Upon review of our class discussions, I discovered that in both the plays Oedipus and Medea, the chorus seems to change their minds regarding certain instances...a lot. I feel like the chorus simply sides with whoever's reasoning is in their best interests. For example, in Medea, the chorus supports Medea's revenge at some points, while at others they side with Jason and accuse Medea of her malicious actions. I realize that we said in class that the chorus was not comprise of "stupid" people, but simply plebeians. But wouldn't a chorus composed of your everyday "commoners" and "peasants" (Webster's Dictionary Online) actually be kind of stupid and wouldn't that then support the fact that the chorus supported whoever's argument would turn out in their best interests?
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- Who really is the tragic hero in Medea?
- The Chorus
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- The not so divine fate.
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- Free will v. Fate
- Humanism, Rationalism and Religion
- Oedipus the Idiot
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- Jocasta trying to save her own skin (but failing)
- The many ideas that we use today come from the Greeks
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2 comments:
The chorus is the common people. I mean, if you compare the chorus to today's society, are the common people much different? We side with whoever seems right at the time and we side in groups. But our opinions are swayed easily by whoever has the most persuasive arguments and present themselves the best. Medea is at first presented as a tragic woman, betrayed by her husband. So the chorus feels bad for her. Then she murders her children and she is disliked. To me, the chorus represents the general reaction to a situation. If they're considered stupid, it's because the common opinion on the matter is stupid.
Yeah that's what i was saying in class. They simply side with the character who emotionally appeals to them at the time. They felt bad for Medea because Jason cheated on her, and then when Medea threatened to kill her children, they sided with Jason. They represent the views of the very easily swayed audience, and as a result, their views sway very frequently as well. The chorus's views are always simple statements of the obvious in Medea, just emphasizing the events that occur in the play.
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