Question: How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the work developed through the interactive oral?
One of the most interesting topics that came up during the interactive oral was the character of Clytamnestra. She is a proud, confident, authoritative person whose personality goes against the accepted behavior of women at the time in Greece. My curiosity does not have much connection with the intention of Aeschylus behind creating such a character, but with the attitude of the play towards women. While reading the play, I could not help myself from comparing the reactions of the characters to women and men in the play. For example, Agamemnon, a man and a king, commits a ‘sin’ by sacrificing her daughter for the ship designated to Troy to sail. Here, it is not so much the fact that Agamemnon does such an act, but the manner he carries the action out which shocks the reader and Clytamenstra the most. Despite his horrible deed, the chorus praises him and never blames him or criticizes him for what he does. The opinion of the chorus matters significantly here as they are commentators of the play in the voice of the people, which means that the Greek people at the time also thought that it was fine. Also, considering the fact that the play was meant to be dialectic, the play would have taught the people that what Agamemnon did was not so wrong compared to the action of Clytamnestra, who killed the King. Chorus, on the other hand, tries every time to find a fault in Clytamnestra’s decision or perception that they doubt her every time. This is evident in the way he asks Clytamnestra several times about the news of victory. There is also a hint in the beginning that the people think that Argos was better off with Agamemnon as a king. But most importantly, the way in which chorus criticizes Clytamnestra about the murder of her husband is quite hypocritical: she killed someone not related in blood but Agamemnon killed his own child. For me, Clytamnestra’s reason for her action is completely justifiable. The difference in my thoughts and the opinion of the ancient Greek people made me realize about the gap of time between us.
In my initial reading of Agamemnon,I was surprised that Agamemnon,who is prasied by the people of Argos,could commit the crime of sacrificing his own daughter.I've always felt that the heart of the Iliad lies with the women, from start (Helen's choice to run off with Paris) to finish (Clytemnestra's unceremonious revenge of whacking of Agamemnon after his return from war). It was refreshing and reinforcing to see Aeschylus hold onto women in the play and infuse in a very didactive way. Clytemnestra is the focal point and is the only live-action character.To me ,I think she is the mouthpiece of one of the many consciences present in the society.Her character is said to be unlike the other women of Greece,where she is extremely enigmatic,strong, arrogant,a masculine figure with almost behaviour as men.She is feared and admired but not loved.Throughout the play ,her speehes has a tone of two perspectives which is very ironic.The Chorus praises Agamemnon for killing his own daughter as a sacrifice to save the war ship from the winds.But when Clytemenestra kills Agamemnon for killing their daughter,the Chorus critizes her and they declare that she will be driven out of Argos and shunned by all men for her crime. She rebuffs their reproach by pointing out their hypocrisy; none of them protested when Agamemnon killed her innocent daughter, Iphigenia. The murder of her husband is justified, she insists, because it avenges his crime. The Chorus laments the murder, blaming Agamemnon's death on Helen of Troy. They wonder who will mourn for Agamemnon since his wife has killed him. The Chorus mourns on the stain left on the family and city by their ancestral curse, but the Queen insists that her murder has put an end to the cycle of vengeance and violence.We receive foreshadowing of her words when she boasts about ending the ancestral curse. Her arrogant declaration makes her guilty of the same deadly hubris that plagued her husband. It is also ironic that the Trojan war was fought to save (a woman )Helen who is an unfaithful and deceitful wife of Menalus(King of Sparta), Agamemnon`s brother.Chorus, knows the evil plan of Clytemenstra throughout the play,yet they cannot do anything like the audience to stop the dealy deed.The whole play of Agamemnon is plauged with the deadly hubris of their own sins.
Question: How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the work developed through the interactive oral? Work Used: Agamemnon by Aeschylus The interactive oral helped me in that I gained an idea of the period when Agamemnon was written and so could understand the play. ‘for honors due to gods alone’- says Agamemnon, indicating that the Gods are higher than humans and no human can ever be of the same level. My classmate pointed out during the oral that this echoes a central belief in Greek society in the 500 BCE (approx); that man should never aspire to reach on the same stage as the Gods. A desire to succeed ‘too far’ constituted to ‘hubris’/ arrogance and may invite the Godly wrath. This is what happens in Agamemnon as Agamemnon steps on silk too lavish for a mortal. The other group in the oral called attention to the fact that when Aeschylus was a teenager, the tyrant Pisistratid was overthrown and a democracy was established. This means that the issues of what was justice and how to administer it fell in the hands of the citizens and were issues which were much thought about. This issue is the central theme of ‘Agamemnon’ and the trilogy ‘Orestia’ as a whole- the discussion we had during the interactive oral established that. Also, this was the time in Greece when the people were striving to preserve their fledgling democracy and not let tyranny take root. This conflict between democracy and tyranny is expressed in Agamemnon where the chorus has the freedom of speech (as in a democracy) before Aegisthus’s entry threatens a rule of tyranny. I learnt that Aeschylus stands out against contemporary society in his portrayal of Clytemnestra as an independent and masculine woman. In his time, woman did not have equal status as men and hence were not as independent and confidant as Clytemnestra. Aeschylus revered the God Zeus greatly and this is reflected in Agamemnon, the text of which is sprinkled with praises of Zeus. I can relate to the play because it contains universal emotions such as a mother’s love for a child and a woman’s love for another man. The references to sacrifice strike me as surprising since sacrificing is a part of my own culture too. This play reminds me that even though separated by time and place, all humans are essentially the same.
Question: How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the work developed through the interactive oral? I have learnt a lot during the interactive oral held in class on the work “Agamemnon” by Aeschylus. This session helped me understand the picture of greek mythology and drama of that period of time. Now coming to the play Agamemnon, the King of Argos, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the commander of the Greek armies during the siege of Troy. Agamemnon is the older brother of Menelaus, whose wife Helen was stolen by a Trojan prince, thus igniting a decade-long war. A great warrior, he sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia in order to obtain a favorable wind to carry the Greek fleet to Troy. During the ten-year conflict, his Queen has plotted his death in order to avenge the killing of their daughter. He appears on stage only briefly, and behaves arrogantly. He goes to his death unaware of his fate. What suprises me that the king who was worshipped by many people can kill his own daughter. Another main feature of this book is Cytamenestra, who plays a strong and fiercefull women plotting against her own husband. She plans his murder with ruthless determination, and feels no guilt after his death; she is convinced of her own rectitude and of the justice of killing the man who killed her daughter. So finally I learnt the difference of play, charecters and plot differences of those times and now.
hi ma'am, does the sculpture/mask have anything to do with the reflective statement?
ReplyDeleteAnd ma'am what is the exact date that this is due?
ReplyDeleteQuestion: How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the work developed through the interactive oral?
ReplyDeleteOne of the most interesting topics that came up during the interactive oral was the character of Clytamnestra. She is a proud, confident, authoritative person whose personality goes against the accepted behavior of women at the time in Greece. My curiosity does not have much connection with the intention of Aeschylus behind creating such a character, but with the attitude of the play towards women. While reading the play, I could not help myself from comparing the reactions of the characters to women and men in the play. For example, Agamemnon, a man and a king, commits a ‘sin’ by sacrificing her daughter for the ship designated to Troy to sail. Here, it is not so much the fact that Agamemnon does such an act, but the manner he carries the action out which shocks the reader and Clytamenstra the most. Despite his horrible deed, the chorus praises him and never blames him or criticizes him for what he does. The opinion of the chorus matters significantly here as they are commentators of the play in the voice of the people, which means that the Greek people at the time also thought that it was fine. Also, considering the fact that the play was meant to be dialectic, the play would have taught the people that what Agamemnon did was not so wrong compared to the action of Clytamnestra, who killed the King. Chorus, on the other hand, tries every time to find a fault in Clytamnestra’s decision or perception that they doubt her every time. This is evident in the way he asks Clytamnestra several times about the news of victory. There is also a hint in the beginning that the people think that Argos was better off with Agamemnon as a king. But most importantly, the way in which chorus criticizes Clytamnestra about the murder of her husband is quite hypocritical: she killed someone not related in blood but Agamemnon killed his own child. For me, Clytamnestra’s reason for her action is completely justifiable. The difference in my thoughts and the opinion of the ancient Greek people made me realize about the gap of time between us.
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ReplyDeleteIn my initial reading of Agamemnon,I was surprised that Agamemnon,who is prasied by the people of Argos,could commit the crime of sacrificing his own daughter.I've always felt that the heart of the Iliad lies with the women, from start (Helen's choice to run off with Paris) to finish (Clytemnestra's unceremonious revenge of whacking of Agamemnon after his return from war). It was refreshing and reinforcing to see Aeschylus hold onto women in the play and infuse in a very didactive way. Clytemnestra is the focal point and is the only live-action character.To me ,I think she is the mouthpiece of one of the many consciences present in the society.Her character is said to be unlike the other women of Greece,where she is extremely enigmatic,strong, arrogant,a masculine figure with almost behaviour as men.She is feared and admired but not loved.Throughout the play ,her speehes has a tone of two perspectives which is very ironic.The Chorus praises Agamemnon for killing his own daughter as a sacrifice to save the war ship from the winds.But when Clytemenestra kills Agamemnon for killing their daughter,the Chorus critizes her and they declare that she will be driven out of Argos and shunned by all men for her crime. She rebuffs their reproach by pointing out their hypocrisy; none of them protested when Agamemnon killed her innocent daughter, Iphigenia. The murder of her husband is justified, she insists, because it avenges his crime. The Chorus laments the murder, blaming Agamemnon's death on Helen of Troy. They wonder who will mourn for Agamemnon since his wife has killed him. The Chorus mourns on the stain left on the family and city by their ancestral curse, but the Queen insists that her murder has put an end to the cycle of vengeance and violence.We receive foreshadowing of her words when she boasts about ending the ancestral curse. Her arrogant declaration makes her guilty of the same deadly hubris that plagued her husband.
ReplyDeleteIt is also ironic that the Trojan war was fought to save (a woman )Helen who is an unfaithful and deceitful wife of Menalus(King of Sparta), Agamemnon`s brother.Chorus, knows the evil plan of Clytemenstra throughout the play,yet they cannot do anything like the audience to stop the dealy deed.The whole play of Agamemnon is plauged with the deadly hubris of their own sins.
*deadly deed
DeleteQuestion: How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the work developed through the interactive oral?
ReplyDeleteWork Used: Agamemnon by Aeschylus
The interactive oral helped me in that I gained an idea of the period when Agamemnon was written and so could understand the play. ‘for honors due to gods alone’- says Agamemnon, indicating that the Gods are higher than humans and no human can ever be of the same level. My classmate pointed out during the oral that this echoes a central belief in Greek society in the 500 BCE (approx); that man should never aspire to reach on the same stage as the Gods. A desire to succeed ‘too far’ constituted to ‘hubris’/ arrogance and may invite the Godly wrath. This is what happens in Agamemnon as Agamemnon steps on silk too lavish for a mortal.
The other group in the oral called attention to the fact that when Aeschylus was a teenager, the tyrant Pisistratid was overthrown and a democracy was established. This means that the issues of what was justice and how to administer it fell in the hands of the citizens and were issues which were much thought about. This issue is the central theme of ‘Agamemnon’ and the trilogy ‘Orestia’ as a whole- the discussion we had during the interactive oral established that. Also, this was the time in Greece when the people were striving to preserve their fledgling democracy and not let tyranny take root. This conflict between democracy and tyranny is expressed in Agamemnon where the chorus has the freedom of speech (as in a democracy) before Aegisthus’s entry threatens a rule of tyranny.
I learnt that Aeschylus stands out against contemporary society in his portrayal of Clytemnestra as an independent and masculine woman. In his time, woman did not have equal status as men and hence were not as independent and confidant as Clytemnestra. Aeschylus revered the God Zeus greatly and this is reflected in Agamemnon, the text of which is sprinkled with praises of Zeus. I can relate to the play because it contains universal emotions such as a mother’s love for a child and a woman’s love for another man. The references to sacrifice strike me as surprising since sacrificing is a part of my own culture too. This play reminds me that even though separated by time and place, all humans are essentially the same.
Question: How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the work developed through the interactive oral?
ReplyDeleteI have learnt a lot during the interactive oral held in class on the work “Agamemnon” by Aeschylus. This session helped me understand the picture of greek mythology and drama of that period of time. Now coming to the play Agamemnon, the King of Argos, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the commander of the Greek armies during the siege of Troy. Agamemnon is the older brother of Menelaus, whose wife Helen was stolen by a Trojan prince, thus igniting a decade-long war. A great warrior, he sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia in order to obtain a favorable wind to carry the Greek fleet to Troy. During the ten-year conflict, his Queen has plotted his death in order to avenge the killing of their daughter. He appears on stage only briefly, and behaves arrogantly. He goes to his death unaware of his fate. What suprises me that the king who was worshipped by many people can kill his own daughter. Another main feature of this book is Cytamenestra, who plays a strong and fiercefull women plotting against her own husband. She plans his murder with ruthless determination, and feels no guilt after his death; she is convinced of her own rectitude and of the justice of killing the man who killed her daughter. So finally I learnt the difference of play, charecters and plot differences of those times and now.