Classical Backgrounds to English Literature

Study Questions #1

Euripides’s Medea

Please read pp. 13-53 (up to Jason’s entry) and consider the following questions and be prepared to support your answers with passages from the text.

1. What kind of woman is Medea, as presented by Euripides? What kind of man is Jason?

2. What sorts of oppositions / tensions does this tragedy introduce (for instance, guilt vs. innocence, male vs. female)? What are the main questions / problems that it poses from the outset?

3. The chorus in classical Greek tragedy is supposed to express (as well as guide) the fears, hopes and feelings of the spectators. Is this what Euripides’s chorus does? What are the ideas and feelings that Euripides wants to inspire in his audience through his portrayal of the chorus?

4. On pages 35-39, Jason and Medea both state their cases, as if in a court of law. What are the points that each makes in his / her argument? Which argument do you find more convincing (or if neither convinces you, who is the better speaker?)?

5. In line 792, Medea seems to decide quite abruptly that she will put her children to death. Why does she suddenly incorporate this murder into her strategy? Your editor notes that Medea must “overcome her natural sympathies as a mother” (49). Is this comment warranted by the text?

6. At several points, your editor notes that Medea desires to be an “epic hero.” How might you reconcile such heroic aspirations and values with her desire for vengeance and her emotional suffering? Are these distinct motivations for her actions, or are they somehow related?