CLASSICAL CIVILISATION Unit 3: Greek Tragedy
Unit 3: Greek Tragedy Unit Overview Unit 3 of the Classical Civilisation course (CIV3) is worth 25% of the A level. It involves a course of study assessed by one written examination, lasting 1 hour and 30 minutes. During this examination you will not be permitted to use the texts prescribed for study. You will undertake a critical study of four Greek tragic plays in their religious, cultural and social context. The topic requires study in the areas of: literature society and values philosophy, science and religion. The synoptic assessment will draw together knowledge, understanding and skills in these three areas. You will be expected to link understanding of Athenian society, religion and values to a comparative analysis and evaluation of the four plays. You will be required to demonstrate knowledge, understanding and the ability to make a reasoned evaluation of the following texts: Sophocles, Oedipus the King and Antigone and Euripides, Hippolytus and Medea With particular reference to: the structure of the plots characterisation the conventions and production of tragedies in fifth-century Athens the use of the chorus dramatic techniques and effects themes the religious, cultural and social context and the place of tragedy in Athenian life, including, for example: beliefs in fate and the gods and the nature of human choice and responsibility the roles of, and relationships between, men and women, fathers and sons, mortals and immortals the concept of honour attitudes towards the family and city, friends and enemies the nature of political leadership the use of mythology to explore issues of contemporary relevance the values and cultural assumptions implicit in the prescribed tragedies. 2
Introduction to Greek Tragedy Genre The word tragedy refers primarily to tragic drama: a literary composition written to be performed by actors in which a central character suffers a serious misfortune that is not accidental and therefore meaningless, but is significant in that it is logically connected with the hero's actions. Tragedy stresses the vulnerability of human beings whose suffering is brought on by a combination of human and divine actions, but is generally undeserved with regard to its harshness. This genre, however, is not totally pessimistic in its outlook. Although many tragedies end in misery for the characters, there are also tragedies in which a satisfactory solution of the tragic situation is attained. Reading Tragedy Tragedy was a public genre from its earliest beginnings at Athens; that is, it was intended to be presented in a theatre before an audience. Epic originally was also a public genre. The ancient poet Homer chanted his epics the Iliad and Odyssey to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument called a kithara before an audience. Epic continued to be recited by rhapsodes at festivals like the Panathenaia, but it gradually became more of a private genre to be read from a manuscript at one's leisure. This happened in part also to tragedy. In the fourth century Aristotle in his Poetics points out that it is possible to experience the effect of tragedy without public performance (that is, by private reading). Tragedy was still being written and produced in the Athenian theatre in Aristotle's day, but the plays of the three great tragedians (Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides) and no doubt those of other playwrights were also being read privately. 3
Reading, of course, is our primary means of access to ancient tragedy except for occasional modern productions, which help us to a certain degree to appreciate its theatricality, but for the most part provide quite a different theatrical experience from that offered by the ancient productions. Private reading of tragedy deprives us of the visual and aural effects, which were important elements of this genre. Our word theatre is derived from the Greek word theatron, which contains the stem of the verb theasthai 'to view as spectators'. Drama is a Greek word meaning 'action', related to the verb dran 'to do'. The author of a tragedy was not just the writer of a script. When his work was approved for presentation at the state religious festival in honour of the god Dionysus (the City Dionysia), the state assigned him actors and a chorus. The author then had to perform the additional tasks of training the actors and chorus and of composing the music for the various songs of the actors and chorus and providing choreography for the chorus. Because we usually read tragedies rather than seeing theatrical productions of them and also because our reading is usually in translation, we miss the following elements which are additional aids to interpretation beyond the script of the play: scenery, inflection of actors' voices, actors' gestures and postures, costumes and masks, singing, dancing, sounds of the original language and its various poetic rhythms. These handicaps, however, are no reason to neglect tragedy. We still have the most essential element of drama, the words, the playwright's most important medium of communication. According to Aristotle, "the plot is the soul of tragedy" and the plot is communicated to the audience primarily by means of words. You should, however, keep in mind that words are not all there is to tragedy. Use your imagination as much as possible in order to compensate for those theatrical elements lost in reading tragedy. Tragic Festival The Athenian theatre was not a business enterprise like our theatre but was financed by the Athenian state as an integral part of an Athenian religious festival: the City Dionysia. Three tragic poets were chosen to present their plays by a magistrate called an archon who had charge of the City Dionysia. Each one of the tragedians presented a tetralogy (a group of four plays), three tragedies and a satyr play, on one morning of the festival. In the first half of the fifth century the three tragedies often formed a connected trilogy, which told a continuous story. One connected trilogy survives, the Oresteia of Aeschylus, consisting of three plays: Agamemnon, Libation Bearers and Eumenides. This trilogy traces the story of the House of Atreus from Agamemnon's murder by his wife after his return from Troy to the acquittal of his son, Orestes, who killed his mother in revenge. Three other surviving plays of Aeschylus belong to trilogies of which two plays have been lost. All the extant tragedies of Sophocles and Euripides do not belong to connected trilogies, but are self-contained dramas. Although there is evidence that Sophocles wrote one connected trilogy, the normal practice of the second half of the fifth century was to write three unconnected tragedies. The tragic poets competed with one another and their efforts were ranked by a panel of judges. Aeschylus won thirteen first place victories, Sophocles, twenty four, and Euripides, five. Euripides's relatively small number of victories is due more to his unpopularity among the Athenians because of certain radical themes in his plays than any lack of ability as a tragedian. 4
Theatre The theatre of Dionysus was, like all ancient Greek theatres, an open-air auditorium and, due to the lack of adequate artificial lighting, performances took place during the day. Scenes set at night had to be identified as such by the actors or the chorus; the audience, upon receiving these verbal cues, had to use its imagination. In general, the action of tragedy was well served by presentation in an open-air theatre since interior scenes, which are common in our typically indoor theatres, are all but nonexistent in tragedy. The action of a tragedy normally takes place in front of palaces, temples and other outdoor settings. This seemed natural to the ancient audience because Greek public affairs, whether civic or religious, were conducted out of doors as was much of Greek private life due to the relatively mild climate of the Aegean area. The theatre of Dionysus in the earliest days of tragedy (late sixth-early fifth century) must have consisted of only the most basic elements. All that was required was a circular dancing area for the chorus (orchestra) at the base of a gently sloping hill, on which spectators could sit and watch the performance. On the other side of the orchestra facing the spectators there probably stood a tent in which the actors could change their costumes (one actor would play more than one part). This is suggested by the word skene which means 'tent', and was used to refer to a wooden wall having doors and painted to represent a palace, temple or whatever setting was required. The wall, which eventually became a full-fledged stage building, probably acquired this name because it replaced the original tent. The construction of the wooden skene (cf. our theatrical terms "scene" and "scenery") and of a formal seating area consisting of wooden benches on the slope, which had been hollowed out, probably took place sometime toward the middle of the fifth century. This was no doubt the form of the theatre in which the plays of Sophocles and Euripides were presented. The actors positioned themselves either in the orchestra with the chorus or on the steps leading to the doors of the skene. The theatre of Dionysus as it survives today with the remains of an elaborate stone skene, paved orchestra and marble seats was built in the last third of the fourth century BC. This stone theatre had a capacity of approximately fifteen thousand spectators. 5
Two mechanical devices which were an important part of the ancient Greek theatre are worth mentioning. One device is the ekkyklema (a 'wheeled-out thing'), a platform on wheels rolled out through one of the doors of the skene, on which a tableau was displayed representing the outcome of an action indoors (usually an obscene action, such as a murder or a suicide) and therefore was unseen by the audience. The other device is the mechane (a 'theatrical machine'), a crane to which a cable with a harness for an actor was attached. This device allowed an actor portraying a god or goddess to arrive on scene in the most striking manner possible, from the sky. The mechane deposited the actor on top of the skene so that he as a deity could address the human characters from an appropriately higher level. This device was not exclusively limited to use by divine characters, but was employed whenever the plot required any character to fly. On the other hand, not every god arrived on scene by means of this machine. The Latin phrase deus ex machina ( the god from the machine ) is often used to refer to the appearance of gods by means of the mechane in tragedy. This phrase is also employed in a pejorative sense in modern literary criticism to refer to an improbable character or event introduced by an author to resolve a difficult situation. This secondary meaning of deus ex machina developed from the practice of inferior ancient dramatists who introduced a god at the end of a play in order to untangle a badly snarled plot. Actors The actors in tragedy were hired and paid by the state and assigned to the tragic poets probably by lot. By the middle of the fifth century three actors were required for the performance of a tragedy. In descending order of importance of the roles they assumed they were called the protagonist 'first actor', (a term also applied in modern literary criticism to the central character of a play), deuteragonist 'second actor' and tritagonist 'third actor'. The protagonist took the role of the most important character in the play while the other two actors played the lesser roles. Since most plays have more than two or three characters (although never more than three speaking actors in the same scene), all three actors played multiple roles. Since women were not allowed to take part in dramatic productions, male actors had to play female roles. The playing of multiple roles, both male and female, was made possible by the use of masks, which prevented the audience from identifying the face of any actor with one specific character in the play and helped eliminate the physical incongruity of men impersonating women. The masks with subtle variations also helped the audience identify the sex, age, and social rank of the characters. The fact that the chorus remained in the orchestra throughout the play and sang and danced choral songs between the episodes allowed the actors to exit after an episode in order to change mask and costume and assume a new role in the next episode without any illusion-destroying interruption in the play. The main duty of an actor was to speak the dialogue assigned to his characters. This, however, was not the only responsibility of the actor. He occasionally had to sing songs solo or with the chorus or with other actors (for example, a song of lament called a kommos). The combination of acting and singing ability must have been as rare in the ancient world as it is today. 6
Chorus For the modern reader the chorus is one of the more foreign elements of tragedy. The chorus is not one of the conventions of modern tragedy. We associate the chorus with such musical forms as opera, musical comedy and oratorio. But tragedy was not just straight drama. It was interspersed with songs sung both by actors and chorus and also with dancing by the chorus. The modern parallel for tragedy is actually opera (along with its descendant, musical comedy), which is a dramatic form containing song and dance. The chorus, unlike the actors, were non-professionals who had a talent for singing and dancing and were trained by the poet in preparation for the performance. The standard number of members of a chorus was originally twelve, but was raised to fifteen by Sophocles. The chorus, like the actors, wore costumes and masks. The first function of a tragic chorus was to chant an entrance song called a parados as they marched into the orchestra. The entrance song took its name from the two ramps (parodoi) on either side of the orchestra which the chorus used as it made its way into the orchestra. Once the chorus had taken its position in the orchestra, its duties were twofold. It engaged in dialogue with characters through its leader, the Coryphaeus, who alone spoke the lines of dialogue assigned to the chorus. The tragic chorus's most important function was to sing and dance choral songs called stasima (singular = stasimon). The modern reader of Greek tragedy, whether in English or even the original Greek, will find it very difficult to appreciate the effect of these choral songs without the music and dance that were central to their original conception. 7
Structure Tragedy has a characteristic structure in which scenes of dialogue alternate with choral songs. This arrangement allows the chorus to comment in its song in a general way on what has been said and/or done in the preceding scene. Most tragedies begin with an opening scene of expository dialogue or monologue called a prologue. After the prologue the chorus marches into the orchestra chanting the parodos. Then follows a scene of dialogue called an episode, which in turn is followed by the first stasimon. The alternation of episode and stasimon continues until the last stasimon, after which there is a final scene of dialogue called an exodos 'exit' scene'. The exodos is in general a scene of dialogue, but, as in the case of episodes, sometimes songs are included, especially in the form of a kommos. Here is the structure of a typical tragedy (some tragedies have one more or one less episode and stasimon): Prologue Parodos First Episode First Stasimon Second Episode Second Stasimon Third Episode Third Stasimon Fourth Episode Fourth Stasimon Exodos 8
Greek Tragedy in its Historical Context Sophocles and Euripides lived and worked in times of great cultural significance, not only in the history of Athens but also in the greater sense of Western democratic culture. Wars with Persia and Sparta, the development of democratic culture, public architectural projects, and theatrical entertainments, as well as the rise of a distinctively rhetorical culture (a culture based on the strength of language and writing) are important features of the Athens during Sophocles life, known as the Golden Age of Athens. Soon after Cleisthenes established democracy in Athens in 507 BC, Athens was threatened by outside enemies. At the beginning of the fifth century BC, the Persians, led by Darius, crossed the Aegean to conquer Athens. After its triumph over Miletos in 494, the Persian army began to be defeated, with Athens winning the decisive victory at Marathon in 490. The battles of Salamis, Platea, and Mycale in 480-79 were also won by Athens, and the Persian forces (led by Xerxes I) finally lost the war. The Athenians prided themselves on their victory over Xerxes; roughly fifteen years after Sophocles birth, Athens had become an Empire in its own right, forming the Delian League in 478-77. From 492-60 the city-state was led by Pericles, a populist leader who is famous today for his military skill, his rhetorical prowess, and his public building projects including the Parthenon. Sophocles himself took part in some of Pericles s projects and in the city s military life, aiding Pericles in the Samian war (441-39), becoming an ambassador some years later, and joining the ruling council in 413. Although the Persian threat had subsided, a new threat arose: the Peloponnesian War with Sparta and other states under their leadership began in 432. Thucydides, 9
an Athenian general and historian noted for his impartiality and accuracy, tells the story of this war in his History of the Peloponnesian War. Athens, defeated in Sicily in 413, surrendered to Sparta (which was being supported by Persia) in 404, the year after Sophocles died. In the midst of all this war, Athenian democracy flourished during Sophocles lifetime, its commercial enterprises along the eastern Mediterranean coastline were successful and its cultural life enjoyed immense nourishment and development. Greek religious life centred on shrines frequented by worshippers of Apollo at Delphi, Apollo and Artemis at Delos, and Zeus at Olympia. Festivals were often held at shrines and athletic competitions, dance, song, and theatrical performances also took place. Intellectually, Athens was thriving its mathematicians and scientists, after the work of Pythagoras and Xenophanes during the previous century, began to make new discoveries in arithmetic and geology; Pericles, who studied sophistry with Zeno, brought the skill of oratory to new, unprecedented heights, and his support of the plastic and literary arts allowed Athenians to enjoy the lasting achievements of their contemporaries. While public building was interrupted by the Persian war, it resumed with vigour in the latter half of the fifth century, with the Temple of Zeus at Olympia and, in Athens, the Temple of Athena Nike, as well as the Parthenon, Propylaea, and the Erechtheum. Pericles saw to it that elaborate public building projects motivated artists of his time to achieve greatness for their city. Greek drama also flourished. Pericles provided entertainments and pageantry, granting allowances for public festivals so that all men could attend them. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were the three great dramatists of the age; Sophocles competed successfully with both his teacher Aeschylus and with his contemporary, Euripides, in the annual tragic competitions of the Great Dionysia. Some of the drama of this period concerned specific political issues, for example Euripides Medea with its debate on the definition of citizen and foreigner; other plays, such as Sophocles Oedipus the King, address broader questions about mythological leaders and their relationships to the gods, fate, and their native Greek cultural heritage. While critics have argued that readers are not meant to draw any parallels between the plague-ridden Thebes in which Oedipus the King takes place and the plague in Athens in 430-29 BC, it is not difficult to surmise that an audience for whom the experience of such devastation was familiar would have felt particular connections with their own situation. 10
Aristotle and Tragedy Aristotle (384 BC 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His work covers many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theatre, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology. Together with Plato and Socrates, Aristotle is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy. In his book Poetics Aristotle produced a critical interpretation of tragedy that has remained the most influential description of the genre to date. He defines tragedy as an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions. He goes on to say, Every tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its quality namely, plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, melody. He then prioritises these parts in the following way: Plot. Aristotle defines plot as the arrangement of the incidents : not the story itself but the way the incidents are presented to the audience. Tragedies where the outcome depends on a tightly constructed cause-and-effect chain of actions are superior to those that depend primarily on the character of the protagonist. The plot must be a whole, with a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning must start the cause-and-effect chain but not be dependent on anything outside the compass of the play. The middle must be caused by earlier incidents and itself cause the incidents that follow it. The end must be caused by the preceding events but not lead to other incidents outside the compass of the play; the end should therefore solve or resolve the problem created at the play s start. Aristotle calls the cause-and-effect chain leading from the beginning to the middle the tying up (desis) and the more rapid cause-and-effect chain from the middle to the end the unravelling (lusis). The plot may be either simple or complex, although complex is better. Simple plots have only a change of fortune (catastrophe). Complex plots have both reversal of intention (peripeteia) and recognition (anagnorisis) connected with the catastrophe. Both peripeteia and anagnorisis turn upon surprise. Aristotle explains that a peripeteia occurs when a character produces an effect opposite to that which he intended to produce, while an anagnorisis is a change from ignorance to knowledge, producing love or hate between the persons destined for good or bad fortune. The best plots combine these two as part of their cause-and-effect chain (the peripeteia leads directly to the anagnorisis); this in turns creates the catastrophe, leading to the final scene of suffering. 11
Character. In a perfect tragedy, character supports plot, that is, personal motives are intricately connected parts of the cause-and-effect chain of actions producing pity and fear in the audience. The protagonist should be renowned and prosperous, so his change of fortune can be from good to bad. This change should come about as the result, not of vice, but of some great error or frailty in a character. Such a plot is most likely to generate pity and fear in the audience, for pity is aroused by unmerited misfortune, fear by the misfortune of a man like ourselves. The term Aristotle uses here, hamartia, often translated tragic flaw, has been the subject of much debate. The meaning of the Greek word is closer to mistake than to flaw, and it is best interpreted in the context of what Aristotle has to say about plot and the law or probability or necessity. In the ideal tragedy the protagonist will mistakenly bring about his own downfall not because he is sinful or morally weak, but because he does not know enough. The role of the hamartia in tragedy comes not from its moral status but from the inevitability of its consequences. Hence the peripeteia is really one or more self-destructive actions taken in blindness, leading to results diametrically opposed to those that were intended (often termed tragic irony), and the anagnorisis is the gaining of the essential knowledge that was previously lacking. Characters in tragedy should show the following qualities: 1. good or fine. Aristotle relates this quality to moral purpose and says it is relative to class: Even a woman may be good, and also a slave, though the woman may be said to be an inferior being, and the slave quite worthless. 2. fitness of character (true to type); e.g. valour is appropriate for a warrior but not for a woman 3. true to life (realistic) 4. consistency (true to themselves). Once a character's personality and motivations are established, these should continue throughout the play 5. necessary or probable. Characters must be logically constructed according to the law of probability or necessity that governs the actions of the play 6. true to life and yet more beautiful (idealised, ennobled). Thought. Most of what Aristotle has to say about thought concerns how speeches should reveal character. However, this category would also include the themes of a play. Diction. Here Aristotle discusses the stylistic elements of tragedy; he is particularly interested in metaphors: But the greatest thing by far is to have a command of metaphor...it is the mark of genius, for to make good metaphors implies an eye for resemblances. Melody. The Chorus should be fully integrated into the play like an actor; choral odes should not be mere interludes, but should contribute to the unity of the plot. Spectacle. While there is the emotional attraction of spectacle, superior poets rely on the inner structure of the play rather than spectacle to arouse pity and fear; those who rely heavily on spectacle create a sense, not of the terrible, but only of the monstrous. 12
Sophocles His Life Sophocles was born in Colonus, a village near Athens, in 495 BC, which makes him thirty years younger than Aeschylus and fifteen years older than Euripides. His father, Sophilus, a wealthy man, gave him the benefit of all the literary accomplishment of the age. His powers as a writer were developed and refined by a careful instruction in the arts of music and poetry, while he was also a keen athlete who engaged in regular exercises of the palæstra. Indeed, as a young man he was considered to be so handsome, athletic and musically skilful that he was selected, at the age of sixteen, to lead with dance and lyre the chorus which celebrated his country's triumph at Salamis. In his youth he appears to have been fond of women and wine, which he himself admits in one of his sayings recorded by Plato: "I thank old age for delivering me from the tyranny of my appetites." Even in his later years, the charms of women were at times too strong for him. Aristophanes accused him of avarice, though there is nothing in what is known of Sophocles to substantiate the charge. The occasional excesses mentioned here appear to have been the only blemishes on an otherwise blameless and contented life. His Plays Only seven of the dramas of Sophocles have come down to us, but these were, with one exception, composed in the full maturity of his powers. In Antigone heroism is exhibited in a purely feminine character, while in Ajax, the manly sense of honour is celebrated in all its strength. The Trachiniæ, or Women of Trachis, describes the sufferings of Hercules and the levity of Dëianeira, atoned for by her death; Electra is distinguished by energy and pathos, while Oedipus at Colonus displays a mildness and gracefulness suggestive of the character of the author. While we cannot divide the plays of Sophocles into distinct groups indicating certain periods in his dramatic art, he himself recognised three epochs in his own style: first, the tumid grandeur borrowed from Aeschylus; second, a harshness of expression due to his own mannerism; third, the style that seemed to him best fitted for the portrayal of human character. His Times Sophocles did not devote himself altogether to drama and literature. At the age of fifty-six he was appointed one of ten generals for the conduct of the war against Samos, though he does not appear to have distinguished himself. Later he became 13
a priest, and in extreme old age he was elected one of a committee ordered, during the revolution brought about by Pisander, to investigate the condition of affairs and report thereon to the people. In the easy, good-natured way that was typical of him he assented to the establishment of an oligarchy under the council of four hundred as "a bad thing, but the least pernicious measure which circumstances allowed." In his last years the reverses of the Peloponnesian war, with their attendant civil dissensions, fell heavily on a man whose chief delight was in domestic tranquillity, and who still remembered the part he had played in the glorious triumph of Salamis. Yet he was spared the misery of witnessing the final overthrow of his country, dying a few months before the defeat of Ægospotami brought the downfall of Athens. 14
Sophocles Oedipus the King Some twelve years before the action of the play begins, Oedipus has been made King of Thebes in gratitude for his freeing the people from the pestilence brought on them by the presence of the riddling Sphinx. Since Laius, the former king, had shortly before been killed, Oedipus has been further honoured by the hand of Queen Jocasta. Now another deadly pestilence is raging and the people have come to ask Oedipus to rescue them as he did before. The King has anticipated their need, however. Creon, Jocasta's brother, returns at that moment from the oracle of Apollo with the announcement that all will be well if Laius' murderer is found and cast from the city. In an effort to discover the murderer, Oedipus sends for the blind seer, Tiresias. Under protest the prophet names Oedipus himself as the criminal. Oedipus, outraged at the accusation, denounces it as a plot of Creon to gain the throne. Jocasta appears just in time to avoid a battle between the two men. Seers, she assures Oedipus, are not infallible. In proof, she cites the old prophecy that her son should kill his father and have children by his mother. She prevented its fulfilment, she confesses, by abandoning their infant son in the mountains. As for Laius, he had been killed by robbers years later at the junction of three roads on the route to Delphi. This information makes Oedipus uneasy. He recalls having killed a man answering Laius' description at this very spot when he was fleeing from his home in Corinth to avoid fulfilment of a similar prophecy. An aged messenger arrives from Corinth, at 15
this point, to announce the death of King Polybus, supposed father of Oedipus, and the election of Oedipus as king in his stead. On account of the old prophecy Oedipus refuses to return to Corinth until his mother, too, is dead. To calm his fears the messenger assures him that he is not the blood son of Polybus and Merope, but a foundling from the house of Laius deserted in the mountains. This statement is confirmed by the old shepherd whom Jocasta had charged with the task of exposing her baby. Thus the ancient prophecy has been fulfilled in each dreadful detail. Jocasta in her horror hangs herself and Oedipus stabs out his eyes. Then he imposes on himself the penalty of exile which he had promised for the murderer of Laius. At the close of the play, however, Oedipus is not sent into exile but rather ushered within the palace by Creon, who refuses Oedipus any last words of affection to his beloved daughters, Ismene and Antigone. 16
Examination Question: Section One Oedipus the King Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow. CHORUS: Zeus and Apollo, they know, the great masters of all the dark and depth of human life. But whether a mere man can know the truth, whether a seer can fathom more than I there is no test, no certain proof though matching skill for skill a man can outstrip a rival. No, not till I see these charges proved will I side with his accusers. Sophocles, Oedipus the King lines 561-568 1. Explain the situation to which the Chorus is responding in this passage. Give five details. (5 marks) 2. How far do you think the ideas expressed in this speech echo through the rest of the play? (10 marks) 3. How far is this speech typical of the Chorus s function in Oedipus the King as a whole? (20 marks) 17
Sophocles Antigone In Antigone contempt of death enables a powerless woman to conquer a powerful ruler, who, proud of his wisdom, ventures to pit his royal word against divine law and human sentiment, and learns all too late, by the destruction of his house, that Fate in due course brings fit punishment on outrage. The play takes up the story of the Seven Against Thebes, by Aeschylus, but with some changes in the situation. Two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, have fallen, as will be remembered, at one of the gates of Thebes. King Creon allows Eteocles to be buried at once, that he might receive due honour among the shades; but he orders a herald to forbid any funeral rites or burial to the corpse of Polynices. Antigone tells these gloomy tidings to her sister Ismene, and informs her that she has resolved to defy Creon s order and to bury Polynices. Ismene tries to persuade Antigone to change her mind, but Antigone not only refuses but she also rebukes Ismene and disowns her for her cowardice. The sisters exit, and the chorus of Theban elders enter. Creon enters, as ruler of the State, to explain to the elders why he told the herald to call them to assemble. He announces his decree concerning the dead brothers, and in particular his order against the burial of Polynices. A guard approaches reluctantly and admits that he and the others appointed to keep watch over the corpse of Polynices have failed to prevent an unknown party from giving the body a ritual burial. Creon is furious and orders that the unknown party be found and brought to justice. Shortly afterwards, the guard returns, hauling after him an imprisoned Antigone, whom he accuses of having buried the body. Antigone has broken the laws of the king, while fulfilling the laws of the gods; for, according to the ideas of the Greeks, to 18
sprinkle dust over the body of the dead was equivalent to burial. Until this rite was performed his spirit must wander through space, but now was entitled to the home appointed for it in Hades. After some contest of words with Creon, and the vain intercession of her sister, Ismene, and her lover, Haemon, the son of Creon, interspersed with choral hymns, it is ordered that Antigone be led to a remote cave, where she will be imprisoned and left to die of starvation. The seer Tiresias enters and warns Creon of an evil fate impending, because the gods are angry with him. Creon answers Tiresias with mockery, and the seer retires. Creon s certainties have been shaken, however, and when he asks the elders to advise him what to do, they tell him to release Antigone and allow Polynices a proper burial. Creon agrees, and goes out to complete these two actions. Soon afterwards a messenger arrives and relays to Creon s wife Eurydice the terrible news that Creon has acted too late: the king arrived at the cave where Antigone had been imprisoned in time to find that Antigone has hanged herself and to witness his son Haemon commit suicide across her dead body. Creon enters with his son's body. He curses himself as the murderer of his child. A servant comes in to announce his wife's death. The body lies close at hand, and the king must lament the loss of both wife and son. 19
Examination Question: Section One Antigone Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow. ANTIGONE: Land of Thebes, city of all my fathers O you gods, the first gods of the race! They drag me away, now, no more delay. Look on me, you noble sons of Thebes the last of a great line of kings, I alone, see what I suffer now at the hands of what breed of men all for reverence, my reverence for the gods! Sophocles, Antigone lines 1027-1034 1. Why does Antigone say that they drag [her] away? Give five details. (5 marks) 2. How far do you think this speech expresses the main themes of the play? (10 marks) 3. Using the passage above as a starting point, consider how Sophocles represents the character of Antigone in the play as a whole. (20 marks) 20
Euripides His Life Tradition claims that Euripides was born in 480 BC, on the very day of the naval battle of Salamis, fought between the Greeks and the Persians. As a young man he was attracted to the study of philosophy and poetry, but turned to writing tragedies when he was about eighteen years old. Despite this comparatively early start, Euripides did not win the first prize for a play until he was about forty years old. He wrote more than ninety plays, a few of which were satirical dramas, the others tragedies. Only five times in all four times during his lifetime and once after his death were his plays victorious. In 431, when he stood third among the competitors, his four offerings included Medea. Like Sophocles Oedipus the King, this play, though accounted by later critics a masterpiece, failed to receive the first prize. Euripides fell out of favour with his fellow citizens, probably on account of his alleged scepticism concerning the gods. He retired to the court of Archelaus, king of Macedon, by whom he was treated with consideration and affection. At his death he was mourned by the king, who, refusing the request of the Athenians that his remains be carried back to the Greek city, buried him with much splendour in his own domain. His tomb was placed at the meeting place of two streams, near Arethusa in Macedonia, and a cenotaph was built to his memory on the road from Athens towards the Piraeus. Euripides built up a famous library one of the first to be collected by a private individual. Although he lived most of his life in the midst of the cultured society of Athens, and was in some respects a leader in it, he grew bitter and despondent over the fierce rivalries and greedy ambitions which marked the life of the city. He loved the seclusion of his house at Salamis, where it was said that he composed his dramas in a cave. His plays Of the ninety or so plays of Euripides, eighteen have been preserved. The success of several of his plays owed, in part perhaps, to the fact that they flattered the pride of the Athenians. According to Plutarch, after the disaster of the Sicilian fleet many of the captured Greeks obtained their freedom, and others who had already escaped got food and shelter by repeating verses from Euripides, who was popular with the Sicilians. He was among the first, if not the very first, to use the theme of romantic love for a tragedy, as in his play Hippolytus. 21
His time To gain an accurate understanding of Euripides writing, we must consider the period to which he belonged. Aeschylus is generally thought to have been the foremost dramatist of the Athenian heroic age. Later, Sophocles reflected the cultured spirit of the age of Pericles, writing on philosophical, moral and political questions. Euripides is the dramatist of the Peloponnesian war and the Ochlocracy or mob-government. In the course of this period an immense revolution transformed Greece in every aspect and relation of life. It was at this time that the national character of Greece took shape, in its focus at Athens and its determination to free itself from the old traditions in matters of state, custom and religious feeling. Pericles had established a successful democracy; he had invited the whole body of citizens to share his ideals of liberty and intellectual culture. With his death, however, this system began to founder. With the shift away from democracy, public life lost its former coherence and turbulent change entered deeply into all aspects of Athenian social life. The struggle against the Persians for freedom and fatherland had raised the Greeks both politically and morally; on the other hand, the Peloponnesian war, waged by Greek against Greek, little by little sapped the material and spiritual reserves of Athens and finally led to its general dissolution. In the view of some contemporary commentators, disenchanted Athenians were filled with a restless desire and a continuous striving after novelty. As Athenian politics repeatedly failed to live up to their conception of the greatness of sovereign demos, Athenians came to question more and more the existing principles of public duty and morality, hitherto regarded as fundamental. In this way they decisively broke away from the culture of the preceding age: faith in the old gods vanished, and with it the moral significance of the religious myths. Its place was taken in some minds by superstition, in others by a heightened secular intellectualism. Loss of faith in the gods involved a similar loss of faith in the divine in man; there arose a culture of emphatic materialism, which supposed that the greatest happiness comes from enjoyment and the greatest pain from self-denial. Family ties became laxer; loose connections tolerated, though not approved by public opinion, eroded the stability of marriage. Women in general fell under suspicion, and misogyny in a variety of forms became widespread. The hetæræ, who had once been, as they were called, "companions," had become mere mercenaries; and they bore much the same relation to Aspasia of Miletus, whom Pericles had made his consort. 22
Euripides' Hippolytus As Hippolytus opens, Aphrodite (the goddess of sexual love) tells the audience about her intention to punish the virginal prince Hippolytus, son of Theseus, who refuses to make tributes to her and pays sole tribute to Artemis (the goddess of the hunt). Aphrodite explains that she has caused Phaedra, the wife of Theseus, to fall in love with her stepson. Aphrodite further prophesies that Theseus will discover this love then destroy his son by one of three fatal wishes which Poseidon has promised to fulfil. This outcome will involve the ruin of Phaedra, too, as the goddess cares only for her honour and herself. Hippolytus enters; he prays to a statue of Artemis and makes a tribute of a garland. A servant tells him he should make similar tributes to Aphrodite, whose statue also stands at the entrance to the palace. Hippolytus ignores this advice and persists in refusing the goddess tribute. When he has left the stage the love-sick Phaedra enters with her nurse, to whom she reluctantly confesses her love for Hippolytus. She goes on to tell the chorus that her feelings of shame and longing are so great that she has decided to commit suicide. The nurse tries to comfort Phaedra, and advises her to give in to her love rather than let herself be consumed by secret grief. She promises to help Phaedra, but gives no details of the plan. Phaedra begs the nurse not to tell Hippolytus the truth; but the nurse evades giving a promise and hurries into the house where Hippolytus lives. Phaedra stays behind, but soon learns from the noise that the nurse has betrayed her secret and that Hippolytus has received it with horror and dismay. He comes out with the nurse and voices a wild outburst on the female sex. Phaedra sees that the misplaced efforts of the nurse have ruined her; she reproaches the nurse and again resolves to die. She leaves the stage and immediately hangs herself. 23
The servants are still running to and fro in wild distraction when Theseus enters. He sees the corpse of his wife, and in its hand a suicide note in which Phaedra claims that Hippolytus has raped her and that she has killed herself to protect her dignity; at once the grieving and furious Theseus voices the fatal wish for his son's death. Hippolytus appears and sees what has happened. Theseus tells Hippolytus what he has been accused of, and sends him into exile. Hippolytus realises that it is useless to attempt to clear himself. Theseus mistakes his son's plain words for lies, and, with a final appeal to Artemis, Hippolytus departs into exile. A messenger arrives with the news that a disaster has overtaken Hippolytus: the prince has been dashed to pieces by his own horses, frightened by the sea-monsters which Poseidon sent against him as a result of Theseus curse. 24
Examination Question: Section One Hippolytus Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow. PHAEDRA [sings]: How wretched and ill-starred the fate of women! We are lost. What plan, what words are left us now to undo the knot which words have tied? I have met with justice. O earth and light! Wherever can I shun my fortune? How, my friends, shall I hide my misery? What god could come to help me, what mortal stand by me and assist me, the victim of unjust deeds? Euripides, Hippolytus lines 668-677 1. Explain the circumstances of Phaedra s lament in this passage. (5 marks) 2. How do the ideas presented in this speech resonate through the rest of the play? (10 marks) 3. How far is this speech typical of Phaedra s character in Hippolytus as a whole? (20 marks) 25
Euripides Medea Medea opens in a state of conflict. Jason has abandoned his wife, Medea, along with their two children. He hopes to advance his station by remarrying with Glauce, the daughter of Creon, king of Corinth, the Greek city where the play is set. All the events of play proceed out of this initial dilemma, and the involved parties become its central characters. Outside the royal palace, a nurse laments the events that have lead to the present crisis. After a long series of trials and adventures, which ultimately forced Jason and Medea to seek exile in Corinth, the pair had settled down and established their family, achieving a degree of fame and respectability. Jason's recent abandonment of that family has crushed Medea emotionally, to the degree that she curses her own existence, as well as that of her two children. Fearing a possible plot of revenge, Creon banishes Medea and her children from the city. After pleading for mercy, Medea is granted one day before she must leave, during which she plans to complete her quest for "justice" at this stage in her thinking, the murder of Creon, Glauce, and Jason. Jason accuses Medea of overreacting. By voicing her grievances so publicly, she has endangered her life and that of their children. He claims that his decision to remarry was in everyone's best interest. Medea finds him spineless, and she refuses to accept his token offers of help. Appearing by chance in Corinth, Aegeus, King of Athens, offers Medea sanctuary in his home city in exchange for her knowledge of certain drugs that can cure his sterility. Now guaranteed an eventual haven in Athens, Medea has cleared all obstacles to completing her revenge, a plan which grows to include the murder of her 26
own children; the pain their loss will cause her does not outweigh the satisfaction she will feel in making Jason suffer. For the balance of the play, Medea engages in a ruse; she pretends to sympathize with Jason (bringing him into her confidence) and offers his wife "gifts," a coronet and dress. Ostensibly, the gifts are meant to convince Glauce to ask her father to allow the children to stay in Corinth. The coronet and dress are actually poisoned, however, and their delivery causes Glauce's death. Seeing his daughter ravaged by the poison, Creon chooses to die by her side by dramatically embracing her and absorbing the poison himself. A messenger recounts the gruesome details of these deaths, which Medea absorbs with cool attentiveness. Her earlier state of anxiety, which intensified as she struggled with the decision to commit infanticide, has now given way to an assured determination to fulfill her plans. Against the protests of the chorus, Medea murders her children and flees the scene in a dragon-pulled chariot provided by her grandfather, the Sun-God. Jason is left cursing his lot; his hope of advancing his station by abandoning Medea and marrying Glauce, the conflict which opened the play, has been annihilated, and everything he values has been lost through the deaths that conclude the tragedy. 27
Examination Question: Section One Medea Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow. Laughter from my enemies is not to be endured, my friends. Come what may come! What do I have to gain by living? I have no fatherland, no house, no refuge from calamity. It was then that I made my mistake when I left my father s house, persuaded by the words of a Greek man who with god s help will pay me the penalty. He will never see his sons born of me alive again and he will have no son by his newly wed bride, since that wretched creature must die a wretched death from my drugs. Euripides, Medea lines 797-805 1. Explain the circumstances that lead to this speech. (5 marks) 2. Which of the ideas presented in this speech seem to you to be important in the play as a whole? (10 marks) 3. Using the passage above as a starting point, consider the extent to which Medea deserves our sympathy. (20 marks) 28
Examination Questions: Section Two All questions are marked out of 40. 1. How important is the idea of self-sacrifice in Greek tragedy? Refer to all four of the plays you have read. 2. A major theme of Greek tragedy is the disintegration of the family. How far do you think this is true? Refer to all four of the plays you have read. 3. How important are ideas of sin and punishment in Greek tragedy? Refer to all four of the plays you have read. 4. Discuss the presentation of themes of exile and homecoming in Greek tragedy. Refer to all four of the plays you have read. 5. What is the significance of the chorus in Greek tragedy? Refer to all four of the plays you have read. 6. Greek tragedy is always a challenge to the expectations of its audience. How far do you think this is true? Refer to all four of the plays you have read. 7. Consider the opposition between seen and unseen in Greek tragedy. Refer to all four of the plays you have read. 8. How is kingship presented in Greek tragedy? Refer to all four of the plays you have read. 9. Explore the treatment of sexual rivalry in Greek tragedy. Refer to all four of the plays you have read. 10. Discuss the presentation of issues of authority in Greek tragedy. Refer to all four of the plays you have read. 29