Medea essay

[pra96]

Hey guys

I wrote an essay for Medea, if someone (aka Lauren) could mark it out of 10 and give some feedback that would be nice.

Prompt: ‘Medea has no choice but to seek revenge.’ Do you agree?

Euripides’ ancient Greek tragedy Medea, follows the journey of its titular character as she seeks vengeance upon her husband. This desire for revenge stems from Medea’s hubristic and passionate nature, which dominates her actions. Further, the social injustice Medea receives as a “barbarous” woman forces her to seek justice by her own means. Similarly, Medea receives divine approval in her fight for justice as the Gods support her actions.

Medea’s emotional and excessively proud nature dominates her actions throughout the play. The Nurse highlights the sorrow that Medea suffers as she “dissolve[es] the long hours in tears”. Jason’s betrayal has “hurt her where her affection runs deepest”, which is her love for Jason. Thus her melancholic reaction to the news of Jason’s decision demonstrates her passionate nature. This sorrow transmutes into “fierce and intractable” hatred for Jason. Hence she has “fierc[e] anger… rag[ing] in place of dearest love” for Jason. Further, it is this transformation of affection that precipitates her plan to “deal Jason the deepest wound” by “reach[ing his] heart”. Therefore Medea passionate nature drives her to avenge her betrayal by killing the royal family and her own sons. Similarly, Medea’s hubris causes her to seek revenge. Having “the mind of a queen”, Medea doesn’t wish to face “the laughter of [her] enemies”. She cannot bear to be belittled by other people, even wishing death on her sons rather than to “leave sons of [hers] behind for [her] enemies to insult”. Thus Medea has excessive pride, for which reason she cannot let her betrayal be forgotten easily. Subsequently, she is compelled to “punish [her] enemies” in order to defend this pride. Thus her actions are controlled by her emotion and pride. Therefore Medea’s hubristic and passionate nature causes her to seek revenge on Jason.

Society’s treatment of Medea forces her to deal justice on her own. The patriarchal society that Euripides portrays in Medea gives little heed to her problems. Society views women with intelligence as “ignorant”, disliking such a trait in women. Thus Medea is viewed as an “evil woman” because of her intelligence and her skill in magic. Creon views Medea as a threat for these reasons, which is why he decides to exile her from Corinth. Furthermore, women in ancient Greek society have no rights in marriage as they are “forced to look to one man only”, expected to be obedient and “yield to” their husbands. Jason’s misogynistic opinion that “without women, human life would be rid of its miseries” echoes the misogyny in ancient Greek society. Thus Medea is not taken seriously, for which reason she is unable to find justice in the eyes of society. Medea instead proves herself as “of a different kind”, contrary to the social perception that women are “weak… humble [and] passive”. She wishes to stand up for herself, as well as for the other oppressed women in Greek society. Similarly, Medea’s position as a “barbarous” woman leads to her unfair treatment in Corinth. Jason rebukes Medea after the death of his sons, believing that a “Hellene woman” would not have done as she did. Medea is viewed as an outsider by Greek society, for which reason Creon exiles her without protest. She therefore has fewer rights than a Greek citizen. Thus the perception that society has of Medea prevents her from receiving justice. Hence Medea is forced to deal justice herself.

The gods approve of Medea’s actions, supposedly sympathizing with her as they help her in her pursuit of justice. Medea constantly calls on the gods to help her in the midst of her troubles. She “invokes Themis” and “Zeus who is named keeper of men’s oaths”. Medea calls on “the mighty Sun” her grandfather. Thus she seeks divine justice while she may not have social justice. As events unfold, Medea has her desires fulfilled as “the will of heaven brings down on Jason justice and calamity”. Thus it is evident that the gods approve of Medea’s actions, especially as they do not protect those she seeks to harm. This is further evident in the end as Helios sends Medea a dragon chariot to “keep [her] from the hands of her enemies”. Hence the gods, being absolute symbols and dispensers of justice, vindicate Medea. Their approval of her fight for justice does not give her a choice; it merely encourages her course of action, as she must ultimately deal it herself. It is thus that her actions were pre-ordained, “many are the fates which Zeus on Olympus ordains”, giving her no choice in her fate. Thus it is ultimately not up to Medea to seek revenge, for the gods had “set her course” beforehand. Therefore Medea’s battle for revenge was pre-ordained by the gods, giving her no other choice.

The hubristic and emotional nature of Medea causes her to seek vengeance for her betrayal by Jason. Similarly, the societal injustice that she receives, stemming from society’s perceptions of her, gives Medea no choice but to seek revenge. Further, Medea’s journey to seek revenge on Jason was pre-ordained by Zeus, thus not giving her a choice.

[Cookie Monster]

Hi! Hopefully it's not a bit too late to be giving you some feedback, considering the exam's tomorrow.

Prompt: ‘Medea has no choice but to seek revenge.’ Do you agree?
This is a difficult prompt. If you were to answer this fully (the 'do you agree bit), you would probably have to compare Euripides' audience to today's audience and discuss whether today's audience would view whether Medea had a choice. Also, "no choice" indicates that, under no circumstances, she didn't have a choice, so you should probably try to at least challenge this prompt in some way.

Euripides’ ancient Greek tragedy,Medea, Personally, I would underline the title, as it would indicate you are talking about the play rather than the character to the examiner  follows the journey of its titular character as she seeks vengeance upon her husband. This desire for revenge stems from Medea’s hubristic and passionate nature, which dominates her actions. Further, the social injustice Medea receives as a “barbarous” woman forces her to seek justice by her own means. Similarly, Medea receives divine approval in her fight for justice as the Gods support her actions. I think you could go a bit more into depth with your intro, the prompt is asking whether Medea has no choice but to seek revenge, so I don't feel like you have really answered it properly. I think you probably should've put "no choice but to seek revenge" somewhere in here so it links to the prompt a bit better. Also, I would probably try and mention something about Euripides' message here. What is he trying to say?

Medea’s emotional and excessively proud nature dominates her actions throughout the play. The Nurse highlights the sorrow that Medea suffers as she “dissolve[es] the long hours in tears”. Jason’s betrayal has “hurt her where her affection runs deepest”, which is her love for Jason I feel that the second part of the sentence has already been implied through the quote, so maybe you could instead have said why he left her. Thus, her melancholic reaction to the news of Jason’s decision demonstrates her passionate nature. This sorrow transmutes into “fierce and intractable” hatred for Jason. Hence she has “fierc[e] anger… rag[ing] in place of dearest love” for Jason. Just paraphrasing from the play would be fine, so you don't need to feel like you have to put extra words into square brackets  Further, it is this transformation of affection that precipitates her plan to “deal Jason the deepest wound” by “reach[ing his] heart”. Therefore Medea passionate nature drives her to avenge her betrayal by killing the royal family and her own sons. Similarly, Medea’s hubris causes her to seek revenge. Having “the mind of a queen”, Medea doesn’t wish to face “the laughter of [her] enemies”. She cannot bear to be belittled by other people, even wishing death on her sons rather than to “leave sons of [hers] behind for [her] enemies to insult”. Thus Medea has excessive pride, for which reason she cannot let her betrayal be forgotten easily. Subsequently, she is compelled to “punish [her] enemies” in order to defend this pride. Thus her actions are controlled by her emotion and pride. Therefore Medea’s hubristic and passionate nature causes her to seek revenge on Jason. I feel like in this paragraph you are just giving plot details, although you started analysing a bit more until the end. Also, try and zoom out and suggest what Euripides' overall message is. Why does he craft Medea like this?

Society’s treatment of Medea forces her to deal justice on her own. The patriarchal society that Euripides portrays in Medea gives little heed to her problems. Society views women with intelligence as “ignorant”, disliking such a trait in women. Thus Medea is viewed as an “evil woman” because of her intelligence and her skill in magic. Creon views Medea as a threat for these reasons, which is why he decides to exile her from Corinth. Furthermore, women in ancient Greek society have no rights in marriage as they are “forced to look to one man only”, expected to be obedient and “yield to” their husbands. Again, you are just giving plot detail. Why is Euripides doing this? Is he condemning such a society?Jason’s misogynistic opinion that “without women, human life would be rid of its miseries” echoes the misogyny in ancient Greek society.  Thus Medea is not taken seriously, for which reason she is unable to find justice in the eyes of society. Medea instead proves herself as “of a different kind”, contrary to the social perception that women are “weak… humble [and] passive”. She wishes to stand up for herself, as well as for the other oppressed women in Greek society. This is better, you are starting to anaylse a bit more hereSimilarly, Medea’s position as a “barbarous” woman leads to her unfair treatment in Corinth. Jason rebukes Medea after the death of his sons, believing that a “Hellene woman” would not have done as she did. Medea is viewed as an outsider by Greek society, for which reason Creon exiles her without protest. She therefore has fewer rights than a Greek citizen. Thus the perception that society has of Medea prevents her from receiving justice. Hence Medea is forced to deal justice herself. Again, I feel like you're just giving me plot detail rather than giving much of an analysis. I think it also would've been beneficial to mention the Chorus here, who condemns such a patriarchal society, and as they represent Euripides' audience and through this, they encourage the audience to also reconsider the way they treat woman. 

The gods approve of Medea’s actions, supposedly sympathizing with her as they help her in her pursuit of justice. I'd question this. The gods don't really intervene until the end when Medea gets the chariot, and before that they seem more like passive observers rather than characters who actively participate. Maybe you could provide some textual detail behind this?Medea constantly calls on the gods to help her in the midst of her troubles. She “invokes Themis” and “Zeus who is named keeper of men’s oaths”. Medea calls on “the mighty Sun”, her grandfather. Thus, she seeks divine justice while she may not have social justice. As events unfold, Medea has her desires fulfilled as “the will of heaven brings down on Jason justice and calamity”. What's Euripides trying to say? Again, I feel like you're giving too much plot detail rather than analysisThus, it is evident that the gods approve of Medea’s actions, especially as they do not protect those she seeks to harm. This is further evident in the end as Helios sends Medea a dragon chariot to “keep [her] from the hands of her enemies”. Hence the gods, being absolute symbols and dispensers of justice, vindicate Medea. Their approval of her fight for justice does not give her a choice; it merely encourages her course of action, as she must ultimately deal it herself. Good, now you're linking to the prompt a bit better  It is thus that throughher actions were pre-ordained, “many are the fates which Zeus on Olympus ordains”, giving her no choice in her fate.  . Also, I took out that bit because I felt it was a little wordy.Thus it is ultimately not up to Medea to seek revenge, for the gods had “set her course” beforehand. Now you're linking better to the prompt.Therefore Medea’s battle for revenge was pre-ordained by the gods, giving her no other choice.This last bit of analysis, I think, was the strongest aspect of your essay. But again, try mentioning something about Euripides' message

The hubristic and emotional nature of Medea causes her to seek vengeance for her betrayal by Jason. Similarly, the societal injustice that she receives, stemming from society’s perceptions of her, gives Medea no choice but to seek revenge. Further, Medea’s journey to seek revenge on Jason was pre-ordained by Zeus, thus not giving her a choice.


This was a decent attempt, although I didn't feel like you really began addressing the prompt until the end. I think, if you had probably made it a bit more explicit in the first half, it would've strengthened your essay considerably. Also, I also felt like you were focusing too much on what happens in the play rather than analysing it. Try to also incorporate Euripides' message - what is he trying to say through his characters? What does he want the audience to consider? This is where the Chorus will come in handy - look at what they say about the patriarchal society, exile,how they position the audience to sympathise with Medea and criticise Jason to make the audience look at him less favourably, etc. You certainly don't need to reread the text, just start considering the ideas/themes/values Euripides discusses/critiques/endorses/condemns in the play. This is what examiners would be looking for as well as you answering the prompt. I'd give it about a 5.

Anyway, good luck for tomorrow!

[pra96]

Hi Cookie,

Thanks for the feedback. Some of the points you raised are certainly useful. I do realise that I need to analyse the quotes a bit more. The non-underlined 'Medea' title was because the formatting didn't copy over from word. About the square brackets; I was always told that you are expected to use them when editing quotes.

Also, I think you may have been slightly harsh in your scoring of this piece, given that my teacher gave it an 8 out of 10. I know it is not the best, but seriously a 5? At worst I would think it is a 7. I've written a worse piece before and still got a 6.

Nonetheless, thanks for the insightful feedback.

Good luck to you too (assuming you are doing English) 

[literally lauren]

(had already started marking this when I saw Cookie Monster had already commented here, and there's a bit of overlap here anyway, but here you go!)

Prompt: ‘Medea has no choice but to seek revenge.’ Do you agree?

Euripides’ ancient Greek tragedy Medea, follows the journey of its titular character as she seeks vengeance upon her husband. This desire for revenge stems from Medea’s hubristic and passionate nature, which dominates her actions. Further, the social injustice Medea receives as a “barbarous” woman forces her to seek justice by her own means. Similarly, Medea receives divine approval in her fight for justice as the Gods support her actions. not sure this is wholly relevant to the prompt, and it's making your introduction feel a bit 'list-y'

Medea’s emotional and excessively proud nature dominates her actions throughout the play nice clear topic sentence, though the link to the prompt and the concept of justice could be more apparent. The Nurse highlights the sorrow that Medea suffers as she “dissolve[es] the long hours in tears”. Jason’s betrayal has “hurt her where her affection runs deepest”, which is what is? Expression is a bit unclear here her love for Jason. Thus her melancholic reaction to the news of Jason’s decision demonstrates her passionate nature. This sorrow transmutes into “fierce and intractable” hatred for Jason. Hence she has “fierc[e] anger… rag[ing] in place of dearest love” for Jason. Further, it is this transformation of affection that precipitates her plan to “deal Jason the deepest wound” by “reach[ing his] heart”. Therefore Medea passionate nature drives her to avenge her betrayal by killing the royal family and her own sons. Similarly okay, at this point, it's starting to feel like your essay is bouncing around a bit too much. Try to work towards a definitive point in each paragraph rather than jsut run through different talking points and stringing them together like 'Further...' 'Similarly...', Medea’s hubris causes her to seek revenge. Having “the mind of a queen”, Medea doesn’t wish to face “the laughter of [her] enemies”. She cannot bear to be belittled by other people, even wishing death on her sons rather than to “leave sons of [hers] behind for [her] enemies to insult”. Thus Medea has excessive pride, for which reason she and cannot let her betrayal be forgotten easily <-- how do you know? You're right, but you could do more to clarify this point. Subsequently, she is compelled to “punish [her] enemies” in order to defend this pride. Thus her actions are controlled by her emotion and pride. Therefore Medea’s hubristic and passionate nature causes her to seek revenge on Jason. You've got a good use of linking words here, but the ideas themselves aren't necessarily linking together. I think keeping this final point in mind while writing should help give your discussion a bit more direction.

aim for some kind of link b/n paragraphs, if possible Society’s treatment of Medea forces her to deal justice on her own. The patriarchal society that Euripides portrays in Medea be sure to distinguish the play Medea  from the character Medea where applicable; I'm not entirely sure which you're talking about here gives little heed to her problems. Society views women with intelligence as “ignorant”, disliking such a trait in women. Thus ?? this is implying a connection between these two sentences, but I don't really think that's very apparent. How do you know she's intelligent? You'd need more evidence for this assertion Medea is viewed as an “evil woman” because of her intelligence and her skill in magic. Creon views Medea as a threat for these reasons, which is why he decides to exile her from Corinth. Furthermore, women in ancient Greek society have no rights in marriage as they are “forced to look to one man only”, expected to be obedient and “yield to” their husbands. Jason’s misogynistic opinion that “without women, human life would be rid of its miseries” echoes the misogyny in ancient Greek society. Thus Medea is not taken seriously, for which reason she is unable to find justice in the eyes of society but why is this the case?. Medea instead proves herself as “of a different kind”, contrary to the social perception that women are “weak… humble [and] passive”. She wishes to stand up for herself, as well as for the other oppressed women in Greek society. Similarly, Medea’s position as a “barbarous” woman leads to her unfair treatment in Corinth. Jason rebukes Medea after the death of his sons, believing that a “Hellene woman” would not have done as she did. Medea is viewed as an outsider by Greek society, for which reason Creon exiles her without protest. She therefore has fewer rights than a Greek citizen. Thus the perception that society has of Medea prevents her from receiving justice. Hence Medea is forced to deal justice herself for the most part, the discussion is much more closely lined here, but you seem to be using sentence starters like 'Thus' and 'Hence' a little too liberally as your ideas don'y always imply consequence.

The gods approve of Medea’s actions, supposedly why only 'supposedly?' sympathizing with her as they help her in her pursuit of justice. Medea constantly calls on the gods to help her in the midst of her troubles. She “invokes Themis” and “Zeus who is named keeper of men’s oaths”. Medea calls on “the mighty Sun” her grandfather. <--notice how you tend to go from one summative sentence like 'Medea does X' to one idea-based sentence like 'Thus Medea...' --> Thus she seeks divine justice while she may not have social justice. <--these points would be much stronger if you could combine them into one analytical sentence instead of separating them and having to use 'thus' every time As events unfold, Medea has her desires fulfilled as “the will of heaven brings down on Jason justice and calamity”. Thus it is evident same thing here that the gods approve of Medea’s actions, especially as they do not protect those she seeks to harm. This is further evident in the end as Helios sends Medea a dragon chariot to “keep [her] from the hands of her enemies”. Hence the gods, being absolute symbols and dispensers of justice, vindicate Medea. Their approval of her fight for justice does not give her a choice; it merely encourages her course of action, as she must ultimately deal it herself. It is thus that her actions were pre-ordained, “many are the fates which Zeus on Olympus ordains”, giving her no choice in her fate. Thus it is ultimately not up to Medea to seek revenge, for the gods had “set her course” beforehand. Therefore Medea’s battle for revenge was pre-ordained by the gods, giving her no other choice.

The hubristic and emotional nature of Medea causes her to seek vengeance for her betrayal by Jason. Similarly, the societal injustice that she receives, stemming from society’s perceptions of her, gives Medea no choice but to seek revenge. Further, Medea’s journey to seek revenge on Jason was pre-ordained by Zeus, thus not giving her a choice. so what can we say about the idea of revenge/justice as a whole? Try to zoom out for your conclusion rather than just run through your sub-arguments again. You've got a good amount of evidence and quotes so far, but making some minor adjustments to your argument and sentence structure should help a lot!