RG Medea lines 1 to 264
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Georgia Southern University *
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2111
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Arts Humanities
Date
Dec 6, 2023
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docx
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Read the following pages in
The Norton Anthology of World Literature
and answer the
following questions as you read.
“Ancient Athenian Drama" 390-95
"Euripides" 438-40--pay close attention to the challenges Medea helped Jason overcome
before the play began as described on pages 439.
Medea
lines 1-264 [to "
Enter
CREON"]
According to the essay "Ancient Athenian Drama," before the invention of tragedy
there were contests in which rhapsodes recited parts of what works of literature?
They recited parts of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.
What did Aeschylus supposedly call his own work?
“Slices from the feast of Homer”
What does the essay say about the entrances and exits of characters in Greek
drama?
Entrances and exits were important because they took a long time, and the
audience would have been watching the characters make their way onto the playing area.
How many characters are usually engaged in dialogue in an ancient Athenian play?
Two to three actors.
What is an
agon
?
A dialogue technique in which one character makes a long speech, arguing a
particular case, and a second character replies with an opposing speech.
What is
stichomythia
?
A dialogue technique in which a character speaks just a single line.
What does the Chorus often represent?
The chorus can represent the voice of an ordinary person, internal audience, or
characters with their own biases.
In a Greek drama, where does killing (and other violence) usually take place?
Offstage
What is the purpose of the "messenger speech"?
Tells of how the character died; very detailed and descriptive.
According to the essay about Euripides, who were the Sophists and what is
"
sophia
"?
Sophia is cleverness or wisdom.
According to the myth about Jason, in what ways did Medea save Jason's life?
She saved him from the dragon, the Colchian pursuers, and Pelias.
Reading Guide for
Medea
lines 1-276
Why do you think the Nurse is speaking to herself in the opening lines of
Medea
?
She is giving the audience the backstory.
What is the
Argo
, according to the footnote?
The first ship constructed by Jason for his quest for the Golden Fleece.
How has Medea behaved in Corinth? Do the citizens like her? How has she acted
toward Jason?
Medea has behaved in such a way as to charm the citizens of Corinth. She has
acted selflessly towards Jason, “doing whatever she could to help out Jason.”
Whom does Medea call to witness Jason's betrayal of herself, according to the
Nurse?
She calls on the gods.
What does the Tutor call the Nurse, and what does the Nurse call the Tutor?
The Tutor calls the Nurse “Old servant of my mistress’ house” and the Nurse call
the Tutor “Old tutor of the sons of Jason.”
What does Medea shout from offstage about the children?
She shouts that she can’t take anymore and that she wants to die.
Which goddesses does Medea call upon by name? According to the footnote, with
what are these goddesses associated. Why do you think she calls upon these
particular goddesses in her present situation?
Medea calls upon Themis and Artemis. Themis is associated with order and keeping
promises. Artemis protects virgins and women in childbirth. These gods understand the
promises of marriage and being a mother, which is why Medea calls on them.
In
Medea
, the Chorus is composed of what kind of people?
Corinthian women.
How does Medea try to build common ground with the Chorus? What does she say
they have in common as women? What are some of the difficulties of women than
men do not suffer?
She builds common ground on the struggles of womanhood such as having to pay
a dowry, the husbands being 50/50 good or bad, the pain of childbirth, the husband being
the master of the wife’s body, etc.
What does Medea say she would rather do than go through childbirth once?
She would rather face battle three times.
How is Medea's situation distinct from the situation of the women of the chorus,
according to her?
The women of the chorus are from Corinth and have friends and family there,
whereas Medea has been exiled from her home and she is alone without her husband.
At the end of her long speech to the Chorus, what favor does she ask of them?
She asks the women to say nothing if she comes up with a plan to get back at her
husband.
What does the Chorus say in reply to her request for this favor?
The agree to stay silent and say that Medea is right to pay back her husband.
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