1.
/The true tragedy of Medea is that the characters do not consider the likely consequences of their actions.’
Do you agree?
Yes 100%
No 100%
Yes to some extent
No to some extent
After the first reading we may consider the murder of Medea and Jason’s children as the ‘true’ tragedy however,
the prompt is suggesting that there are numerous tragedies that occur as a result of many characters not taking
into consideration the consequence of their actions.
AGREE
DISAGREE
Jason’s betrayal of Medea and the destruction of their
family
Jason does attempt to justify his actions by suggesting
that his decision was to benefit the family. The power
and wealth that he gains by marrying the princess
would help Medea and his sons
-
Jason underestimates Medea and what she is
capable of after she has been hurt by his
betrayal by breaking the oaths of marriage
He would not have thought about the fact that
Medea could planning so many deaths
Jason’s hubris - arrogance
Medea’s lamenting/stage directions
Metaphors from the Nurse and Jason about Medea
The attempted exile of Medea and her children
-
Creon underestimates Medea and the extent
she is willing to go to in order to manipulate
him in order to stay an extra day
As he sympathises with her as a parent, he
doesn’t imagine that she would be plotting his
death rather than sorting out her children’s
affairs
Creon approaches Medea ready to exile her, but even
though he fears her, suspects she is capable of terrible
things and has got himself into trouble before for
trusting someone he shouldn’t, he still allows her to
stay.
Euripides challenging the views/gender stereotypes of
the time
Medea using her feminine ‘bewitching’ skills to
manipulate Creon
The death of Creon and the princess (Glauce)
-
-
When Creon chose Jason as the future
husband of his daughter, he did not consider
the impact this would have on Medea. He was
more concerned with choosing a man he
deemed worthy of marrying a princess.
While they are essentially innocent, there is a
certain level of accountability as he did choose
a man who was already married to another
woman. However, there is a question as to
whether they deserved the horrific death that
Medea caused.
Quote from Medea about her claiming that she doesn’t
have an issue with Creon – he has done nothing
wrong.
Medea is calculating and plans out the death of Creon
and the princess, hoping to cause the most pain that
she can. She even talks about feeling pleasure if the
messenger shares all the gory details of their horrific
demise.
She also arranges safety in Athens, through Aegeus
when he arrives in Corinth. This means that she will
have protection after she kills the royal family.
Medea also takes into consideration, the support of the
gods and the chorus. She feels that with this support
she is entitled to the vengeance/justice she demands.
Imagery of the deaths and the pleasure Medea feels as
a result of causing that pain
The golden chariot from the Sun God to help Medea
with her escape
Murder/death of the children
-
The chorus questions Medea and her plan to
kill her children. They suspect that when the
time comes, she will not be able to go through
with it.
Medea does think about the consequences of this act
and is willing to accept them as long as it hurts Jason
and allows her to deliver the retribution she believes
he deserves
Internal conflict Medea struggles with when making
the decision to go through with the murder
Find quotes from the chorus where they question
Medea and fear for the children
2. Euripides is essentially conservative in Medea, reinforcing patriarchal stereotypes and male fears about
women.’ Discuss.
You need to acknowledge both sides
Yes to some extent
No to some extent
AGREE
Medea is successful in implementing her plan
through the manipulation of the men in the play.
- To view a woman as a manipulator was
stereotypical
- Stubborn and refuses to back down
- Emotional and unable to control these
enough to stop her from killing people
Jason
Expects that Medea will accept the decisions that
he makes.
- Blames her rage and threats that she
makes for the situation she is in
- More concerned about betrayal/jealousy
than what can be achieved by exploiting
others.
- Accepts her apology and the fact that she
takes back everything she said
Creon and Aegeus
- He perceives Medea as someone who is
capable of hurting him and his family – he
labels her as an outsider and also mentions
her sorcery
-
DISAGREE
Medea’s barbaric nature and the fact that she is a
warrior who uses violence to resolve issues.
She is strongminded and refuses to allow her
enemies to destroy her or laugh at her.
She is willing to take the lives of her children when
as a mother, she should be nurturing
The ending of the play
- He is defeated by a woman
- The gods don’t support him
- He is emotional and out of control as a
result of his loss
-
-
He openly admits that he is afraid of Medea
even though he is the King and shouldn’t be
Successfully manipulated by Medea even
though he knows that something bad is
likely to happen he still allows her to stay
Aeugeus admits he can’t father a child and
accepts the help of Medea to improve his
own situation