In Wasps, Aristophanes tried to educate the audience about the corruption within the justice system. Throughout the play, Aristophanes continuously says that the justice system is a farce. To emphasise how corrupt the justice system truly is, he uses a multitude of humour devices in his play Wasps to get this message across. Such as, Neologism. As mentioned earlier, Aristophanes hated Cleon and everything that he stood for, so it was only fitting for him to name two of his main characters after him. One is named Philocleon, which means a lover of Cleon, while the other, his son, is named Bdelycleon, which means a hater of Cleon. Throughout, the play, Philocleon is called many names. However, one of the names that sticks is “trialophile.” A …show more content…
In fact, he develops a God complex and compares his power, to that of Zeus. The King of the Gods. In the Agon, Philocleon and Bdelycleon are arguing with one another about Philocleon’s addiction. Philocleon tries to convince his son that being on the jury is the most prestigious honour anyone could have and the power that comes with it, is on a parallel with Zeus himself. “As to power, am I not equal to the king of the gods?” Aristophanes is trying to show the audience how power can corrupt a person. Resulting in that person fulfilling their own desires, and negatively affecting everyone around them. Philocleon is so corrupted from the power of being a jury member, that we see his corruption becoming an addiction when he tries to escape his house multiple times, in order for him to attend any trial as a jury member. He tries escaping through his chimney, but is thwarted by his son’s guards when they spot him. He even tries to escape by wrapping his body around the abdomen of a donkey with his head under its tail, meaning that his face is resting in a very unfavourable …show more content…
As mentioned earlier, Blackadder is on trial for shooting a carrier pigeon in this episode. His sentence was court martial then death by firing squad. The judge which gives him this sentence, is against Blackadder from the start. The jury also decides that Blackadder is guilty before the trial even begins. This is similar to the play Wasps, as characters like Philocleon make their decision for the trial beforehand, meaning the actual trial is just a waste of time. During the trial of the carrier pigeon, the judge, General Melchett, also happens to be the owner of the carrier pigeon that Blackadder kills, calls Blackadder a ‘pigeon murderer.’ The humour device used here is known as a hyperbole. The trial depicts how corrupt the court system is, as it emphasises how biased the court system really was during that time. In the play Wasps, Philocleon is infatuated with giving the people on trial a guilty verdict, this is similar to Blackadder Goes Forth, as people like General Melchett were able to be the judge, even though their opinion is biased from the
Many great rulers have been tempted by the authority of absolute power. In Antigone, by Sophocles, Creon, the Theban king, will do anything in order to earn this absolute power. Creon’s prideful attitude, disregard of the authority of the gods, and failure to listen cause him to fail as a statesman, demonstrating the nature of kingship in Sophocles’s Antigone.
Throughout Aristophanes’ “Clouds” there is a constant battle between old and new. It makes itself apparent in the Just and Unjust speech as well as between father and son. Ultimately, Pheidippides, whom would be considered ‘new’, triumphs over the old Strepsiades, his father. This is analogous to the Just and Unjust speech. In this debate, Just speech represents the old traditions and mores of Greece while the contrasting Unjust speech is considered to be newfangled and cynical towards the old. While the defeat of Just speech by Unjust speech does not render Pheidippides the ability to overcome Strepsiades, it is a parallel that may be compared with many other instances in Mythology and real life.
How do we define reason as just? When asked this question, it really makes you begin to wonder how to depict what one might think is just. In the story of Medea, reason is what drives many of the characters actions. For example, the reason that Jason leaves Medea for Creon's daughter is for his own benefit. Is that just? Medea then kills Creon and his daughter for revenge against Jason. Is that just?.
The name “Oedipus” means “swollen feet” in Latinized Greek. His parents, Laius and Jocasta, gave him this name while piercing a metal rod through the ankles of his feet, in order to prevent the fulfilment of the oracle’s prophecy. Despite this heinous act, their efforts were in vain as Oedipus’ free will conquered the theme of fate. In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, the tragic hero, Oedipus, demonstrates hamartia, a fatal error in judgement, which brings about his own downfall. It was Oedipus’ hubris that was responsible for the tragic ending of this play. Evidence of this statement occurs when Oedipus’ determination towards solving the mystery behind Laius’ death ironically lead to the truth behind the oracle’s prophecies. Additionally, Oedipus’ overweening pride and ego resulted in the murder of Laius, which was a major stepping-stone in the prophecy. He illustrates his error in judgment through his pride, blindness, and foolishness and therefore is at fault.
Aristophanes’ Clouds begins by introducing the audience to Strepsiades, a simple-minded and old man who finds himself in debt due to his son’s ,Pheidippides, expensive hobby. Strepsiades asks Pheidippides to attend Socrates’ thinkery; a place where Pheidippides could learn a speech that he could then use to talk the city and Strepsiades’ creditors out of collecting the debt. From the very initial moment of this play, therefore, we witness an individual who finds himself in direct collision with the laws of the polity. Specifically, Strepsiades’ is in collision with those features of civil law that seek to ensure that interactions between citizens are characterized by a somewhat
Justice in Oedipus the King & nbsp; After reading Oedipus the King, one may think that in this story, there was no justice, and nobody could avoid their fate. King Laius and Queen Jocasta. fearing the prophecy of the Delphic oracle, had the young Oedipus left on Mount. Cithaeron dies, but the father dies and the son marries the mother anyway. Oedipus, seemingly a good person, also tries to avoid the second prophecy, only to be resurrected. to fulfill the first. But even through all this, I have done some research and feel that there was justice in Oedipus, The King, and their fate wasn't.
Firstly, throughout the play Judge Danforth acts with pride and arrogance. At the commencement of act III Judge Danforth voices his view on the ongoing phase of the witchcraft trials by stating that “Do you take it upon yourself to determine what this court shall believe and what it shall set aside?” (Miller 85). Here Danforth establishes an ultimatum to Giles Corey when he comes to defend his wife Martha Corey from the accusation of being a witch. Danforth sarcastically questions Giles Corey whether he has the authority to make any decision on the ongoing matter and thereby silences him. He makes it clear that no one else can determine what and how the court should act. In addition, the tone with which he delivers this dialogue is filled with arrogance as displayed by the movie “The crucible”. Overall, the picture profile of Judge Danforth created while saying these lines reveals his pride and haughtiness. Another instance where Judge Danforth reveals this attitude of his is when he snubs Francis Nurse for questioning his judgment and wisdom during the trials. In return Danforth replies “ And do you know that near four hundred are in jail... upon my signature”(Miller 87) and “ seventy-two condemned to hang by that signature?” (Miller 87). These lines show that Judge Danforth is proud of his actions and his power as a judg...
Oedipus Rex, also known as Oedipus the King, is one of the most ironic plays ever written. Sophocles, the author, is a famous philosopher of the ancient times. The Play is about Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother. An oracle warned Laius, the king of Thebes prior to Oedipus, that his son would slay him. Accordingly, when his wife, Jocasta, bore a son, he exposed the baby on Mt. Cithaeron, first pinning his ankles together (hence the name Oedipus, meaning Swell-Foot). A shepherd took pity on the infant, who was adopted by King Polybus of Corinth and his wife and was brought up as their son. In early manhood Oedipus visited Delphi and upon learning that he was fated to kill his father and marry his mother, he resolved never to return to Corinth. Travelling toward Thebes, he encountered Laius, who provoked a quarrel in which Oedipus killed him.
The two plays, "Antigone" and "Julius Caesar" both contained two very similar characters. In Antigone the nobleman, Creon, claimed the thrown after his nephews, heirs to Thebes killed each other in battle. Assuming that the populous was going to find him inadequate he laid a strict rule in order to keep the people under his control. Creon wanted Thebes to prosper and grow and was willing to do anything to achieve this. Through a chain of events Creon killed his entire family.
Brad Moore, a famous athlete once said, “Pride would be a lot easier to swallow if it didn’t taste so bad.” In Sophocles’ well known Greek tragedy, Antigone, the main character undergoes immense character development. Antigone transforms from being stubborn and underestimated to courageous and open-minded. In reality, it is Antigone’s insular persistence that leads to her ultimate decline in the play as well as others around her. After the death of her two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices, Creon becomes the new ruler of Thebes. With this, he grants Eteocles an honorable funeral service for his brave fighting. Claiming that Polynices was a traitor, he shows complete refusal to grant Polynices a respectable and worthy service. Clearly disagreeing with Creon’s inexcusable demands, Antigone declares she will bury Polynices herself so that his soul can be at peace. Entirely aware of the consequences and dangers of this action, which include death, she goes forward vowing her love for her family. Antigone shows strength and determination towards her brother. However, her growing sense of pride leads to her downfall as she sacrifices everything for her family. Antigone develops into an admirable character in which she portrays her defiance and courage, pride and open mindedness, and sense of moral righteousness to show vital character growth as the play progresses.
In his published lecture concerning Aristophanes' plays, Cedric H. Whitman discusses what he considers as the general template of all of Aristophanes' main characters: the comic hero. Whitman defines a comic hero as possessing great individualism, a good deal of poneros, meaning wickedness, and striking a balance of eiron and alazon, which translates into being a mixture of an ironical buffoon, who makes fun of himself for his own amusement, and an imposter, who disguises his true identity or feelings. He sees the comic hero as one who is extremely self-motivated and self-centered: "whatever is heroic is individualistic, and tends toward excess, or at least extremes. It asserts its self primarily . . ." Whitman also declares that poneros is necessary in the character of the comic hero, that this person is villainous, manipulative, and very convincing. The comic hero is shameless in expressing his desires, and he has no shame in pursuing them by any means necessary, whether such acts would be considered right or wrong. Whitman also recognizes the mixture of eiron--ironical buffoonery--and alazon--being an imposter--in the comic hero of Aristophanes' plays. "The mere buffoon, says Aristotle, makes fun for the sake of getting a laugh for others; the ironical man makes fun for his own amusement, which is more worthy of a free man.
Are you lonely? Do you have two servants who like alcohol? Are you wicked? Well, if you answered ‘yes’ to all of these questions you have most likely experienced an event that lead to your utter defeat and capture due to your awful, and wretched wicked character! If you answered ‘no’ to any of these questions, or have no correlation to William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, you should be in good condition in a matter that your wickedness, much like the character Don John from Much Ado About Nothing, does not get you captured and trialed for sabotaging a young man’s wedding.
In the play Antigone by Sophocles,one could easily be lead to believe Antigone is the the tragic hero when in fact a strong case can be made that Creon, the king of Thebes, is actually the tragic hero. In believing that Creon is the tragic hero it would seem practical to call the play Creon rather than Antigone. On the other hand, naming the play Antigone gives the play a twist that leads the audience into a dynamically tragic journey through the lives of a prestigious royal family and it gives birth to thoughts of politics, religious beliefs, social roles and moral obligations.
Justice is the driving force for the Athenian empire and the people of Melos. It acts as the catalyst for the actions of both parties in the dialogue produced by Thucydides. However, the Athenians and the Melians have radically different views regarding the idea of justice and its intended role. The envoys sent from Athens have a plain view of justice. To them, the strong conquer, and the meek effectively roll over and accept their fate. These people view this as a simple fact of life. In response, the Melian council thinks of justice as a force that rewards the faithful and hopeful. Both parties feel that they encapsulate the notion of justice, and the direct result of these opposing ideas leads to a debate between the envoy and council. This debate shows how neither view of justice is particularly favored over the other. Rather, it is the difference in power that manages to give the edge to the Athenians.
Thrasymachus’s theory the justice is the advantage of the stronger is more practical than Socrates and Polemarchus’s positions that helping the good and harming no one is. My justification for Tharasymachu’s theory being more practical is based on the notion that people in power tend to want to stay in power, and people who are not in power want to become more powerful by a substantial amount. With that being said, Tharasymachu’s position works because the people in power tended to pass laws and policies reflecting that said desire of keeping themselves in power. Tharasymachu’s position isn’t necessarily moral in my opinion, but there is strong evidence to support that the notion of justice of one generation has been seen as injustice by the