Medea_Essay

Medea is a woman overcome with madness. Discuss, referring to revenge tragedy, values and context. The self-titled play Medea is an Ancient Greek, revenge tragedy by dramatist, Euripides. It depicts the downfall of the relationship and bloody consequences between Medea and Jason, continuing from the infamous play of Jason and the Argonauts. The statement that Medea is overcome with madness is disagreeable due to the facts that Medea demonstrated the ability for violence in earlier life, the murders were premeditated and Medea was able to control herself. Due to these aspects Medea is not overcome with madness. Medea is not overcome with madness at that particular time in life as she has demonstrated the ability for a similar violence earlier. Preceding Medea and Jason’s arrival in Corinth, she lived in Colchis with her family. Upon falling in love with Jason she murdered her brother and betrayed her family in his aid. This demonstration of unfaltering murders of her loved ones illustrates she is capable of such violence later in life. However, the line ‘O my father, my city, you I deserted; my brother I shamefully murdered!’ shows some self realisation later on in the future. This key convention in revenge tragedy would not exist if Medea was overcome with madness. In this line, spoken by Medea, the dramatic technique of evoking sympathy in the audience enhances the dramatic atmosphere. The rhyming couplet compliments the flowing line and Medea’s gift of speech. Also Medea’s excessive use of personal pronouns communicates to the audience her self-centred nature, a factor which prolonged the time till self-realisation of her deadly acts. Due to Medea’s past acts of violence, she is not overcome with madness. All the murders Medea committed were premeditated, therefore making her completely sane. The ability to plan the deaths of the innocent is one only a person who is not overcome with madness would posses. This scheming is evident in the line spoken by Medea, ‘Today three of my enemies I shall strike dead; Father and daughter and my husband.’ The first thing Medea speaks of is herself. This is an example of Medea’s self idolising emerging through her words. The emphasis of ‘my’ when referring to Jason provides the audience with a sense of Medea’s protective ownership over him. Through not using their names, Medea is distancing herself from her soon to be victims. These lines foreshadow the physical death of ‘father and daughter’ and the emotional death of Jason. In this instance Medea is verbalising her plan and showing the audience the true extent of her jealousy and pride. These traits of Medea are her fatal flaw which eventually leads to her emotional downfall, with the murder of her children. Although she loves them, the emotional damage it would cause Jason much greater outweighs the pain on her. This lust for Jason’s pain stems directly from her fatal flaw of pride. This line also demonstrates the death of innocents and the guilty brought about by Medea’s hand. This therefore fulfils another convention of revenge tragedy. Medea’s scheming gives evidentiary proof she was not overcome with madness. Medea was in her right mind set and not overcome with madness. Medea is adept at acting strategically in front of others, refusing to show weakness. In the conversation between Creon and Medea this is evident. Creons first line, ‘You there Medea, scowling rage against your husband!’ is an accusation towards Medea causing her to appear as the aggressor. This causes her initial response to be ‘Oh this is the cruel end of my accursed life!’ demonstrating a lack of emotional restraint typical to that of the conventional Ancient Greek woman. The repetition of her pessimistic life makes it evident to the audience she in dire circumstances. This is then juxtaposed by her final line; ‘Creon, I ask: For what offence do you banish me'’ Medea is calm and collected, demonstrating principled control, similar to that of a heroic Ancient Greek male. This split personality is evident throughout the play, however her descent into masculinity is evidently stronger as the play reaches its close. The context of the play and the juxtaposing values of men and women prove Medea was sane. Throughout the play Medea was not overcome with madness, however was in her right mind set. In conclusion, Medea was not overcome with madness due to the aforementioned aspects of the demonstration of her capability of violence in early life, the premeditation of the murders of the innocence and a sane mindset. These all led to the tragic demise of her household and family and the untimely death of her children at her own hand. The conventions of revenge tragedy and the context and values intensify the dramatic atmosphere. Medea was entirely aware of her actions and the effects they would have on others, making her sane.