Aegeus offers an ultimate refuge to Medea?
Aegeus offers Medea refuge in Athens, but he makes it clear that she must get there on her own. He is willing to help her, but he doesn't want to be actively involved in her actions. Aegeus is...
Medea
The chorus says that Medea should not pray for death. What is Euripides making very clear in this assertion?
I think that Euripides is suggesting that unchecked revenge hurts more than the intended target. The Chorus does not deny Medea's voice and understands her anger and her bitterness towards Jason...
Medea
The image of the heart recurs throughout "Medea," as do mention of disease and poison. To what purpose has...
Medea is a very passionate story - one filled with passionate love as well as passionate hate, and it is a thin line that separates the two. Medea's love for Jason and their children turns to such...
Medea
The play Medea wins our sympathy for its monstrous central figure. To what extent is this true?
There are three components in the statement that can be evaluated. The extent to which any element or the entire statement is “true,” however, is open to debate, as the statement calls for an...
Medea
Actors offer generalizations about the nature and predicament of women. Should the audience take as serious...
Something, too, we have to remember is that Jason makes assumptions about "Greek" women, of which Medea is not. In fact, after Medea kills his boys, he states that a Greek woman would...
Medea
What comparisons or contrasting points can I write about Medea and Jason?
When looking at the characters of Medea and Jason, you can make many comparisons, which can turn into some very interesting essays. Here are some suggestions. The first thing that you can do is...
Medea
Comment on the first monologue of Medea?
The monologue by Medea establishes her side of the story. We learn prior to this that Jason has left her to marry the princess and that Medea is angry and sad over this turn of events. The Chorus...
Medea
Wasn't Medea written by Seneca? Looking for comments about the play, I found in "Medea Summary & Study Guide" at...
That is a good question and I can understand your confusion. The play was originally written by Euripides and he certainly has the more famous play. In fact, in the ancient world, it was one of the...
Medea
Discss if Medea's defeat of Jason also a defeat of the Hellenic world view.
I do not necessarily Medea's actions as reflective of a statement on the Hellenistic Greek world view. I think that in order for this to be the case, there needs to be a complete affirmation that...
Medea
How does Medea’s opening speech seem to contradict her actions later in Medea, especially considering her ethics or...
Medea's opening speech establishes her situation and motivations. It outlines her plight in a manner designed to elicit sympathy not only for her current position but also for the vengeance that...
Medea
If having to choose a side, I find that Medea has more points against her. But what positive points could there be...
The character of Jason in the play is negative, perhaps because in Greek tragedies the hero must have some kind of "tragic flaw." Jason's flaw might be greed or love of power that...
Medea
Comment on the significance of the Nurse's lines below: "How much better to have been accustomed To live on equal...
The sense of control and sense of deliberation that the Nurse possesses is something that Medea lacks. These traits are evident in the selection of lines featured. The Nurse is one who favors a...
Medea
Write a short note on Medea's first monologue.
In Medea's first monologue, she reflects on the grievances that she has against Jason. She recalls that she has abandoned her homeland and betrayed her father to help Jason in battle and to become...
Medea
Providing textual evidence, how does Euripides present a troubling paradox within the play Medea? The chorus of women...
The chorus in Medea makes and elaborates upon the following observation: And I claim that with human beings those with no experience of children, those who have never given birth, such people have...
Medea
In "Medea," who is Jason and how does he get acquainted with Medea?
Jason is one of the heroes of Greek mythology. His uncle, Pelias, wanted to make sure that Jason didn't challenge him for the throne, so he sent Jason off on an "impossible" mission--to...
Medea
Based on the tragic drama, Medea, please explain the treatment of her children. Thank you!!
Freud said that the Greek play Oedipus Rex was effective because it dealt with a basic human instinct. A boy unconsciously wishes to murder his father and marry his mother. The play Medea also...
Medea
How did Medea try to redress the inequality between the sexes?
I think that Medea is able to redress the inequality between the sexes through assertion of her own voice through her own actions. She does not take a passive point of view in her predicament....
Medea
How do I compare two characters? I am trying to figure out their similar characteristics and differences. Any...
eNotes offers a free guide called "How to Write a Compare-and-Contrast Essay". Please see the link below for more information.
Medea
How are major plot elements revealed in "Medea?"
Many of the salient elements of the plot of "Medea" are revealed indirectly. First, one can assume that most of the original audience would have been familiar with the entire story before seeing...
Medea
What does the play Medea seem to tell us about how the Greeks viewed life?
I think that Euripides's work reveals a few elements about Greek society that is quite telling. Overall, the work demonstrates how destructive the Classical vision of passion can actually be. The...
Medea
Why Medea was critical acclaimed in later on cultures?
When describing women, the Greek historian Thucydides argued that women should be "spoken of as little as possible among men, whether for good or for ill." The Classical construction of women was...
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