Medea

?
  • Created by: AmyBurns
  • Created on: 18-04-17 13:43
View mindmap
  • Medea
    • Characters
      • Medea- Wife of Jason, Princess of Colchis. Barbarian and Sorceress. Grandfather is Helios the Sun God.
        • Betrayed by Jason's remarriage, gets exiled from Corinth but is offered refuge in Rome by Aegeus. Kills her children.
      • Creon- King of Corinth, Jason's father in law to be.
        • Is afraid of Medea, gives her one more day before exile. Gets killed by the poison Medea gives Glauce.
      • Jason- Son of Aeson, leader of the Argonauts. Married Medea but has new bride Glauce.
        • Leaves Medea for Princess of Corinth Glauce for political power. Medea kills all his children, new wife and her father.
      • Aegeus- King of Athens and a friend of Medea.
        • Makes an oath to Medea that he will give her a safe haven in Athens if she helps him have children.
      • The Nurse-  foreshadows children's death. Is an outside commentator on the play. disapproves of Medea killing her children.
    • The Chorus
      • The Corinthian women, loyal to Medea, have a vow of silence, horrified by her killing her children.
      • Parados-  show Medea friendship and sympathy to her distress. Ask her to come outside.
      • 1st Stasimon- Takes Medea's side on being against men.
      • 3rd Stasimon- talks of how Medea will ruin Athens if she comes there after she murders her children.
      • 2nd Stasimon- Pray for moderation in love use Medea as example for excess.
      • 4th Stasimon- foreshadow Medea killing her children. Will ruin Jason, Glauce and Medea's families.
        • 5th Stasimon- The difficulties of having children and being a woman.
      • 6th Stasimon- horrified as they hear Medea killing her children.
    • Themes
      • Role of Women
        • Jason believes women to be weak willed.
          • Jason (talking about Glauce) "If she is like the rest of her sex, I think I shall persuade her"
        • Sexually slighted woman.
          • Revenge
            • feels betrayed by Jason
        • Women are inheritally bad and are an inconvenience to society.
          • Jason: "The human race should produce children from some other source and the female sex should not exist. Then mankind would be free of evil."
          • Medea: "We are women, supremely helpless when there's good to be done, supreme in clever craftsmanship of all bad deeds."
        • Medea does not fit in the role of a woman.
          • Medea- "I would rather stand three times in the battle line than bear on child."
      • Revenge
        • feels betrayed by Jason
      • Passion and Rage
        • Excess hate and love towards Jason.
        • complete lack of moderation, very; which is very important to the Greeks.
      • The outsider
        • Xenophobic society
        • Because Jason is divorcing Medea, she is no longer a citizen of Trozen and has to be exiled.
        • Medea would be considered a barbarian, would have looked, acted and sounded very different.
      • Oikos
        • without Jason or her father Medea has no Kyrios, seeks this from Aegeus.
        • Jason marries Glauce to produce higher born heirs.
          • Jason and Medea's marriage less legitmate as Medea is a foreigner.
            • The outsider
              • Xenophobic society
              • Because Jason is divorcing Medea, she is no longer a citizen of Trozen and has to be exiled.
              • Medea would be considered a barbarian, would have looked, acted and sounded very different.
        • Jason's betrayal of married oaths, his children illegitimate.
      • Honour and pride
        • Cannot bear her enemies mocking her, so much so she kills her children.
          • Medea:  "Laughter from my enemies is not to be endured"
    • Plot
      • Prologue- The nurse tells of how Medea originally saved Jason, pities her. The tutor says she is banished, Medea laments.
        • Tutor- "the ruler of this country is intending to to drive these children with their mother from the land of Corinth."
      • Episode 1- Creon enters and tells Medea she is banished, she convinces him for her to stay one more day, plots to kill them.
        • Medea- "a day in which I shall make three of my enemies corpses."
      • Episode 2- Medea and Jason argue about who is to blame for the exile.
        • Jason: "You made this choice. You have no one else to blame."
      • Episode 3- Aegeus arrives, Aegeus offers her safety in Athens if Medea helps him have children.
        • Medea: " receive me in your country at the hearth of your palace. So may your desire for children with God's help find fulfilment."
      • Episode 4- tells Jason she wants to give Glauce gifts so her children don't get exiled but really uses it to poison Glauce.
        • Medea: "bid your wife to entreat her father that the children should not go into exile."
      • Episode 5- Children have been allowed to stay in Corinth, Medea decides she must kill them."
        • Medea: "I who gave them birth shall kill them."
      • Episode 6- Messenger brings news of Glauce and Creon's death. Medea further confirms she must kill her children.
        • Messenger: " The princess has just died- and her father, Creon- from your poison."
      • Exodus- Jason enters fearing for his children but they are already dead. Medea flies off with them, not letting him touch them.
        • Jason: "Did you really think my marriage a good enough reason to kill them?"
    • Comparison
      • Hippolytus  an Medea share the idea of a sexually slighted woman and characters wanting to get rid of women.
      • Antigone  and Medea show an example of women that go against the sophrosyne norms of society.
      • Medea and Oedipus are both characters referred to frequently as being clever, however it makes Oedipus a hero and Medea a dangerous villain.
        • Creon (To Medea): "You are a clever woman, skilled in many evil wiles."
        • Priest (To Oedipus): "no extra knowledge, still you triumphed."

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Classical Civilization resources:

See all Classical Civilization resources »See all Greek Tragedy resources »