The chorus, composed of
Corinthian women
, turns towards the house and addresses Medea. They try to reason with Medea and convince her that suicide would be an overreaction. The fickleness of a husband’s love is an ordinary occurrence; rather than merit self-torment, it should be dealt with and forgotten.
Who makes up the chorus in Medea?
Chorus. Composed of
the women of Corinth
, the chorus chiefly serves as a commentator to the action, although it occasionally engages directly in the dialogue. The chorus members fully sympathize with Medea’s plight, excepting her eventual decision to murder her own children.
What does the chorus in Medea comprise of?
In “Antigone” we see that the chorus consists of wealthy, political minded men while in “Medea” the chorus consists of
women
. In “Antigone” the chorus is godfearing, patriotic and political minded so they are loyal to Creon.
What makes the Greek chorus different in Medea?
The Chorus as a Homonym
While the Chorus in Antigone distances the audience from emotional attachment to the characters, the Chorus in Medea
makes the audience sympathize with them for Medea
. Their separate techniques in portraying characterization and theme also changes the way the audience views each play.
Who is the chorus leader in Medea?
| Nurse : a servant of Medea’s household | Chorus of Corinthian Women: women of the city | Creon: king of Corinth | Jason: Greek hero, leader of the Argonauts | Aegeus: king of Athens |
|---|
What is the purpose of the chorus spoiling the ending?
By having the Chorus spoil the end of the play before it even starts—
Romeo and Juliet die, and only then do their families end the feud
—Shakespeare sets up similar possibilities for the development of irony, tension, and catharsis here.
What gods does Medea call upon?
Still within the palace walls, Medea remains unyielding and calls on the
gods Themis and Artemis
to sanction the death of Jason and his new wife.
Does the chorus agree with Medea?
But the chorus does not become implicitly loyal, like the choruses of Ion or Orestes. They continue to question and waver.
They support Medea
, yet fear for her children; they argue with her, but preserve her secret.
Does the chorus in Medea sing?
In Medea they
sing of the destructive power of love, the sorrows of exile
, and the horror of Medea’s murderous revenge. They also serve to release the tension between each episode. Euripides’s unconventional use of the Chorus is yet another example how he challenged the dramatic status quo of his day.
How does the chorus respond to Medea?
The chorus responds to Medea in
an imaginative ode
, describing a world in which the presumed order of the sexes is reversed: men will be known for deception, women will be honored, male poets will lose their favor, and Apollo, the god of music, will inspire new epics that display a female perspective.
What happens to Medea at the end of the play?
In the end, though, revenge is more important to Medea than maternal love, and
she kills her children in order “To get at [Jason’s] heart
” (233). … By killing her children, she’s rebelling against the dominant role of women in her time: motherhood. Also, notice that the children she kills are both males.
Why is it significant that Medea is escaping in the sun god’s chariot?
Helios was the god in Greek mythology that brought the sun up and down each day by riding his golden chariot across the sky. Medea is the granddaughter of Helios, and her use of his chariot symbolizes
her partial divinity and her female pride and strength
.
Why does the chorus support Medea?
The chorus is sympathetic
Even after Medea’s discussion with Jason, the chorus
still supports her grievances
. They suggest that there is no fate worse than that of the refugee who has been betrayed by all citizens and rendered stateless. To be a “stateless refugee”, they suggest is the worst of all possible fates.
How many deaths is Medea responsible for?
Medea is responsible for the death of
all
of the following, EXCEPT: Her brother. Her children. Her father.
Is Medea a hero or villain?
Medea is
neither a hero nor a villain but a combination of both
. On the one hand, she displays heroism by standing up for herself in a world where women are expected to be seen and not heard.
Which two characters suffer the most in Medea?
While
Jason
is the victim of his children getting murdered by Medea, the tragic figure still remains Medea due to how she is the one who suffers the most throughout the play because of Jason and societal expectations. Right from the start, on the first spoken line of the play, the portrayed victim is already Medea.
