05 AP English Literature and Composition MEDEA
Post your 250 personal response to Euripides’ Medea no later than Wednesday, November 19. Entries should be single spaced. KKEB
kk eberhard’s blog
Avoiding the phrase “I don’t have time…”, will soon help you to realize that you do have the time needed for just about anything you choose to accomplish in life.
Recent Posts
- 05 AP English POETRY ASSIGNMENT FOR ZACH
- 01world literature SIDDHARTHA INTRO MATERIAL
- 03world literature SIDDHARTHA INTRO MATERIAL
- 06world literature SIDDHARTHA INTRO MATERIAL
- 02AP English TIMED ESSAY 03FRQ3 PERSONAL RESPONSE
Pages
Archives
Blogroll
Recent Comments
- Jon Anter on 03world literature SIDDHARTHA INTRO MATERIAL
- josh mcfalda on 01world literature SIDDHARTHA INTRO MATERIAL
- Brandon Doerr on 01world literature SIDDHARTHA INTRO MATERIAL
- Shane Ritter on 01world literature SIDDHARTHA INTRO MATERIAL
- Allison handlon on 06world literature SIDDHARTHA INTRO MATERIAL
November 16th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
While reading Medea, I was struck by how Jason was so dense. He makes several references to the idea that Medea’s anger stems from her lack of a sex life. When Jason is telling Medea that he left her for Glouce to provide a better life for her and their sons he says, “Even you would approve if you could govern your sex-jealousy. But you women have reached a state where, if all’s well with your sex-life, You’ve everything you wish for; but when that goes wrong, at once all that is best and noblest turns to gall.” At the end of the play, Jason says that he can’t believe that she killed their children because of “mere sexual jealousy.” He reiterates this idea when he says “You thought that reason enough to murder them, that I no longer slept with you?” I couldn’t believe how stupid Jason was. Of course Medea wasn’t mad about not having sex, she was mad that he left her for a younger, better looking woman! She gave up everything she had to come back with him. She betrayed her family and killed her brother. Then he has the audacity to tell her that it wasn’t her that helped him in his mission to get the Golden Fleece, it was the gods. For these reasons, I couldn’t feel any sympathy for him after his wife and his sons were killed.
Even though I don’t agree with what Medea did, I have to admire her for her strength. It took a lot of guts for a woman to stand up to her husband during this time period. In the opening lines of the play, the nurse comments on how Medea is obedient to Jason. This is the way a wife was supposed to act towards her husband. I love how she stands up for herself and doesn’t let Jason get away with abandoning her and their children. I don’t think she should’ve murdered Creon, Glouce, and her two sons, but she was definitely right in standing up for herself. Her strength and courage is inspiring.
I found the story much more complete than Antigone. In the opening scene of Medea, the nurse explained what had happened which made me feel like I was part of the story. In the opening scene of Antigone, the action started when I began reading the play. There was very little background knowledge which left me confused. In Medea, I felt as if I was being eased into the action. Even though I felt as if I didn’t know the characters well enough to achieve catharsis, when the play ended, I felt complete and didn’t have any questions regarding what would happen next. Euripides was sure to include what was to come.
Overall I loved this play. I thought that it was an entertaining and easy read. It provided horror, comic relief and tragedy. It provided just enough of each element to make this play one of my favorites.
November 16th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Antigone: Response/Reflection Mike Testa AP Lit 11/09/08
Antigone is a very interesting tragic play especially because of its main character, Antigone. She is an extremely complex person in many different ways. Antigone is a tragic hero who possesses many different tragic flaws. She reminded me of Juliet from the play Romeo and Juliet because Juliet also dies for a cause she strongly believes in although I believe both of them gave up their lives too quickly without really thinking of the consequences thoroughly. I can relate to Antigone however because she is trying to fight power for a cause and I frequently like to do things that way as well. I am a very strong person who believes in fighting for my rights and causes.
I often found myself feeling sorry for Antigone’s sister. Her character was portrayed as a very nice and caring person yet Antigone always treated her so harshly and was basically abusive to her. I can relate to a person like that who seems to get blamed for many things even though you are just sitting back and observing the crowd. Ismene was a not a very strong character but she was by far my favorite character in the play because she was genuinely nice.
I actually found the play difficult to follow especially with the scenes from the Chorus, who seemed to be functioning like an audience or narrator. It was very confusing to interpret some of their scenes, probably because I basically disliked the plot and overall meaning of the play. For example, the main characters were just too anxious to die! Also, the play just ends with Creon being led into the palace; was he really going to be more joyous because of wisdom?
November 17th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Wow, at first I thought Medea was going to be a disgusting play after reading that she would murder her own children, but I found it rather interesting. I still don’t exactly know how I feel about Medea herself. I mean, she was kind of always crazy, but at the same time she was almost justified in her actions with the exception of killing her kids. No one should ever have enough reason to do that! As an audience member, you can’t help but to think she’s a lunatic but at the same time, all her past experiences from killing her brother and abandoning her homeland to now, gives the idea that this is just the type of person she is. I believe Euripides created Medea to stand as a symbol for the women of the Greek time. She was strong and wise, able to overthrow a man (Jason), although it was thought impossible. Women had their place in society. It’s hard to blame her for her actions when her own husband leaves her for his own selfish reasons.
Jason aggravated me the entire play. He was the one who married Medea in the first place, knowing how she was. She betrayed her own family and homeland to be with him. He was selfish in his act of marrying Creon’s daughter. He said it would benefit their children and Medea herself, but it was really only benefiting him in the long run. He was blind in thinking that Medea would forgive him and take liking towards Jason’s new bride. He was the reason his own children were killed and his whole life destroyed. Later, I couldn’t help but laugh to myself on the irony of Jason accepting the gifts from Medea. He served as an unwitting accomplice in the destruction of everything holding value for him.
The chorus in Medea, to me, served as one central task. That task was to pass value judgments on the behavior of individual characters – its voice stands as the arbiter of objectivity in the play, supplying us with the most normative perspective on the events as they transpire. Overall, it was the most interesting play I’ve seen and read in a while.
November 18th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
Frustrating, annoying, and bothersome are the feelings that I experienced while reading and watching Euripides’ Medea. There was not one character that I liked and the events that occurred drove me insane. There were times when I wanted to yell at the characters, especially Medea, for their thinking and their words. Unfortunately for me, Euripides did not please me with this play.
First of all, the characters were very annoying. Medea with her whining and crying and begging and the Nurse and the Chorus with their words of pity and shame made me want to scream. I wanted them to step up and do something instead of just whining and crying about the situation. Their words created the extremely annoying sound of “Janice’s” voice in Friends and I could not turn it off.
Another part that really bothered me was the fact that Medea killed her sons. I don’t care who you are or what you face or how you justify it, you DON’T kill your children. It is very immoral and just plain wrong. I just don’t understand how a person, especially a mother, can convince herself to believe that killing her children to make her ex suffer is the “right thing” to do. That is pure selfishness and I really don’t like selfish people.
That is also why I have a huge dislike for Jason. He left his wife to marry into a royal family to better himself, not his family like he said. He is full of bologna! He only wanted what was better for him and not his family, and in a way he gets what he deserves. The only thing is that Medea could have gotten him back without such extreme measures. He also bothered me through his inability to realize what Medea was doing and what was going on. He knew that she killed his wife, and then he thought she killed herself, without realizing that his children were the ones that were dead. He was blind to the situation because he was only concerned about himself, which goes back to being selfish, and again, I don’t like selfish people.
Overall, I didn’t enjoy Medea. It just didn’t suit my taste and it presented many actions that I don’t agree with. The only thing that I liked about Medea was Euripides’ way of creating a play with so much going on and cramming it into 1419 lines. That is pretty impressive. But, the characters and their words and the plot of the play bothered me to the point of it being not enjoyable for me to read. I am not saying it isn’t a good play; it just doesn’t satisfy my taste.
November 18th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
For me, Eurpides’ play Medea did not please me. I was surprised at the actions and thoughts of most of the characters, especially Medea whose actions were completely unjustified. Killing your children because of an unfaithful husband? To me that seems a little extreme, yet the reason for her determination seems plausible. She was one of the most annoying characters, constantly whining and crying seeking out pity and remorse from others - it frustrated me. However the strength she displayed throughout the play is one thing I found admirable. In order to stand up to so many people, especially men, and above all things during this time period clearly shows she displays a vast amount of courage and bravery. Although her actions were unethical, it was amazing to see her stand up for herself.
Jason on the other hand, I did not feel pity towards either. He frustrated me throughout the play. I felt as if he had this pain being handed to him because he was unfaithful towards Medea, plus, he could not get anything through his head. I could not believe how senseless Jason appeared, he was oblivious towards the real meaning Medea killed his sons which in the end did not let me sympathize with him towards the end.
Personally I enjoyed Medea more than I enjoyed the play Antigone by Sophocles. Although much shorter, I felt as if the play eased into the action and was an easy read. Everything was displayed thoroughly - the plot, the characters, their actions, all straightforward. However none of the characters were enjoyable which was the only flaw I found while reading Medea.
Overall, I would have to say that I did not enjoy Medea. It presented numerous actions and morals that I did not agree with. The one thing I liked about the play however was Euripides and his ability to create an easy-to-read play in such a small amount of lines. The horror and tragedy found throughout the play made it interesting to read.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Overall, I did not really enjoy reading Medea. It was an extremely morbid play, but it did have a pretty good lesson hidden beneath the surface.
I found it very interesting that the chorus, as in many other plays from this era, seemed to be the voice of reason. The chorus usually seems to be wise and aware of what most of the characters are unaware of. I did not particularly like Medea, but I could sort of on a very small level relate to her and what she was feeling. Her rage was very powerful, and almost scary. When I was reading the play, I could almost feel myself getting shivers from the intensity of what Medea was saying. I guess that is a good thing, if a writer can get that sort of reaction, even though I don’t really like the play. I thought that Jason was a complete coward, and the perfect example of the guy that no woman should ever date! He tried to make Medea look like she was the bad guy for being upset about him leaving her, and then he tried to tell her that he did it all for her! I was in complete shock while reading that part of the play. I was so glad that Medea did not fall for his eloquent speeches and saw him for what he really was. Even though it was horrifying how she decided to take her revenge on Jason. It was not the boys fault that Jason did what he did, and I can understand why Medea killed them, but I still don’t think it was the right thing for her to do. It is impossible for me to blame it all on Medea, because she did not start it, Jason did. Jason broke her heart and forced her into the madness that consumed her, so in a way, I see it as Jason was the one who killed his sons. He was greedy, and did not marry the Kings daughter for Medea’s sake. Jason wanted to have fame and fortune, and he hurt the people that loved him to do that, and the God’s definitely frowned upon that action. That drove me absolutely insane. The whole time, I was thinking that both Jason and Medea were out of their minds, because they had two sons, who needed a mother and a father. Any time I see a situation like that, it makes me want to scream. I don’t understand how people can be so selfish and greedy to not take in consideration what would be best for the children, and I also don’t think that murdering them was in their best interest. This play seemed almost pointless for me from and entertainment standpoint, and a moral standpoint. All that I could really pick up on from the play was that greed causes destruction, and that revenge causes even more destruction.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Ashley Herrick 5th Hour Medea-Personal Response
Medea can be judged in many ways. Some may think it was very entertaining and quite unbelievable, while others may think it was the most ridiculous play they have ever read. I agree with both point of views. To me, this play seemed very unlikely and I questioned a lot of things, but there were also some concepts that I agreed with.
I agree with the fact that Medea wanted to seek revenge on Jason. If I were in that situation, I would have done everything in power to make him feel guilty too. On the other hand, it is not right to harm others in the process. If she wanted to get back at Jason, then she should have just harmed him. There was no point in ruining so many other innocent lives in the process. The children and the princess did absolutely nothing to deserve such a thing. Because of this, I did not like Medea’s character and I thought she got a little bit too out of control in her revenge.
When thinking about Jason, I could not help but think about men of our own time. There are so many stories about men leaving their wives and feeling no remorse for such a thing. In the story, Jason thought it was perfectly fine to leave, as long as he reaped the benefits. He did not even seem to care that he would never see his own children and past wife ever again. Today, the same thing occurs. It is crazy to think that people have not changed over such a time span.
One thing that I did not agree with was the role of the chorus. I liked that fact that they played more of a role in the story, but it really bothered me that they never took action in the play. Throughout the whole play, they knew what Medea was planning. They knew that Medea planned to kill her own children, yet they did nothing to prevent it. How could they stand there and watch such a thing happen to poor, innocent children? Instead, they stood there and talked about how horrible such a deed was and how much she would regret it. This made me really angry at their role throughout the entire play.
Overall, Medea was an enjoyable play to read. I found that I could side with and against every character and situation included. Euripides also used themes that are still relevant today, which made the play easier to relate to and understand. Even though I did not agree with everything in Medea, it was still very entertaining.
November 19th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
rCamille Sharrow AP Lit Medea PR November 18, 2008
Medea was an interesting read. I did not really enjoy it all that much. Medea seemed so caught on what Jason did to her that it totally consumed her life. She was insane! I do not think that her revenge was justified, but I can understand why she did what she did. I know that she felt like she was wronged, but to go as far as to kill her own children, that was a bit too far for me. What I did like, though, was Euripides’ use of the Women of Corinth. He used them as mediators of the action. They helped to clarify what was going on. I also liked their perspectives. They provided the typical insight of the people of the town, basically the general perspective.
Jason, as a character, was an annoying one. I was able to sympathize with him more, though. He was wrong, that is for sure. But I guess that I can understand it. Euripides did not provide much insight as to his back character because it was assumed that the audience would already know. It was more easily understood, though, how hurt he was. The deaths of his new bride, her father, and his only sons must have been an awful blow to him. I, as stated previously, do not think that all of Medea’s actions were justified. I understand that she was hurt, but if every woman who was wronged by her husband killed the ‘other woman’ and the children, there would be a significant population decrease.
The nurse and tutor were great ‘tools’ as well. They basically served the same purpose as the Messenger in Antigone: they narrated for the purpose of keeping unity of time and place. I really liked the way that the support of all of the townspeople changed from Medea to Jason as the story progressed. It seemed like there was a general agreement at first that Jason was wrong, but then they saw that she was getting out of control. I liked the way that Euripides used them to voice the general opinion and link Medea’s insanity to reality. I loved this use of the characters.
I did not particularly enjoy the character of Creon. He seemed just as mean as the character was in Antigone. He was selfish and only concerned with his family, even though Medea and her children were now a part of his family. I did like, though, the way Euripides characterized the princess as a shallow, naïve young girl. The way she accepted the boys because of the gold [because before that she was opposed to their protection] only showed that more. All in all, I really liked the way the characters were developed, but I could not get past the evilness of Medea to see a deeper understanding of her situation.
November 19th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Alyse Meier AP Lit PR
For me, “Medea” was interesting, but very bizarre and different. It wasn’t boring, but what kept my attention is how absurd a lot of the situations were. It is just crazy to me to read a story about a woman who killed her own children and hear her logic behind it. She thought she had such good reasons for the murder, but really, she was just going insane in my opinion.
Jason did a terrible thing to Medea after Medea did so much for Jason. Although a lot of the things Medea did for him were done by evil means, she showed that she really loved him. He then repays her by leaving her for another woman! That will never be right and Jason is almost as insane as Medea for thinking he can justify his actions. As I was reading the section where Jason was defending himself, it almost made me mad because his reasons were so stupid. Still, he honestly thought that he was right! It is especially annoying to experience that kind of person in real life. Someone may think he is completely right when he is obviously wrong, but no matter what one tries, there is no way to reason with him. Anyway, Jason is guilty in many ways, but I believe that Medea is more guilty than anybody. Yes, a terrible thing was done to her and I probably would have felt bad for her if she had reacted differently. Just because something unfair was done to her does not give her the right to go kill anybody that she pleases, though! She definitely lets her heart rule her head in the play. Her mind is telling her that it’s not right for her to kill her own children, but her heart wants revenge and she lets that part of her win. There was a part in the play where she is torn between love for her children and her desire for revenge, but again, she chooses revenge. In my opinion, revenge is never the answer. “I thought somehow this hate would heal me. But this hate is never ending and it’s only killing me,” are lyrics from a song by Barlow Girl. The song then goes on to say, “Break these chains. I won’t see this through. Because setting you free means my freedom, too.” It would have done Medea some good to take the advice that those lyrics present. Her pride and hunger for revenge wouldn’t allow it, though.
In the end, Medea hurts Jason, which was her goal all along. I just don’t understand how that could ever be worth killing one’s own children. Also, I’m not sure if the reader was supposed to feel sorry for Medea, but I honestly didn’t. What the play did for me was solidify my belief that revenge is never the answer. It only ends up hurting the person that seeks revenge.
November 19th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Zach Parkhurst 5th Hour 10/19/08 Personal Response–Medea
Euripedes’ Medea was interesting…I really didn’t like it. I didn’t find the protagonist to be all that likeable. The story got to be exciting, but the deus ex machina at the end threw me for a loop, not at all what I expected.
Medea was different from all of the tragedies that I have read. The action that brought the protagonist, Medea, down from a higher point, occurred in the prologue, as the Nurse “gives us the scoop.” This is very different from other things that I have read. Usually, we watch the hero slowly crumble down from a position of importance into nothing. Here, we learn of Medea’s troubles at the beginning, and we watch her get more and more vengeful as the play goes on, ending with her killing the Creon, his daughter, and her own sons. I was particularly shocked by the murder of the latter; the woman was so wound up in getting revenge on Jason that she killed their only sons with her own hands. This was disturbing. I feel like I wasn’t able to connect with Medea (or like her) well enough at the beginning to feel sad or achieve catharsis at the end.
Besides the protagonist, the use of the Chorus was also different. The Greek Chorus played a smaller role than usual, and I felt like they were sort of a conscience for Medea (even though she didn’t listen to them for the last half of the play). I kind of liked this better. It was easier for me to understand, and I appreciated the Chorus parts more. They always had something reasonable to say when they interjected, and they stood for what was right and good, serving as a sharp contrast to Medea’s thoughts.
One thought that I keep mulling around in my head is, “was Medea justified in what she did.” My answer is yes and no…Yes: Jason was a terrible person to leave her for a younger, prettier, richer girl. Leaving her family, saving Jason’s life, and killing her brother to be with Jason, and this is where she winds up. I know for a fact that I if was Medea, I’d be pissed. However, there is also the no side of this issue: Nobody should every murder their children, especially just to get back at someone; that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Children are innocent creatures who can barely defend themselves, and using them as pawns in a big game of revenge only makes matters worse for everyone. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
Medea was certainly different. It had its interesting points, and it held my attention pretty well. I suppose all in all, it wasn’t one of my favorite reads.
November 19th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
I have to say that this is the first time I have ever read a story and did not like a single one of the characters. I did however like the plot line. It’s easy for us to say that this story is not a big deal and that she should have just gotten over it, but at this time the play took place the sort of infidelity that Jason took part in would have been viewed as much more substantial.
With Medea I sympathize with her that she has been left buy her husband, no question that was a horrible thing to do. However, killing your children to get back at Jason is just unforgivable. It goes without saying that a parent should love their child even more than they love themselves. In all honesty I think Medea is just flat out obsessed with Jason. I mean if killing her kids wasn’t bad enough she killed her own brother for Jason back in her home country. It just seems obvious to me that if she is willing to do all of these horrible things all with regards to Jason that he has just consumed her whole life.
As for Jason there was really nothing that he did that could make me have any respect for him. Sure he said that he remarried to make better life for his other family but that just isn’t true. He wanted a younger wife and that’s all there is to it.
Even the women of Corinth and the Nurse were incredibly flawed characters. Each of these people constantly preached to Medea to not commit these murders but at the same time when the moment comes when Medea shows the gifts that will kill Jason’s wife or when she brings in the children to kill them none of these characters does anything but yell a little bit. Any one of them could have at any time told the others of Medea’s plan but they didn’t and they should be regarded with no more respect than Medea or Jason.
As I said before the storyline was good. It was interesting and also something that readers will be able to make connections with forever. It also serves as a strong warning for all the male readers. We will all here stories in our lifetime about someone’s infidelity and I bet we will remember this play so i guess the best thing that i can say for it is that it is a memorable play. All in all though I just didn’t care for this one. In my opinion if you don’t like any of the characters it’s going to be very hard to enjoy the play.
November 19th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Crazy, insane, bratty…..just the many few words to describe this outrageous character, Medea. To me, trying to understand why Medea carried out extreme acts for such a little problem. Yea, your guy left you, but it takes a lot more than that to kill your kids. And another thing that really bothered me was that Medea acted as a little bratty child. There for the childish acting got her what she wanted…so end the end I thought of her as a very powerful women.
So maybe keying the car of the guy that left you is reasonable, but killing your own children, which Medea showed she loved very much, is just CRAZY. Medea wanted Jason to suffer, but then again why would she want the grief of loosing her own children. Altogether she made a disgusting decision that really made me sad. I wanted to get out of my chair and fight this lady.
Jumping over to the chorus, what were they doing? What kind of sick people agree to the decisions that Medea was making? The girls of the chorus stood around agreeing to every evil act Medea came up with. Yea, Medea is extremely powerful, but when kids are being murdered you cant just stand around wanting to help them, they should of acted against that and saved to innocent boy’s life’s.
There is no possible way any other women could have pulled this off. Especially in this time period where a women’s voice meant nothing in society. Medea was a bossy women that wined and got what she wanted. If Medea would have sat around and took all the pain and grief she would have never even lived through to the next day. And me being a guy, totally thought is was awesome that she stood up to the highest rulers of her country. On the other hand I disliked the way she accomplished it.
I have read better but, it gives girls the hope that they can be powerful someday…haha just joking Eberhard hehe. In all seriousness I felt the pain of both sides and it shows me the kind of evil that exists in everyone.
November 19th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Free Response/Reflection: Medea Mike Testa AP Lit 5th hour 11-20-08
Medea is an extremely tragic play in my opinion. I sympathize somewhat for Medea’s reasoning behind killing king Creon and Jason’s wife but I absolutely have no understanding or sympathy for her murdering her own children. There is nothing that can justify that crime! I do not understand why she didn’t just kill Jason, the man who caused all this misery and unhappiness in her life! Her innocent children absolutely did not deserve what happened to them.
I think Medea went too far in her actions with the murdering of her children and the little sympathy that I may have felt for her as I read the play vanished with that vicious act! I realize that she was very sad and aching with revenge for Jason but she definitely went about it in the wrong way. Whenever I’m sad it is great to have friends around to talk things through to settle your bad thoughts; Medea was just too crazy to listen to the nurse or tutor who both tried to make her see things more clearly and rationally.
I have seen many typical men like Jason as well. These men tend to be very self-centered and take no blame for problems in their relationships. In everyday life I notice boyfriends that leave someone for a better or prettier girl and they have no consideration for the ex-girlfriend’s feelings. I did not feel very bad for Jason at all because he was such a selfish and shallow person.
I was sort of hoping that the nurse would speak out a little more and change Medea’s mind. She seemed very smart and knew exactly what Medea was thinking. I am similar to the nurse because I usually tell my friends that things are going to be okay and try to calm them down when things are not going well for them. Being alone is the probably one of the worst possible things that could happen to you so I feel that this play is the ultimate tragedy and was actually a very great play. I would definitely read this play again and hopefully get more out of it than I did the first time, not only with the plot but with the great characters as well.
November 19th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
I liked the play, “Medea”, even though some segments of it dragged on. Although tragedies are predictable, this one was especially so because of the opening scenes. I didn’t like how the story was revealed within the first couple pages of the play. This play made me feel a mix of emotions; this was somewhat frustrating. I liked the story of Medea, it was interesting to read about. She was a very passionate character, and I found this to be intriguing as well.
One thing I didn’t like about the play was that the story’s details were revealed in the fist few pages. I felt as though I knew the whole story without even reading it. The story still managed to be intriguing, however.
I felt sympathy toward Medea because of how Jason betrayed her. She loved him so much. I tried putting myself in her position and couldn’t stand it. I am able to look at this situation from a woman’s standpoint so I feel she had reason to behave in a desperate and enraged manner. However, I don’t agree with killing half the characters. Her rage did contribute to the tragedy and allowed readers such as myself to sympathize with Medea and other characters as well.
Medea was a very passion driven character. She went to all lengths to get what she wanted, revenge. This, I thought, was interesting to read about. Killing people so close to her as her sons was something I found near insane. This added to the story and kept me intrigued.
I liked reading Medea, but found it to drag on. It seemed her and Jason fought a few pages too long. Also her contemplation is dragged out a bit longer than I would have liked. The play’s passionate characters and alluring plot made it appealing.
November 19th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Mallory Rushmore AP Lit Medea PR November 18, 2008
I knew I would not like the play “Medea,” as soon as Euripides had the nurse summarize all the action in the first paragraph. The story actually began at a very boring point. I would of liked the story a lot better if it started with Medea finding out that Jason went behind her back and how she found out and what she said. It was boring how the nurse just listed off all that happened between Jason and Medea and the state Medea was in and why. It allowed for no suspense. The plot was presented in a very harsh and quick manner.
One thing that really bothered me was the killing of her own children. I can see why she was upset. She had every right to want revenge on Jason because what he did was evil and selfish. I could see myself wanting to get back at an ex for dumping me for another girl. Medea only reacted like any person would do. She had too much of a reaction though. Her tragic flaw was passion and I definitely got to see that displayed throughout the text. She allowed her lust for revenge to take her as far as murdering four people, that including her two sons. When Medea was having that inner battle of whether she should kill her children or not, I was abhorred. I could not believe a mother would actually have to contemplate the answer to that, let alone choose to murder them! I thought that a mother’s bond with her children was supposed to be the greatest bond of all. No amount of wrongdoing on the husband’s part should bring about such a dreadful dead.
I did not appreciate the extreme detail when it came to the death of the princess and even the manner in which she killed the children. The whole play seemed very gruesome. I felt like Euripides had a very creepy, gloomy way about writing and it disturbed me at times. Medea was eerie when she talked so giddily about killing Croon and his daughter. I did not appreciate that aspect of the play at all.
I did not know whether we were supposed to feel sorry for Medea at the end or Jason. Were we supposed to experience catharsis towards Jason once he had lost absolutely everything? I did not. I still despised Jason for all that he did, although, I did not feel sorry for Medea either. I thought she took her revenge too far and was a loon.
I also did not like that fact that at the end the chorus states the fact that the whole play was due to fate. I felt slighted. They hadn’t mentioned fate at all throughout the play, then they just through that in there at the end. The reader didn’t know whom to blame and what even to think. It was a poor way to end it. I would have to say I liked “Antigone” and “Oedipus Rex” better than I liked this play.
November 19th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Lizzi Wayne, 11-19-08, 5th hour, Medea Personal Response
Medea was intriguing. There were so many perspectives to be considered, from Medea’s constitution to Jason’s socially acceptable beliefs. Even now, I cannot decide how I feel about this work. I have great respect for the piece - as I am still conflicted on who I owe my sympathies. I don’t think any of the characters completely won me over. While Medea was wronged, she let her passionate thirst for revenge over power her judgment. While Jason was clearly wrong in his betrayal, it was culturally acceptable. He was raised to think that this scenario was acceptable. Even so, his actions were despicably arrogant (oh hubris).
I found the deus ex machina so ridiculous it was nearly comical. Medea rides off in a chariot from her grandfather, the Sun god? Pulled by dragons? Really, Euripides? It was such a brilliant play, with so many portions that rang true in this modern century… and then the Sun god chariot arrived and revealed the plays ancient date. Of course, there wasn’t really any other way to conclude the play while keeping both Jason and Medea alive. I was rather surprised that Medea was alive at the end. When I originally heard the plot - before the end was discussed - I assumed that one of the two would die. Either Jason would commit suicide, or he would kill Medea.. Or vice versa… or some combination of the two. Alas, The play rather abruptly ended with Medea riding off into the sunset towards Athens, and Jason left to grow old into a miserable, childless nobody. I’ll cross my fingers for an epic sequel - Jason Vs. Medea: The Revenge Saga Continues.
November 19th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Ashley McDowell, 5th hour, AP Lit, PR, November 19, 2008
She was a wild woman from the start and I could tell that this play was going to be an interesting one. Medea was the craziest women/mother I have ever had to read about and hopefully, she will be the last. Everything she did would get progressively worse and I could not take my mind off the ultimate sacrifice: her sons. As much as my hatred grew for her, I must say my hatred toward Jason started a few pages sooner and a bit more in depth. He is a Greek pimp and I hated him for that exact reason, but I as got to know him I hated him even more because of every little thing he said.
Medea was a character that I had questions about from the very start; but as I read on my uneasiness turned to hatred. I could tell there was going to be trouble as soon as her character showed how passionate she was and how revenge was steadily taking her over. Throughout the entire play she was getting worse and by the end I wanted to kill her myself. It amazed me that one woman could get caught up on one issue that not only made her kill her husband’s new wife and father, but her children too. Medea made me sick to my stomach and I actually started hoping Jason, or somebody, would kill her. She is by far the wickedest mother I have ever read about and I half-wish I could have never gotten to know her.
Another character that I could not stand was Jason. He was that typical “player” in how he based all of his arguments on stupid reasons. Telling Medea it was only for their sons and for his family that he did it, how marrying the princess would make their lives better; I grew deep unhappy feelings toward him. Every time he opened his mouth to speak I wanted to jump into the play, slap him across the face a few times, and yell bullshit; his remarks were the dumbest things I have ever herd. By the end of the play I was also wishing him dead and maybe then Corinth would be at peace.
At the end, I was so fed up with the last two remaining characters that I was quite disgusted with the play. Medea and Jason should have both just fallen off the face of the earth; that would have made the ending much better. What I ultimately learned form “Medea” is that I do not really like tragedies that much, unless they are by Shakespeare.
November 20th, 2008 at 6:00 am
When it comes to story line, there are certain things that I did and did not like about Medea. I liked the general story of a betrayed wife who goes somewhat crazy. Ancient Greek plays always seem to have some bizarre twist at the end and I like that. However, I really had an issue with the character Medea. She was the protagonist, but I felt very little emotion for her. I do not think we were meant to love her as a character, but more that we were supposed to feel pity for her. I did not think that Euripides made Medea likable enough to feel pity for.
Another thing that I did not like about Medea was its unity of time and place. Now I know that all Greek plays were set in unity of time and place from a practicality standpoint, but I just find that the continuous play seems to be a little boring for my taste. I even think that this unity allowed for less character development in Greek plays. I really prefer modern plays that are broken in to acts and scenes.
Apart from the story line, there was another idea in Medea that I was drawn to, and that was the smaller woman’s chorus. I think that the fact that it was entirely women allowed for them to connect to Medea and therefore the story more. I also think that the size of the chorus made them more able to connect and have an effect on the story.
November 20th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Medea is easily my least favorite character in any novel, play, movie, script or poem that I have ever read. I despised her from the moment she uttered her first syllable, she acts like a spoiled eighth grader who has broken up with her “true love.” Not only is she crazy but she is also sick and slightly demonic in her actions. She sets a princess and her father on fire for crying out loud, then laughs about it. Then to top that off she willingly kills her own sons just to get back at her husband for something that was very normal and accepted during those times. What really got me was the fact that even after saying that she was going to kill her kids she speaks to them as if she were going to live a long and prosperous life with them, she speaks of their weddings and of their future lives, knowing the whole time that she is going to slaughter them in the end.
From the beginning I had no sympathy for Medea, it was given entirely to Jason, who I think in the end is the real victim of this conflict. His wife to be, his father-in-law and his two sons are stripped of him by a vengeful witch, who’s only purpose was to inflict pain and suffering on the one she loves. Anyway, men having two or more wives back then was not that uncommon, a wife was more of a possession than anything else. They were meant to make babies and stay at home and have no say in the rules of law or in society. So for Medea to insult the king and his council was a terrible crime against the state. Especially coming from a woman. So it was, as Jason said, a blessing that the King does not have her killed.
One thing that I did like, was that the chorus was there to try and persuade Medea not to do these terrible things. They are the voice of reason in the play, the last defense against her wrath. But cast that aside and they are just a bunch of women who watch Medea do her deeds and do nothing to stop her. They then cast everything onto the wings of fate and blame all of these happenings on the gods. “The gods wanted this to happen” that is their reasoning for everything. I don’t like it, but without the use of modern science to explain things to them they have nothing else to go on.
November 20th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
I really did not care for Medea. I had no feeling for any of the characters, except for the two sons. I found Medea to be impulsive, two-faced, and I thought Jason to be ignorant, and arrogant. It’s really hard to enjoy a play when the reader can’t sympathize with any of the characters.
At first I thought Medea was justified in the way she was acting. Then as I got closer and closer to the end, where she killed her two sons , it only seemed to me like her actions were simply to prove herself to Jason. Almost a cry for attention, which really bothered me. As I have said before Jason is very arrogant. Which I suppose is a play that Euripides used to get the audience to hate him. Which worked very well. He had Gaston syndrome, he believed that he was all that and more. Also he was very condescending to Medea. Obviously another play but when they talked together it just made me hate both of them more. For instance the scene on page 58 reminded me of a fight between elementary school kids. It really annoyed me.
The ending was also very abrupt , she’s hanging out with dragons, and they fight again, then it’s over. It just seemed like the same fight happened throughout the entire play. Not just at the end.
Overall a lot of things annoyed me about the play Medea. Mostly Jason and Medea themselves. Perhaps if I lived during these times a lot of things would have been changed.
November 21st, 2008 at 9:58 am
I found the play Medea very similar to as a soap opera would act. The characters act very rational and take things too far. Medea was a character I like yet didn’t like at the same time. I could understand her anger toward Jason, but go and killing her kids just so he has no one left is too far. Also the way she would talk about killing her kids and talk about killing his wife just creped me out. Jason was my least favorite character in this play. He was a genuine jerk, saying he’s leaving her and marrying the princess was to benefit her and their sons, total BS!! I would think that if he was doing this to benefit Medea that they would have had a discussion about it first. Another thing is that at first their sons were going to be exiled also, so how would they have been brought into royalty. But as soon as they brought her gifts to the princess she was happy to keep them. And that shows you how young the princess was and how they married at such a young age.
Though Jason was an asshole, she had no right to kill her sons. I thought of their sons not as much as humans but as symbols of innocence. She kills any innocence she had left when she killed them two.
I found Medea to be a very creepy play, the setting and the characters. But I found I very relatable to times today.