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guillevaldata's review against another edition
Una sorpresa, después de terminar este libro sentí esa necesidad de debatir la historia con alguien. Increíble que un libro tan viejo cause eso todavía en la actualidad.
puppym's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
karinlib's review against another edition
3.0
First time reading this play, and the first time I have read anything by Euripides. I am reading [b:Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures|41433634|Heroes Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures (Stephen Fry's Great Mythology, #2)|Fry Stephen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1536766389l/41433634._SY75_.jpg|64659226] by Stephen Fry right now, so I will be learning more about Jason and Medea's story.
yass6's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
finnisinthebin's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
hellojupiter's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
mrsmobarak's review against another edition
5.0
Medea (the play) gripped me—I expected I'd move through it slowly, but I read it within two sittings. As I dive more into plays, I'm surprised to find myself enjoying them rather than dreading them.
Medea is fierce. As dramatic as she is, I still found myself feeling smug with some of her words (not her actions):
"Hast thou lived all these years, and learned but now
That every man more loveth his own head
Than other men's?"
"Aye, not with glory but with peace
May the long summers find me crowned:
For gentleness—her very sound
Is magic, and her usages."
"Of all things upon earth that bleed and grow,
A herb most bruised is woman."
I can't imagine a messier break up than Jason and Medea's: after killing her own children to bring him grief, this conversation was had:
Jason: Thou too hast grief. Thy pain is fierce as mine.
Medea: I love the pain, so thou shalt laugh no more.
Yikes.
Medea is fierce. As dramatic as she is, I still found myself feeling smug with some of her words (not her actions):
"Hast thou lived all these years, and learned but now
That every man more loveth his own head
Than other men's?"
"Aye, not with glory but with peace
May the long summers find me crowned:
For gentleness—her very sound
Is magic, and her usages."
"Of all things upon earth that bleed and grow,
A herb most bruised is woman."
I can't imagine a messier break up than Jason and Medea's: after killing her own children to bring him grief, this conversation was had:
Jason: Thou too hast grief. Thy pain is fierce as mine.
Medea: I love the pain, so thou shalt laugh no more.
Yikes.
goosemixtapes's review against another edition
5.0
original review [nov 2020]: hard for me to describe how badass this play is without just gesturing at the last scene and the goddamn DRAGON CHARIOT on which this woman rides out of corinth with her childrens' corpses. after 1) dragging jason to hell and back 2) experiencing the full spectrum of human emotion in 80 pages and 3) committing FOUR MURDERS. you know that post that's like "macbeth did nothing wrong." that's me but about medea. "it was kind of over the line to kill her & jason's children -" no it wasn't
second review [september 2022]: god, this play is so fucking good. the fact that a text written thousands of years ago can make me pace around my dorm room because the anger of the main character is leaping off the page and lighting me up... anyway y'all are getting my notes because i'm insane about medea
- medea as self-fulfilling prophecy. creon says "i'm exiling you because i'm afraid you're going to kill my daughter" and being exiled is what makes medea go "okay, well, i've got nothing left to lose, i'm going to take jason down with me" [and kill creon's daughter]
- holy shit this play is about when women are angry. i mean it's about a lot of things but the degree of anger in medea's speech alone is insane like this play makes me need to pace in circles. it's also like. i'm not saying euripides is a #feminist but most of the driving characters here are women (medea, the chorus, the nurse who starts the play) and there's a whole choral song about how women get the shit end of the stick. i feel like the modern effort to girlbossify greek myth ignores the fact that ancient sources DO explore women and women's feelings, albeit if not in a way that lines up perfectly with modern feminism
- she's soooo fucking conscious of her own foreignness. she's a woman in exile in a strange city and now she's being exiled from THAT city and she's seen as a barbarian not a greek and she is so fucking aware of it. and she can't WIN!!! if she's angry then she's a barbarian beast and needs to be exiled for the safety of the city. if she's calm and controlled and well-spoken then she's clearly plotting something and needs to be exiled for the safety of the city. however she acts she's insane and a liability. what the fuck is she supposed to do
- she poisons jason's new wife (poison seen as a feminine death) but she kills her children with a sword (masculine, up close and personal and brutal). she's a woman which puts her at a disadvantage but she's not the same as the women around her because she's a foreigner. and she has a strong sense of dignity and a heroic code that usually only men in greek literature display
- many many thoughts about how at the end she appears on a godly chariot & my edition of the play talks about how in greek theater the platform above the stage was usually only occupied by godly characters. something something being between god and mortal (sorceress with godly ancestry but still a mortal woman with mortal family) and not belonging anywhere. something something something becoming a god in the end but only at the cost of your humanity (killing your children so no one else can kill them. because you love them so it's got to be you who does it)
- jason i'm going to fucking kill you i hate you so much it's unreal
translations read: whichever one i read online that one time, paul roche, rachel kitzinger
--> i prefer the roche translation; kitzinger deliberately kept an archaic feel to the words as well as sticking to literal translations (i think so this book can be used as a textbook), whereas roche’s text has more flow/rhyme/feeling as well as just more vivid/emotional word choice. ex. “i can unload some venom from my heart // and you can smart to hear it” versus “i’ll relieve myself by speaking // ill of you, and you will hear, and suffer.” both correct but i prefer the first for its force and aliveness
second review [september 2022]: god, this play is so fucking good. the fact that a text written thousands of years ago can make me pace around my dorm room because the anger of the main character is leaping off the page and lighting me up... anyway y'all are getting my notes because i'm insane about medea
- medea as self-fulfilling prophecy. creon says "i'm exiling you because i'm afraid you're going to kill my daughter" and being exiled is what makes medea go "okay, well, i've got nothing left to lose, i'm going to take jason down with me" [and kill creon's daughter]
- holy shit this play is about when women are angry. i mean it's about a lot of things but the degree of anger in medea's speech alone is insane like this play makes me need to pace in circles. it's also like. i'm not saying euripides is a #feminist but most of the driving characters here are women (medea, the chorus, the nurse who starts the play) and there's a whole choral song about how women get the shit end of the stick. i feel like the modern effort to girlbossify greek myth ignores the fact that ancient sources DO explore women and women's feelings, albeit if not in a way that lines up perfectly with modern feminism
- she's soooo fucking conscious of her own foreignness. she's a woman in exile in a strange city and now she's being exiled from THAT city and she's seen as a barbarian not a greek and she is so fucking aware of it. and she can't WIN!!! if she's angry then she's a barbarian beast and needs to be exiled for the safety of the city. if she's calm and controlled and well-spoken then she's clearly plotting something and needs to be exiled for the safety of the city. however she acts she's insane and a liability. what the fuck is she supposed to do
- she poisons jason's new wife (poison seen as a feminine death) but she kills her children with a sword (masculine, up close and personal and brutal). she's a woman which puts her at a disadvantage but she's not the same as the women around her because she's a foreigner. and she has a strong sense of dignity and a heroic code that usually only men in greek literature display
- many many thoughts about how at the end she appears on a godly chariot & my edition of the play talks about how in greek theater the platform above the stage was usually only occupied by godly characters. something something being between god and mortal (sorceress with godly ancestry but still a mortal woman with mortal family) and not belonging anywhere. something something something becoming a god in the end but only at the cost of your humanity (killing your children so no one else can kill them. because you love them so it's got to be you who does it)
- jason i'm going to fucking kill you i hate you so much it's unreal
translations read: whichever one i read online that one time, paul roche, rachel kitzinger
--> i prefer the roche translation; kitzinger deliberately kept an archaic feel to the words as well as sticking to literal translations (i think so this book can be used as a textbook), whereas roche’s text has more flow/rhyme/feeling as well as just more vivid/emotional word choice. ex. “i can unload some venom from my heart // and you can smart to hear it” versus “i’ll relieve myself by speaking // ill of you, and you will hear, and suffer.” both correct but i prefer the first for its force and aliveness