Analysis Of The Extract From 'Close Reading Medea'

Name: Juliette Bon

Instructor’s name: Erin Hurley

Course: ENGL 230

Date: 15th September 2015

Close Reading Medea

This passage is extracted from the play’s epilogue, during which we are introduced to Medea’s anguish and despair facing the betrayal of her husband, Jason. Medea is a foreign princess and sorceress who committed unthinkable crimes to save and follow Jason, having fallen in love with him. Preceding this passage, the Nurse, who is the servant responsible of Medea’s children and will serve to help provide context and explain Medea's temperament throughout the play, laments the incredible chain of events that turned Medea’s world to enmity. In this extract, we can hear Medea wailing from inside the house while the Nurse is on-stage,

The extract begins with Medea’s screaming outburst “Aaaah!” (l.117) which outlines her despair through physical sound, which has a great dramatic effect on-stage. She is singing while wailing, and this is emphasized by the use of long vowels, which elongate her words and, hence, highlight her agony. She also uses enjambment which signals a sense of urgency. Her pain is further emphasized in her first sentence in which she relates to “pain” and repeats the word “suffered”, twice: “The pain that I’ve suffered, I’ve suffered so much” (118). These words echo the deep wound she now bores due to her husband, Jason’s, betrayal. In fact, she underlines her despondency through the use of hyperbolical imagery as she insists that her pain is “worth oceans of weeping” (l.118). The use of sea imagery is recurrent during the play, and this phrase does not only underline the extent of her despair, but also the cause of it; her displacement by the sea. Indeed, as the Nurse narrates earlier in the play, Medea made a large sacrifice, using her magic to help Jason secure the Fleece and performing the grossest deeds in order to win his heart, abandoning her father and homeland to return to Iolcus by crossing the Mediterranean sea. We can see here that Medea is of extreme emotion and that Jason’s betrayal has transformed her past passion and love for him into extreme rage and unrestrained

Indeed, she attributes Medea’s violent behavior to her queen-like mentality, which will never compromise its own will or allow others to triumph over them. This permanent need to command and have their own way leads their tempers to deviate uncontrollably. The accumulation of “they” draws attention to their flaws through the use of enumeration to list the characteristics of the rulers: “they’re harsh” (l.127), “they’re stubborn” (l.127), “they will not be governed” (l.125). She deplores the dangers of the tendencies of the wealthy and powerful and preaches the virtues of a “middle way”. She explains that it is better to live “as an equal with equals” (l.128), that is, a simple life devoid of power is safer and more sensible and requests that she be allowed to “grow old in simple security” (l.129). The use of alliteration here emphasizes her desire for safety and a humble life devoid of drama. Moreover, she lauds the value of “moderation” (l.131): the avoidance of excess or extremes, which is contrary to the desire to achieve individual greatness and highlights a human’s need for humility. She asserts that even the sheer physical sound of the word is reassurance enough: “even the word (…) sounds good when you say it” (l.130). This highlights the prominence of moderation in both its oratory and physical sense: “in word and in deed” (l.132). Furthermore, “m” alliteration permeates this part of the extract: “mortals’ (l.131),