Euripides Medea Essay example -- Medea Euripides Essays

Euripides MedeaMedea is the tragic tale of a woman scorned. It was written in431 B.C. by the Greek moldwright, Euripides. Eruipides was thefirst Greek poet to suffer the fate of so many of the greatmodern writers rejected by most of his coevals (herarely won first prize and was the favorite target for the opprobrious humor of the comic poets), he was universally admiredand revered by the Greeks of the centuries that followed hisdeath(Norton Anthology). Euripides showed his interest inpsychology in his many understanding portraits of women (WorldBook). Euripides cream of women victuals characters such as thenurse and the chorus is imperative to the detonation ofMedeas emotions. The very fact that the nurse and chorus arefemale deepens Medeas sadness, impassions her anger, and makesthe wickedness of killing her stimulate children all the much than heinous.Medeas state of mind in the beginning of the play is thatof hopelessness and self pity. Medea is both woman and noncitizen that is to say, in terms of the audiences prejudiceand practice she is a representative of the twain free born groupsin Athenian society that had almost no rights at all (NortonAnthology 739). Euripides could not have chosen a moredowntrodden role for Medea. Here is this woman who has stood byher man through dense and thin. She has turned her back on herfamily and killed her own brother while dowery Jason capture theGolden Fleece.Oh my father Oh, my country In what dis purity I left you, killing my own brother for it.(Medea 164-165)Despite all of her veneration to her husband he has fallen in lovewith someone new, Glauke. The retain and the let loose understandand sympathize with Medea as unless other women could. Euripidesdevelops the summation of Medeas character by the sympatheticalapproach of the Nurse....calling out on her fathers name,And her land, and her home betrayed when she came forward withA man who now is determined to dishonor her.Poor creature, she has notice by her sufferings What it means to one not to have lost ones own country.(Medea 31-35)The Chorus are sympathetic to Medeas heartache also, and offer amore simple and acceptable approach to help Medea deal with hertroubles.Suppose your man gives honorTo another womans bed.It often happens. Dont be hurt.... ...And when I have ruined the all of Jasons house, I shall leave the land and flee from the murder of myDear children, and I shall have done a dreadful deed.(Medea 775-780)The killing of Glauke and Kreon loses significance with theChorus who are dreadfully anticipating the harm of Medeaschildren. Euripides uses a female chorus to think of the atrocityof a mother killing her own children. The Chorus no longersympathizes with Medea, yet still blames Jason for the eventswhich have taken place. You too, O unworthy bridegroom, making your match withkings,You do not see that you bringend on your children...(Medea 964-966)Euripides role of female characters to sympathize withMedeas h eartache in the beginning, and puff the unscrupulousmurder of her children in the end is brilliant. The reason forthe female support is evident. If the Nurse or Chorus had been amale servant or a mixed crowd in society the plot of the playwould have been lost. Medea is a woman suffering from a brokenheart, and it seems only fair that she be given sympathy andjudgment from peers who can relate. stone hath no fury like thatof a woman scorned