Welcome to the Orestian world !
Useful video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7sdZQ1BDs0
Some documents to read:
www.temple.edu/classics/oresteia.html
www.gradesaver.com/agamemnon/study-guide/about/
Task 2: Write a 250 word commentary on the opening scene, analysing for literary features as well as it functions as a scene of exposition.Post it here.
Hint: Is there already a sense of foreboding that hubris are in force?
Due by Sunday 13 May. Don't even think of plagiarising.
but ma'am, since there are no opening scenes as such, till which page do we consider the opening scene to be?
ReplyDeleteThe words of the Watchman
DeleteThe first scene in Agamemnon has 3 moods. The scene begins with a mood of anxiety followed by a mood of relief and happiness. It ends with a foreboding mood.
ReplyDeleteThe mood of anxiety is created by a combination of weariness and anticipation. The first indication of the weariness is the phrase “long weary watch.” The repetition in the phrase “night after night” and the use of once more in the phrase “now once more, drenched with dew” creates a sense of monotony. This further highlights the weariness. The anticipation is highlighted in line 14. The personification of fear in this line highlights the watchman’s unwillingness to sleep lest he should miss the beacon. This suggests that despite his weariness, he is still hopeful of the beacon shining. Thus there is a mood of anxiety that is created.
The personification of the beacon, in lines 21 to 23, highlights its importance and relevance for the people of Ilion. The use of “welcome” suggests that this beacon has been much awaited and hence its arrival creates a sense of relief. Phrases like “triumphal dance” and “shout of victory” create a strong imagery of happiness. The excessive use of exclamation further highlights this mood.
Lines 35 to 39 have a mysterious tone because of the concealing tactic of the watchman. The lines “my tongue’s nailed down” and “my door is shut,” suggests that the watchman knows a grave secret but cannot reveal it. The reference to walls of the house hints that there has been something going on in the palace of Atreus. Thus the scene ends with a foreboding mood.
The exposition in this scene occurs at 2 levels. At the first level it is informational. The audience gets introduced to the main characters and gets to know that Troy has been taken over. The second level of exposition hints at the probably course the play will take. The reference to the Agamemnon as rightful lord in line 18 and the foreboding mood of the lines 35 to 39 are responsible for this.
Great analysis Grusha.Do you think something of the setting can be added? What about the Aristotelian unities?
DeleteThe opening scene is delivered by the watchman. He says ‘To speak from Troy and utter one word, ‘Victory!’ which tells us that he may be talking about the Trojan war. ‘I weep, to think how changed this house is now From the Splendor of old days’ indicates that the war has had a profound effect on life at the palace and that the palace now stands in contrast to the grand stage it was at earlier. ‘You will set them dancing in every street at Argos’ hints that the victory has been eagerly awaited by the people of the kingdom and it has not been a victory which was well expected. It also hints that perhaps the victory took a lot of time and work to arrive at.
ReplyDelete‘For the rest, I say no more; My tongue is nailed down..would tell its story plainly’ changes the tone of the narration. Till this point, the narration has been quite straightforward, but there is now a tone of mystery. The Watchman’s dialogue indicates that something ominous/ potentially troublesome has happened in the palace in the absence of Agamemnon. This creates a mood of foreboding/ suspicion. ‘To the rest-my door is shut’ increases our curiosity as to what exactly the Watchman is talking about and leaves us wanting to know more. Thus the exposition carries out 3 functions efficiently- it communicates the background, gives a sense of what turn the events are going to take next and makes the audience curious so that their interest is held strongly in the rest of the play. It also establishes a base for the drama to now build on. For instance, ‘Great news for Clytemnestra in whose woman’s heart…hope’ is the first seed of hubris that we find in the drama. Clytemnestra has a strong determination which established her character as being slightly tilted towards the masculine. Hubris is arrogance and here I feel Aeschylus might be pointing towards Clytemnestra’s arrogance to think that she can somehow be equated to a man by possessing manly qualities. This quote does not state the hubris, it merely gives an indication that this may be a point which offers scope for hubris later on in the play.
The diction of the Watchman is eloquent and his dialogues progress smoothly. For example, he says ‘grant me release’- this is more eloquent than ‘release me’. He uses similies (dog-like I lie here), metaphors (one light I long to see is a new star) and personifications (The queen must rise at once like Dawn). These enrich the language he speaks and complement the content of the exposition by adding effects which are likely to make it easier for the reader to comprehend the content since he can now link the feelings/images that the effects create with the content.
Well done Sanika! What do you think of the Watchman as a minor character? Is he a catalyst like the Chorus?
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ReplyDeleteThe opening scene of Agamemnon, although seemingly trivial, is very important. The watchman, who represents an ordinary citizen, yearns for the return of his King. His tone expresses the restlessness and anxiety in the heart of every citizen of Argos. The phrases, "long, weary watch" and "drenched in dew" reflect the exhaustion and anticipation felt by Argos citizens. The opening scene introduces one of the play's main characters - Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Clytemnestra's character is referenced to as unequal to that of a man's in the words "...in whose woman's heart, a man's will nurses hope", she in fact expresses a masculine confidence atypical to that of the shy demeanor expected of a woman. The numerous references to the 'Gods' and 'Heaven', as well as the statues of Zeus, Apollo, and Hermes signifies the importance of religion and culture during Agamemnon's reign. The Gods obviously played a crucial role in the lives of citizens, and were feared and honored by many. The Gods play a cardinal role in punishing those who exhibit man's fatal flaw - hubris, or pride.
The literary devices of the opening scene enrich the play greatly. The personification of the beacon-flare "to speak from Troy and utter one word, 'Victory!'" signifies great hope. The line, "And send this fire to cheer this dark night with good news" brings to mind the conflict between good and evil, and the visual image of a light that rids the overwhelming darkness and despair. The use of exclamation marks represents the watchman's excitement and joy at having captured Troy.
The last few lines of the watchman's speech sparks curiosity in the reader/viewer. He says, "For the rest, I say no more; my tongue's nailed down", which indicates that the castle holds dark secrets that will not be voiced. This is the first evidence of hubris - it will not go unnoticed by the Gods. It is obvious that the watchman is not willing to share any more with the audience. Yet, these few lines are ominous, and hint at the plot the play will be built upon. This lends to a sense of foreboding that hubris is in force.
The language used is eloquent in its form. I found the personification of 'Dawn' and the comparison of music to "a cure prescribed for heartsickness" most interesting! As I read through the opening scene, the well-versed lines inspired images and colors in my mind, which I believe is exactly what Aeschylus desired.
Great analysis Arthi....did you notice the use of onomatopoeia in the words you quoted?:)
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ReplyDeleteThe strength of the minor characters in Agamemnon distinguishes this play from a number of Aeschylus' other works. The Watchman, whose speech opens the play, is particularly important. His complaints that he has spent so much time in this perch that he knows the night sky by heart. He is waiting for a beacon that will signal the fall of Troy, which has been besieged for ten years by a Greek army led by Agamemnon, the king of Argos,makes him a realistic, multifaceted, human character. The repetition of words such as "night after night" and "now once more,drenched with dew" creates a mood and tone of restlessness and sleeplessness, to tired vigilance, and establishes the mood in Argos. It is one of grieving and longing. Indeed, the Watchman is even weary of the rotations of the stars. His combination of anticipation and foreboding, meanwhile, establishes the mood of the play; the King's return is an occasion for celebration, and yet a sense of fear looms over Argos, a prediction of terrible events waiting to happen.The play's initial tone is melancholy, reflective, and somewhat ponderous. The description of the beacon personifies that the victroy over Troy is much longed and the is now celebrated by the people of Argos . The phrases like "a shout of victory","a lucky throw" and "victorious dance" potrays a huge sense of visual imagery creating joyfulleness,happiness and celebration.
ReplyDeletePhrases of the watchman such as "my tongue`s nailed down","my door is shut" (lines:34-38) highlightes the mood of mystery changing the exposition.These lines tell us that the watchman knows something supicious and is not willing to reveal it creating a mood of foreboding.The starting phrases or words such as "victory",suggests the awaiting joy of the people of Argos waiting for the victory over Troy.Gradually the tone shifts from eagerness,joy to a sense of foreboding by the end of the watchman`s narration creating anxiety in audience to read and know more.
The use of metaphors such as (kindling night to glorious day),personification of Clytemnestra`s character equal to masculinity,etc,suggests that the tone and structure of language is used in a way that the audience will be held on curiosly till the end of the play.
From Vedya: by email courier to DM:)
ReplyDeleteThe opening scene describes a watchman on the walls of the Aterus’ palace.In the start of the watchman’s words, he expresses that he is going through some kind of a torture,he uses similies such as ‘dog-like’ for himself which hints that he has been on watch for a long time which has resulted in lonliness and boredom.He also gives a brief description of stars in a very majestic way by calling them ‘resplendent rulers’ and compliments them by saying ‘studding the sky with beauty’.by mentioning that the stars bring in heat and cold in turn,I think that the heat expresses the illumination by the stars and the cold shows an element of fear from the stars.And also mentioning that he knows them all indicates that he has been on guard for a long period of time.there is also a sense of anxtiousness in the words of the watchman when he describes the beacon-flare.he uses personification to describe the element of fear on whether the beacon will ever arrive at all by calling it ‘sleep’s enemy’.when he sees the,he indirectly talks to it and expressed the amount of happiness it will bring when it arrives, showing it a lot of importance.he insists on telling Clytemenestra about the beacon and describes it by using similies such as’the queen must rise like dawn from her bed’.when he mentions that he will be the first to start the triumphant dance,he could be saying that he will be happier than the wholw lot or,since he is the palace guard he will be one of the first news bearer.
Good effort...this is almost like an answer--try to explore the mood and tone of the atmosphere.
DeleteThe opening scenes of Agamemnon seems to be not important but it actually holds a lot of significance, the opening of the play is done by the watchman, who has been guarding the palace for a year and the watchman is anxious and wants this battle to be over, he also refers to the gods quite a lot of time throughout his dialogue's and gives us a sense that he might also be a part of the chorus as it was their role to open the play or he most likely must be a minor character. He is also weary of the wait, and he is lonely because he had to be on the rooftop all alone, he compares himself dog, which according to me might also be his way to tell the audience that he is honest, reliable, and loyal to his king. The dialogues even show that he is longing for his king to return maybe to set things right which had been going on in his absence. The author in one line tells us that the beacon will light from Troy and utter the word “victory” which gives me a feeling of personification, and the watchman welcoming the beacon also gives me a feeling that the beacon is much-awaited and gives a sense of relief to the people of Ilion. The last few lines of the watchman’s dialogue sets in a very mysterious mood, it seems as if the watchman knows what has been going on in the palace but to those who don’t, he won’t be telling them, this even shows me a sense of loyalty of the watchman how he doesn’t want the people to know about it and let the kings reign not be faltered. He even introduces the main character of the book Clytemnestra who has been given a very masculine like personality rather than the shy personality the women had at that time. The numerous references to the gods also shows me that how religious the people of Greece were at that time and how much the gods moods and actions mattered to them.
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ReplyDeleteAeschylus' Agamemnon begins with the scene of the Watchman. This scene can be seen as an exposition in which the purpose is to provide the preceding story. Aeschylus carries this effect out through two things: assigning the name "Watchman" to the character and adding information to his speech. The fact that the character's name is a "Watchman" suggests that he is looking out for something. The purpose of the Watchman is revealed when he says the following line, "the beacon-flare to speak from Troy and utter one word, 'Victory!'" Then, in line 34, "Now Heaven bring Agamemnon safe to his home", the plot becomes clearer; the Watchman is waiting for the beacon-flare which is the predetermined sign for victory in Troy where his King, Agamemnon, and the soldiers are fighting. It is quite interesting how Aeschylus shows that the Watchman’s comments are not only of his own but of the people of Argos too. In line 16, the Watchman describes his condition as “heartsickenss.” “Heart” has a connotative meaning of ‘hope.’ “Sickness” comes when something is not taken care of. So, it can be said that this word, when broken down, convey the meaning ‘tired of waiting’; in this case, the waiting is for the news of Victory from Troy. The sense of exhaustion and longing becomes more effective by compounding the two words, “heart” and “sickness," as compounding the words make them sound more compact and heavier than they do separately. Considering the fact that the Watchman is one of the common people it is not difficult that this “sickness”, is something in general to all the citizens of Argos. Watchman shares the same feelings and opinion with the common people and this is proved by comparing his reaction to the beacon-flare and his expectation from the other people. The Watchman becomes very thrilled and excited after he sees the beacon-flare; this is suggested by the repetition of exclamation marks in the speech he gives after the witnessing the light. In his speech he also predicts the reaction of the people of Argos: “You’ll set them dancing in every street of Argos when they hear your message.” The joy that is conveyed in both of the reactions shows that the people are sick and tired of waiting for some news to arrive. And this in turn suggests that the war takes place for a long time.
ReplyDeleteAnother duty of an exposition is to unfold the plot. Three different interpretations of this duty is carried out by the Watchman in Aeschylus’ Agamemnon. First, the Watchman ignites the plot. The background story is told and more importantly, a sense of foreboding is passed on. This comes out when the Watch man seizes his joyful mood and speaks out a terse statement. Here, aphorism is used: “For the rest, I say no more.” It is further suggested that something unspeakable is happening in Atreus’ palace, for the Watchman states, “This house itself, if walls had words, would tell its story plainly.” This statement, secondly, becomes the key to the understanding of the overall mood of the dialogue between Clytamnestra and the chorus, and later, for the apprehension of the entire plot of Agamemnon. Here, the Watchman’s comment is reinforced as that of the people of Argos because it is suggested that others know the secret too: “I speak to those who understand me.”
The opening scene of the agamemnon starts with the watchman’s words. I think the opening scene gives us a insight of what is actually happening. The watchman has been waiting for many years to give the news. We see in the starting of the play that the watchman, atop the roof of the palace in the Greek city of Argos, complains that he has spent so much time in this perch that he knows the night sky by heart. Which means that he has been waitng for a really long time almost 10 years. He is waiting for a beacon that will signal the fall of Troy, which has been besieged for ten years by a Greek army led by Agamemnon, the king of Argos. Agamemnon's wife, Clytemnestra, governs Argos in her husband's absence, and, while the Watchman says that she has "male strength of heart," the absence of the king makes him fearful. "I sing," he declares, "only to weep again the pity of this house no longer, as once, administered in the grand way" .
ReplyDeleteThen we see that the beacon flares, signaling Troy's fall, and the Watchman leaps up and cries out with joy at the news, and rushes inside to tell the Queen. The anxiousness in the watchmans face shows us how eager the city is to know the news. There fore i can conclude by saying the opening scene in agamemnon is filled with anxiousness, exhausted with waiting, suspence and weary.
Exposition is genesis of the play where the audience gets glimpse of back ground history. Two identities that take audience through this process are watchman and the chorus. Watchman’s dramatic monologue is very emotional. It has a number of exclamation marks. A lot of things are personified in his speech. He compares stars with “resplendent rulers, bringing heat and cold in turn”, as if they have a power over the earth and mankind. Beacon flare, is also said “to speak from Troy and utter one word, ‘victory!’”, it is compared to a human being with a voice that can shout out aloud. When the watchman actually sees the beacon fire, he says “O welcome beacon” as if greeting a guest into the house. Fear, that cannot be seen but only felt is personified as someone who “stands guard” and “forbid my eyes one instant’s closing”.
ReplyDeleteSimile is used to compare queen with sun at dawn- “The Queen must rise at once like dawn”. Here the queen is compared to a sun, the nature force that has power to influence the earth. From the comparison one can get a glimpse that Clytemnestra is in utmost power. Also it marks general happiness from the watchman’s side, that the dark, cold days are over and there will be bright days with hope and warmth. The watchman’s speech reflects the general hope of Argive people.
Chorus, that consists the elders of the Argos, speaks in very calm voice. It gives contradiction with watchman’s enthusiasm that was filled with short sentences and exclamation marks. The elders give general account of what had happened from long back, indirectly. They compare Menelaus and Agamemnon with “eagles”, kings of all the birds. They are unreachable, and live just below the sky, clearly showing that they are just below the gods. Watchman also refers the king as “rightful lord”. It poses danger that these eagles might overtake the position of gods and anger gods (hubris).
The exposition of the play gives account of what had happened before. It sets the back ground, introduces protagonists and forebodes possible calamity.
After reading the first few sections of Agamemnon, it seems that the of the opening scene of ‘Agamemnon is very important part of the play. The war has waged on for 10 years, and the citizens of Argos are restless and full of yearning for their King.(fall of Troy and awaiting for king`s return) The watchman seems to represent the ‘ordinary citizen’. In his narration, the tone of his voice as well as the repetition of words related to restlessness and sleeplessness seems to reflect the mood in Argos.(phrases such as “Victory!”) When the blaze(beacon flare) is spotted by the watchman, there is high excitement. However, that excitement soon is overtaken by anxiety. This anxiety can be seen in the Chorus’s dialogue. It seems that the sacrifice made by Iphigenia has become an open wound for everyone in Argos and it seems to be ruining the celebration. The Chorus also mentions the queen as a lady with ‘male strength of heart.’(CLYTEMNESTRA). She seems to have fitted well in the king`s position however the Chorus discusses the idea as to whether it is not ‘unnatural’ for a woman to act in the traditional capacity of a man. I believe that Clytemnestra was not always like so ‘manly.’ I have a feeling that her personality changed drastically when Agamemnon killed her daughter. Her ‘unfeelingness’, I believe, will play an important part in the murder of Agamemnon. It scares me how in the beginning of the play, she talks about how good of a wife she has been, as well as being faithful. Her smile is a scary mask behind what real terrors she is truly plotting. In her speech with the Chorus, we can see that she is undoubtedly a strong and wilful character however Clytemnestra seems somehow too eager to deny her ‘womanliness.’ I find this rather strange. It scares me to think of how much hatred it takes for a woman to change her personality completely and to pull on a mask for 10 years, plotting and waiting for the day of the return of her husband. If she lived in our world today, she would probably need some serious counselling.Theres a sense of foreboding in the watchman`s speech where he uses phrases such as "My tongue`s nailed down.","if walls has words".This suggests that the watchman knowas a grave secret which he is not ready to reveal to the audinece which will persaude us to read it curiously.
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