Can someone please give this Medea essay a mark out of ten and jot some points down for improvement! Thanks! Appreciated!
Medea is not only about anger, it is about helplessness and fear. Discuss.
Through his tragic play Medea, Euripides explores the notion of anger and its fundamental role in the play. Euripides introduces the facade of anger through ones hamartia and helplessness. Euripides portrayal of exasperation is ultimately made up of the fears and insecurities associated with helplessness. Euripides shows that helplessness is ultimately what pushes us to commit actions of hatred and vengeance and through this we ultimately become prisoners of our own fear.
Euripides shows that ones sense of anger stems from fear. Euripides portrayal of Medea’s hatred within the play hides behind it the symbolic fear of betrayal. Euripides furthers this through extensive use of the chorus drawing out sympathy from the audience for Medea’s mistreatment. Euripides use of this sympathy draws out the humanity of Medea by looking at the actions that are the cause of her severe anger. Euripides utilises these actions of betrayal to symbolise destruction of Medea’s fear being replaced with utter hatred and vengeance. Euripides shows that once fear is met face to face it is inherently taken over by anger. Euripides pragmatically shows that it is this anger that stems from ones fears.
Euripides shows that being helpless is ultimately what drives us to actions of hatred and anger. Euripides portrayal of Medea in athenian male dominated society exemplifies the helplessness of foreign blood in strange land. Euripides use of negative conations associated with outsiders in athenian society exemplifies the powerlessness to change how one is perceived. Euripides exemplifies Medea’s association with ‘witchcraft’ and ‘sorcery’ to stem from this conation. Euripides illustrates that Medea’s helplessness in an unaccepting society is symbolic of her revolt against the male dominated community that has put her in that position. Euripides utilises this form of irony to show that being in a helpless situation is what pushes us to commit actions out of hatred and anger.
Euripides asserts that we are prisoners of our own fear. Euripides use of the gods exemplifies Medea’s fear through her cry for approval. Euripides shows that Medea’s cries symbolise the shackles that ultimately bind her to her inherent fear of betrayal. Euripides motif of Helios, the sun titan shows that our fear dictates our actions just as the sun dictates the brightness of day. Euripides furthers this idea through Medea’s replica of the sun titans chariot dictating her actions through her perceived sense of fear.
Mod edit: split from English Language thread and moved to English board
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