Euripides/Medea
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Euripides
Nathaniel Wiafe
Euripides, an impressive ancient Greek tragic playwright; most skillful intends of playing writing. Consequentially he became a stage philosopher. Euripides was born on 485ca in salamis. He is characterized as a powerful influence in the living. He was the last of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles as his two rivals. Ancient scholars thought that Euripides had written seventy five (75) – ninety (90) plays, and nineteen of his plays survived. Euripides' plays have survived complete. There has been debate about his authorship of Rhesus, largely on stylistic grounds and ignoring classical evidence that the play was his. Fragments, some substantial, of most of the other plays also survive. More of his plays have survived than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles together, because of the unique nature of the Euripidean manuscript tradition.
Tragedy follow his foots steps in Greece and Rome, as both in spirit and themes. Euripides is recognized as a king of tragedy. He is known primarily for having reshaped the formal structure of Athenian tragedy by portraying strong female characters and intelligent slaves and by satirizing many heroes of Greek mythology. His plays seem modern by comparison with those of his contemporaries, focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown to Greek audiences. Euripides introduces this cleverness in the Medea. “. . . The children are dead. I say this to make you suffer.” (Euripides, 45) This quote ultimately demonstrates the emotional feelings and wants of Medea. Euripides is the first playwright to cast a woman on stage.
The works of Euripides have been more variously judged than those of the other two great masters. Euripides was well educated in universities, for instance attending the lectures of Anaxagoras, Prodicus and Protagoras. He lived a misanthropic life, being someone who...
Nathaniel Wiafe
Euripides, an impressive ancient Greek tragic playwright; most skillful intends of playing writing. Consequentially he became a stage philosopher. Euripides was born on 485ca in salamis. He is characterized as a powerful influence in the living. He was the last of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles as his two rivals. Ancient scholars thought that Euripides had written seventy five (75) – ninety (90) plays, and nineteen of his plays survived. Euripides' plays have survived complete. There has been debate about his authorship of Rhesus, largely on stylistic grounds and ignoring classical evidence that the play was his. Fragments, some substantial, of most of the other plays also survive. More of his plays have survived than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles together, because of the unique nature of the Euripidean manuscript tradition.
Tragedy follow his foots steps in Greece and Rome, as both in spirit and themes. Euripides is recognized as a king of tragedy. He is known primarily for having reshaped the formal structure of Athenian tragedy by portraying strong female characters and intelligent slaves and by satirizing many heroes of Greek mythology. His plays seem modern by comparison with those of his contemporaries, focusing on the inner lives and motives of his characters in a way previously unknown to Greek audiences. Euripides introduces this cleverness in the Medea. “. . . The children are dead. I say this to make you suffer.” (Euripides, 45) This quote ultimately demonstrates the emotional feelings and wants of Medea. Euripides is the first playwright to cast a woman on stage.
The works of Euripides have been more variously judged than those of the other two great masters. Euripides was well educated in universities, for instance attending the lectures of Anaxagoras, Prodicus and Protagoras. He lived a misanthropic life, being someone who...