In the trilogy The Oresteia, Aeschylus shows the never ending cycle of violence within the house of Atreus. The cycle acts as a “net” entrapping Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, Orestes, and many other characters. This net has not only encapsulated characters but it also produces actions throughout the play provoking the audience to think of several different conflicted loyalties. Specifically, the rendezvous between Clytemnestra and the chorus highlights right versus wrong, self-help justice (in the form of revenge) versus justice by trial, and honor versus dignity. The audience can understand all of the aforementioned conflicting loyalties because they are conflicts that each and every person has undergone at least once. While the events taking place throughout the play are outlandish, but the actions aroused by the conflicting loyalties are comprehendible. The audience can still analyze the character’s actions and thoughts and recognize that they are genuine and understandable human encounters. From this, a sense of humanity—that we all have certain concerns and duties and we must respond to them …show more content…
These unique responses allow the audience to see how their actions based upon their own individual sense of human nature affect others around them. The aforementioned knowledge creates connections between characters in this play and humanity. Each day people in our society must contemplate right versus wrong, revenge versus peace, and honor versus dignity, and from there, they must act according to their individual impulses and needs. Therefore, not only can the audience understand why the play runs the course it does, they can also comprehend and empathize with the characters as well—a dynamic that continues to allow The Oresteia to be a prominent piece of
From finding forgiveness to admitting their wrongs. In the beginning they had their faults in which they made up for leaving them stronger as people. Starting out with a lot of pain and sorrow and leaving with a better outlook on their lives. The characters were important to this play to show that people can be wrong, and that people can mess up and find their way back. It shows that people can change for the better and admit when they do something wrong in the midst of their lives.
The response from both make audience realize, the crime was not simply one family’s tragedy, it symbolizes our vulnerable and uncertain place in the world. We are responsible for the society we are in. We as a society, are responsible for what is happening and standing up and fighting for making place for people who are different as well. Society is responsible for the way we respond to such incidents. Throughout the play, audiences are engaged to serve as unofficial judge and jury in their subliminal through considering the soundness of each interview and testimony.
The Oresteia is a trilogy written by the Greek author Aeschylus that comprises of three plays; Agamemnon, the libation bearers, and the Eumenides. The central theme of this book is “justice” which in the case of Orestes has led to exile. This book was written at a time when the star of Athens was in decline. It was a time that marked the establishment of a new socio- political order, a democracy adjudicated by the rule of law. This rule of law meant the institutionalization of justice (i.e. having a justice system), where cases are heard and verdicts are being reached based on evidence.
The play centers around the extreme behavior that can result from dark desires and hidden agendas. And as one reads this historical drama they discover many universal and enduring themes. Three universal themes that I will discuss are good vs. evil, justice, and religion. The first theme that I will discuss is religion.
In contrast, in the Oresteia, the myth demonstrates an overwhelming theme of justice. Agamemnons’ death here shows the curse hunting his household from generation to generation, starting from Agamemnon’s father
However, while they both have the same intentions, their actions conflict heavily, and situate them on opposite sides of a matter. Because of this, there is not a clear good or evil person; almost every aspect of the playwright is up to the reader’s interpretation. But, it is not impossible to make a compromise between two people about their values, even if it seems the values could not be more
Enduring relevance of the play Examples/Details/Explanations: The play captures the human condition and sheds light on universal struggles and
In this play, there are a lot of social elements at work within the structure of the community it takes place in. There is a social dynamic between the people police and the people. An example of this would be the officer who shot Benji. We don’t know exactly what happened but the entire incident seems to be put under a microscope due to the social prejudices that are underlying issuers in this community. The audience is also left wondering and trying to fill in the caps about what is happening as well as trying to learn the whole truth from the fragments of evidence they have.
The main characters in this play either see logic and reason, or give in their fear of the unknown. The society around these characters feel the need to fit in, therefore they follow those voices that speak louder to them and those surrounding.
In this play, the characters and their intentions of displaying honor and hiding shame are distinguished and expressed through their language towards others. Many of the characters in this play truly value their honor in order to maintain their position as a courtier. Under a
Both Aeschylus and Sophocles’ characters have different roles to maintain which provides different insights to certain matters. In Agamemnon’s case as a king, he had to make the decision to “desert the fleets, fail the alliance” (Agamemnon, 213) or “stop the winds with a virgin’s blood” (Agamemnon, 214); his truth being that he was in a difficult position, having to choose between making the decision as a king for his nation or as a father for his family. From his perspective as king whom many citizens put their trusts in his hands, Agamemnon chose the sacrifice of one life for the lives of many. His truth is that the nation will fall if the war does not proceed, and the war cannot go on without the sacrifice of a virgin’s blood – his daughter. Electra and Orestes both agreed that matricide is the right response because Clytaemnestra is now considered a traitor to the House of Atreus after murdering Agamemnon and revealing her adultery with Aegisthus.
Hamlet Journal Setting: When and where does the story take place? Most of the play takes place during the Renaissance period in Demark. The play features some outdoor scenes, but most of the drama occurs inside Hamlet’s castle.
This scene is vital for understanding the play’s exploration of the politics of the nobility and the interpersonal relationships of men. Our group considered Act 3 Scene 2 essential to the comprehension of the development of Prince Hal in relation to his father, King Henry IV. However, more context is needed to understand the pair’s progression throughout the play. In the opening scenes, both Henry and Hal establish their views of the
The play Measure for Measure is concerned with the errors of human nature and is central to how these actions impact the external environment. But it also focuses on the inner world, the intuitive aspect of the individual which functions according to values: the person’s moral center. In other words, the central conflict of the play is a battle between seeming and being, and noting the congruence between the two is crucial towards the theme of the play. This can even be seen when the Duke himself tells the difference between appearance and reality as he speaks about his deputy, Angelo, stating that “Angelo is precise; stands at a guard with envy; scarce confesses that his blood flows, or that his appetite Is more to bread than stone: hence shall we see, if power change purpose, what our seemers be,” (1.3.4). Seemingly, Angelo appears to be the perfect deputy and the disciplined character.
Samuel Johnson wrote in a preface to William Shakespeare’s King Lear, “There is perhaps no play which keeps the attention so strongly fixed; which so much agitates our passions and interests our curiosity.” King Lear is a prime example of Shakespeare’s ability to generate conversation. The play’s parallel storylines between Gloucester and Lear focuses the reader’s mind towards Shakespeare’s underlying messages. The uncommon structure for the tragedy facilitates an emphasis on the consequences of corruption of political power and obedience over true loyalty that are central to both plots of the play.