Medea, an ancient Greek tragedy was written by Euripides during the classical era. This play focuses on Medea and how she plots the revenge against her unfaithful husband. Jason has left Medea and their children to go marry the princess of Corinth, Glauce. This was Medea’s motivation to kill Glauce and her own children. Similarly, in Hamlet, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare during the post classical era is about Hamlet and his revenge for his father on Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, that took his father’s life, throne, and wife. Hamlet was motivated to take revenge after seeing the ghost which was his father in Act I Scene V. In both plays, the theme of revenge is present and is represented through the main characters. Medea and Hamlet are both characters who seek revenge on those who betray them to prove their control over their lives and to preserve their honor, which leads to death and suffering. In addition, both characters went mad in order to fulfil their plotted revenge. Also, while Medea successfully took revenge against her husband and lived, Hamlet received the ultimate price of death after his revenge. In Medea, Medea finds out that Jason is leaving her for someone better than her to gain power. She is an emotional wreck due to Jason’s betrayal because she has sacrificed so much for him. She even went out of her way and killed her own father and brother for the love between her and Jason. Now that Jason is abandoning Medea for another woman when she has abandoned her family, country, and home for him, Medea is fierce. Medea seeked revenge on her husband whom she loved so much by killing his new bride, Glauce and her children she had with Jason. Medea states in lines 1238- 1247, “I must kill the children quickly and be gone. They must die, in any case, and as they must it is I, who gave them life, must kill them. Let there be no weakness now, no tender memories of their birth, of them as babies…”.(pg. 66) Medea’s children were the product of her and Jason’s love which symbolized the marriage they once had, so Medea killing her sons represented their marriage coming to an end. Killing her children will also hurt Jason which was Medea’s ultimate goal and revenge for hurting her. Similarly, in
Dearest friends, family and the people of Denmark. We gather here today to mourn the loss of the noble prince, loyal son and true friend, Prince Hamlet. But we are not here only to mourn, but to reminisce the times we have spent with him, both the good and the bad and to remember him as the person he was. Prince Hamlet did not live a very fortunate, on the contrary his final weeks were filled with a tragedy none of us should have to bear, but he lived his life to the full and I am sure that he has, in some way touched the lives of all of us here today.
First, we will look at the motive in this case. What could have possible motivated Medea to murder her children? Medea has been scorned by her husband, Jason, who left her for another woman (Puchner 529). You see, Creon has arranged for Jason to marry his daughter (Puchner 529). Jason, believing this would be the best decision he could make for his children, accepted Creon’s offer (Puchner 543). Medea could be heard wailing and crying out in rage from this betrayal (Puchner 532). So, Medea decides to break her husband’s heart, as he had broken hers, by killing their sons (Puchner 548). She could have easily left, after being exiled by Creon, and started a new life for herself and her children (Puchner 535). In a time where Medea could have
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Laertes and Hamlet both lose a father by unnatural and sudden death. The unnatural death of the father is brought on by someone close to the son. When Laertes discovers that his father is dead, he is outraged. When Hamlet learns from the ghost of his father’s murder, he weeps, and promises action, though he delivers none. Both Laertes and Hamlet grieve deeply for their fathers, but Laertes acts upon this grief while Hamlet carefully plots his revenge and waits for the perfect moment to avenge King Hamlet. Laertes’ unplanned action causes his death by his own sword, while Hamlet’s apparent inaction finally gets him the revenge that Laertes has attempted. Though Laertes’ grief at his father’s death causes his
William Shakespeare once said that “brevity is the soul of wit.” This is heavily evident in regards to Hamlet and all of his short, witty comments throughout the play. In Act I Scene II Hamlet 's wit comes out in full force during a discussion with his mother, Gertrude, and his uncle/stepfather, Claudius, with Hamlet’s very first words in the play:
In Medea, Medea is aggravated with the news of Jason’s wedding. Medea states, “Oh, may I see Jason and his bride Ground to pieces in their shattered palace” (22). Medea feels that after everything she had done to be with the one she loved, she had been paid the favor back unfairly. Soon after, Medea begins to think only cruel thoughts about Jason and his bride. However, those thoughts then soon lead to the lives of her children, which may or may not have impact on her reasoning and sanity. Feeling desperate and in need of a plan, Medea conjures a plan to kill the bride of Jason, as well
But because Medea's desire for revenge on Jason is bigger than her mother’s love for her children, she kills them anyway. While revenge can bring peace, it can also bring pain to someone else. Unfortunately in this case, it was to her children. Even though what Jason did had nothing to do with them, this thought of vengeance is used to provide Medea with
We can learn from Medea’s actions that she reacted in a way that shows she has lost her mind. As stated earlier, her love turned hatred for Jason, clouded her personal morals. Killing her own kids, even though it saddened her, was overshadowed by seeing Jason suffer. While Jason can be considered the bad guy in the play, Medea can also be considered so. He left her and his children for his own selfishness but Medea murdered a total of four people, including her own kids.
"Her whole character is that of simple unselfish affection" (Bradley). In comparing the characters in the play Hamlet, Ophelia’s purity and delicate beauty make her comparable to a flower. Ophelia signifies the nature and righteousness of the Elizabethan Era, with her willow trees and flowers visible, and epitome of a goddess. Throughout most of the play, Shakespeare uses Ophelia to enable other characters in reaching their goals. Elizabethan society created impossible expectations for women, considered to be the weaker sex, exploited, and in need of protection. With no exception to this expectation, Ophelia is mistreated, scorned and ultimately shamed by the men in her life. Ophelia is the most innocent victim of Hamlet’s revenge in Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”.
1. How much time has passed between Act I and Act II. How do you know?
Medea was a troubled soul once Jason left her for a younger princess. When the nurse says “Rulers are fierce in their temperament; somehow, they will not be governed;”, it rings very true of Medea (Puchner 531). Someone so accustomed to getting her way will by no means let anyone, including her beloved Jason, treat her with any disrespect. She not only felt dejected by Jason, but she felt she could do nothing to change her circumstance but take out deadly vengeance against those that committed such a hiatus act towards her. With all things considered, Medea felt Jason took everything from her when he left. Jason became her everything. When she
In the classical stories of Hamlet and Medea the act of revenge causes a chain effect of emotional, ethical, and psychological state of mind of the characters.
The themes of Appearance vs. Reality are very prominent in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Throught the story many characters act in a deceitful manner in an attempt to seem like an innocent pawn in the game of life, when in reality they are the most corrupt characters in the play. Polonius an excellent example of appearance vs. reality. Throught the story Polonius seems to be a loyal servant to the kingdom, serving the previous and current king as a personal adviser. To the average citizen in the kingdom Polonius seems to be just as loyal of an adviser to King Claudius, but Hamlet exposes Polonius to be a deceitful man, who by supporting the new king has betrayed his
One loses many opportunities every time they hesitate to act. Whether it be unintentional or not, it all depends on the subject in question. In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark, the character Hamlet shows qualities that are evident in his soliloquies. Since the beginning, Hamlet is unable to control his emotions towards Gertrude and Ophelia. He tends to overthink, generating doubt around life and death. Though impossible and inconvenient at times, Hamlet strives for an idealistic approach, such as justification for killing Claudius. Hamlet’s complex personality and unpredictable nature delay the commitment he makes to avenge his father.
In the tragedy Medea, Jason is faced with realization of the death of his twin sons who were killed by their, mother, Medea; he falls into agony as he laments, inspiring a katharsis in the reader. Jason cheated on Medea, assuming that it was okay with her, saying, “…I/ Grew tired of your bed and felt the need for a new bride” (18). Jason desired a bride of title so that his current children and future children could be brought up “worthily” (26). He betrayed his family and Medea’s love for another woman, causing Medea began to seek revenge. She decides to do two acts: kill her husband’s fiancée and kill her own sons. “…I shall kill my own children. /My children, there is none who can give them safety,” Medea expresses, as she plots her plan (26). Jason is unaware of this act that his wife is ready to commit. No longer does he have a fiancée, but now he has lost his heirs to the kingdom. The tragic act occurring among family members, happens in Medea, which was highlighted in Poetics. The death of Medea and Jason’s sons leads to Jason’s
Often, pieces of literature have been analyzed and made into a motion picture in the hopes of further developing the themes presented in the work. Though the Shakespearian play, Hamlet, has been interpreted and converted into a film numerous times by different directors, Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation particularly captured the essence of Hamlet and helped the audience truly understand the events that transpired in Act Three Scene Two of Hamlet. It is in this act, Hamlet plan to reveal King Claudius’ treachery is played out. Hamlet exposes the king through adding an extra sixteen lines to the play which depicts him killing Hamlet’s father. With the directions Hamlet gave to the actors, Hamlet is able to make the audience recognize the king’s