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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
benrogerswpg's review against another edition
3.0
Medea's Witness Protection
This was an okay book.
I found it a bit slow for its size.
It was still pretty interesting, but not the classic I had hoped for particularly.
3.0/5
This was an okay book.
I found it a bit slow for its size.
It was still pretty interesting, but not the classic I had hoped for particularly.
3.0/5
havefa1th's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Infidelity
proffy's review against another edition
3.0
Dionysus is alternately the most awesome god ever, the most ridiculous, and the most dangerous. He seems to be the god of excess, of drunken orgies and animal instincts; but along with the sexier versions of excess comes violence and rage and emotion without logic. It is to Dionysus which can be credited the reality of ecstatic frenzy (think arms in the air, speaking in tongues type religion, but with lots and lots of alcohol). When Dionysus begins his evil plan to reveal himself to Thebes, he seduces/possesses the women of the town who run off into the woods with him. This pisses Pentheus off since those women are his relatives, including his mother. Understandable really, I mean who wants their mom taking off with some playboy into the woods for irresponsible sex and drinking?
Pentheus determines to get the women back and drive Dionysus, who he refuses to believe is a god, from Thebes. But come on folks, as we all know, you don't mess with a god - and you certainly don't deny him his existence in the first place. Mucho badness befalls Pentheus and his family.
The central theme of The Bacchae is arguable. Certainly the convergence of religious tradition and rationality is at work in the text, represented by Dionysus and Pentheus; however, to say that the play favors one over the other seems questionable. While Dionysus "wins" in the play, both characters are presented as equally undesirable. Dionysus is manipulative and conniving and Pentheus stubborn and delusional. Personally, I believe the play supports the immovability of mankind's belief more than it supports any religious doctrine. The truth of the existence of gods is secondary to people's belief in the existence.
Pentheus determines to get the women back and drive Dionysus, who he refuses to believe is a god, from Thebes. But come on folks, as we all know, you don't mess with a god - and you certainly don't deny him his existence in the first place. Mucho badness befalls Pentheus and his family.
The central theme of The Bacchae is arguable. Certainly the convergence of religious tradition and rationality is at work in the text, represented by Dionysus and Pentheus; however, to say that the play favors one over the other seems questionable. While Dionysus "wins" in the play, both characters are presented as equally undesirable. Dionysus is manipulative and conniving and Pentheus stubborn and delusional. Personally, I believe the play supports the immovability of mankind's belief more than it supports any religious doctrine. The truth of the existence of gods is secondary to people's belief in the existence.
clothbound_world's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Truly disturbing and intense. Still not sure how I feel about it. The choral odes are luminous tho.
drxxdpersephone's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
angelsubrinaa's review against another edition
3.0
i think this play was white good!! i guess the only thing i didn't like was the pacing. it was a bit iffy in my opinion as the beginning was rather slow and then the climax just popped out out of nowhere. dionysus is depicted in quite an interesting way. he's powerful and vengeful which contrasts with how ancient greeks would have viewed him as he is the greek god of wine and revelry and drama. pentheus isn't a likeable character - he's irrational, misogynistic, impetuous, xenophobic etc. although his beliefs are out of order, he is an inexperienced young king (i believe around 16/17?) who was forced into being a king and therefore had loads of responsibilities. i don't think dionysus should've gone to the extent of killing him the humiliation pentheus experienced should have been enough i think. dionysus definitely takes it too far when he starts killing others from his own family who did actually support him. i quite liked how all the characters were complex and it was really fun analysing this got classics!!
camilleee's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
notwellread's review against another edition
5.0
This should be the go-to tragedy for people who think Greek plays are boring.