Analysis Of Medea And The Bacchae - 1325 Words

In Euripides’ plays, Medea and The Bacchae, binary oppositions are present, such as the opposition between man and god, foreigner and citizen, and men and women. Binary oppositions are opposing terms that are put head to head in a piece of literature to show contrasting ideas (Marvin, 1). Binary oppositions can also be â€Å"good vs. bad,† such as in the case of man and god. The first binary opposition that is present in both plays is man and god. Marvin describes binary oppositions as being against each other and one being superior to the other (1), such as man and god. In The Bacchae, Dionysus is the god and Pentheus is the man, and both of them are always clashing heads about who has the right to power over the other. Dionysus clearly shows his superiority over Pentheus, showing the superiority of god over man. The chorus leader described Dionysus’ superiority over Pentheus, â€Å"Look how quickly Pentheus’ palace will be shaken to its fall! Dionysus i s in the palace. Worship him!† (Euripides, Bacchae III: 586-589). Another way that Dionysus is showing the god over man binary opposition is when he manipulates Pentheus to dress as a woman to feel protected when he is really setting him up to be murdered. Pentheus is at first hesitant of dressing like a female and inquires he not dress like a woman, however, Dionysus further manipulates Pentheus by explaining that if he does not dress like a woman to hide his true identity, he will be murdered (Euripides, Bacchae III: 836-837). InShow MoreRelatedThe Tragic Women Of Tragedy985 Words   |  4 PagesAgave, Antigone, and Medea are all undoubtedly the driving force behind the tragic action in these plays. It is their choices that lead to the pain and death of the people around them. Through an examination of the evidence from three separate works, Antigone, The Bacchae, and The Medea, the role of women in ancient Greek tragedy becomes clear. The actions of Agave, Antigone, and Me dea repeatedly prove their characters instability and danger. Agave in Euripides tragedy, The Bacchae, is a violent exampleRead MoreSatire in the Tragedies of Euripides1443 Words   |  6 Pagesinterpretation of Euripides satire is not inclusive, there is many examples of it throughout his plays. The focus of this analysis is limited to only a handful of the 18 or 19 plays of Euripides that survive today, and is limited to correctly interpreting the ideas and understanding how they correlated to satire. Appropriately, I think the first look at Euripides brand of satire should be from Medea as translated by John Davie. It is important to understand that this play is being interpreted, because this wasRead MoreConflict Between Male And Female Characters2154 Words   |  9 Pagesreversals are found aplenty, emphasised and made comic by cross-dressing whilst in tragedy, it appears rarer. Furthermore, in tragedy the role reversal focuses on the women’s function as usurping the roles designated for male characters. Euripides’ Medea and Aristophanes’ Women at Thesmophoria provide one with a paradigm from each genre of how sexual role reversal can explore alternative representations of gender and result in having a transgressive impact on dominating gender ideology. Both playwrightsRead More Euripides Support of Women’s Rights Essay4032 Words   |  17 PagesEuripides’ plays women are often portrayed as weak, uncertain, and torn between what they must do and what they can bring themselves to do.   Other women appear to be the root of grave evils, or simply perpetrators of heinous crimes.   In a day when analysis of characters and plot had yet to be invented, it is easy to see why he might have been thought to be very much against women.   However, when looking back with current understanding of what Euripides was doing at the time, armed with knowledge of