Euripides’s heroine Medea commits one of the most striking, controversial, and variously interpreted tragic actions the genre has produced. In our second essay, you will develop an argument about one of the Medea adaptations we will examine, using a theoretical text (Nietzsche, Loraux, or Zeitlin) to provide a framework for your argument.
Nietzsche’s remarks on tragedy have been immensely influential for studies of the genre. More recently, Froma Zeitlin and Nicole Loraux have posited new, challenging interpretations of the dynamics of tragedy attending to the philosophical and practical implications of the dramatic medium, Zeitlin with an analysis of what it means to be an “other” on the Athenian stage, and Loraux from the perspective of the “mourning voice.”
While wrestling with these thinkers in class, we have also been exposed to newer adaptations of Euripides’s basic plot: Lars von Trier’s film version of Medea, and Cherrie L. Moraga’s The Hungry Woman: A Mexican Medea.
Goals of the Essay:
SOME TIPS FOR DEVELOPING A FOCUSED ESSAY:
Remember, you aren't responsible for addressing EVERYTHING that is going on in your particular adaptation or theoretical work.
The most successful essays often carve out an interesting niche by examining one or two things closely rather than ranging broadly across a number of topics.
Here are some ways you might choose to focus your inquiry:
1. Choose a particular moment in the play
EXAMPLE: focus on the scene in which Medea murders her children in Euripides and at least one of the adaptations, drawing theoretical support from Nietzsche, Zeitlin, or Loraux
2. Choose a particular character in the play (sometimes looking at a minor character turns out to be especially
interesting)
EXAMPLE: write an essay analyzing the different ways in which Euripides and von Trier depict the figure of Creon, drawing on one of the theoretical readings for support.
3. Choose an interesting line from one of the theoretical readings (Nietzsche, Loraux, Zeitlin) as your starting point.
Using Euripides and your adaptation of choice, develop an argument that challenges, expands, or explicates the idea.
EXAMPLE: Zeitlin's claim that in Greek tragedy, "functionally women are never an end in themselves, and nothing changes for them once they have lived out their drama on stage. Rather, they play the roles of catalysts, agents, instruments, blockers, spoilers, destroyers, and sometimes helpers or saviors for the male characters (346).
4. Choose a line that interests you from Euripides' Medea or one of the adaptations, and develop an argument that explores that idea in Euripides or one of the adaptations.
EXAMPLE: "I am the last one to make this journey. My tragedy will be an example to all women like me. Vain women who only know how to be the beloved....I, my kind, am a dying breed of female. I am the last one to make this crossing, the border has closed behind me. There will be no more room for transgressions" (The Hungry Woman, 46).
5. Choose a theme, motif, or formal feature that interests you, and trace it through Euripides and one adaptation using the theoretical texts to help nuance your ideas (or using the adaptations to help add nuance to the theoretical texts).
EXAMPLE: look at the recurring presence of animals in Lars von Trier's Medea in light of Zeitlin's idea of the Body, Nietzsche's idea of the tension between Apollonian and Dionysian, or Loraux's idea of the display of the corpse.
6. Choose one particularly interesting passage or scene to analyze from the point of view of one of the theoretical texts.
EXAMPLE: In von Trier's film, analyze the scene of Jason and Glauce's night in the tent before Medea's exile from the point of view of Theatrical space or the Body; or analyze the scene of Medea gathering berries in the water from the point of view Plot or Mimesis.
7. Re-visit Aristotle's terms as a way of bringing adaptation and theoretical texts together.
EXAMPLE: Compare Aristotle's view of spectacle as a kind of second-rate distraction with Loraux's
view of the display of the corpse as a meaningful part of tragedy's emotional work. Then explore
Euripides and one adaptation to see what kind of attitude these works take to spectacle.
8. "Flip this Theory." What happens if you reverse a theorist's ideas, or experiment in other ways with their thesis?
EXAMPLE: Loraux writes about "the mourning voice" and the way that lamentation works in Greek tragedy. You might look for evidence of other important kinds of voices in the plays. Zeitlin writes about the organization of theatrical space along gendered lines (ie. masculine outside/feminine inside). What else do you notice about how theatrical space is organized in Euripides or in your adaptation? (ie. along lines of class, along thematic lines, by character, into more than two domains?)
9. Choose a keyword (either from the theorists or the plays) to build your essay around.
EXAMPLE: Zeitlin's discussion of desis and lusis (binding and unbinding). Look for places in Euripides or your adaptations where you can see this process at work.
Remember, the traffic between the adaptations and the theoretical texts goes in two directions.
You can use the theoretical texts to analyze the adaptations, or you can use the adaptations to help challenge, expand, or complicate the ideas presented in the theoretical texts. Ideally your topic will allow you to do a bit of both.
Nietzsche’s remarks on tragedy have been immensely influential for studies of the genre. More recently, Froma Zeitlin and Nicole Loraux have posited new, challenging interpretations of the dynamics of tragedy attending to the philosophical and practical implications of the dramatic medium, Zeitlin with an analysis of what it means to be an “other” on the Athenian stage, and Loraux from the perspective of the “mourning voice.”
While wrestling with these thinkers in class, we have also been exposed to newer adaptations of Euripides’s basic plot: Lars von Trier’s film version of Medea, and Cherrie L. Moraga’s The Hungry Woman: A Mexican Medea.
Goals of the Essay:
- Develop an interesting, arguable, motivated thesis about Medea in adaptation using the claims of the theoretical sources as tools for analysis. The theories should provide you with the terms & conceptual framework, but your argument should be based on your analysis of the adaptation. What do you think the adaptation has to say? And what would would the theorists (Nietzsche, Loraux, or Zeitlin) say about the adapation?
- Provide persuasive and detailed analysis of specific scenes or moments in the adaptation in order to support your claims about the play or film’s meaning, taking into account the ways in which the images & text are presented, as well as what is being recorded. How do von Trier, Moraga alter the meanings of Euripides in their new contexts?
- Represent the theorist’s ideas accurately and precisely through clear, specific interpretive summary and definition of key terms. As with any evidence that you present in your writing, do not assume that your readers will understand what you’re getting at when you cite a passage from Nietzsche, Loraux, etc. Be sure that you comment on the quoted evidence and let readers know what they should be getting out of it.
- Create strong transitions between paragraphs and strong connections among ideas. Be sure that the function of each paragraph and its relation to the main argument is clear.
SOME TIPS FOR DEVELOPING A FOCUSED ESSAY:
Remember, you aren't responsible for addressing EVERYTHING that is going on in your particular adaptation or theoretical work.
The most successful essays often carve out an interesting niche by examining one or two things closely rather than ranging broadly across a number of topics.
Here are some ways you might choose to focus your inquiry:
1. Choose a particular moment in the play
EXAMPLE: focus on the scene in which Medea murders her children in Euripides and at least one of the adaptations, drawing theoretical support from Nietzsche, Zeitlin, or Loraux
2. Choose a particular character in the play (sometimes looking at a minor character turns out to be especially
interesting)
EXAMPLE: write an essay analyzing the different ways in which Euripides and von Trier depict the figure of Creon, drawing on one of the theoretical readings for support.
3. Choose an interesting line from one of the theoretical readings (Nietzsche, Loraux, Zeitlin) as your starting point.
Using Euripides and your adaptation of choice, develop an argument that challenges, expands, or explicates the idea.
EXAMPLE: Zeitlin's claim that in Greek tragedy, "functionally women are never an end in themselves, and nothing changes for them once they have lived out their drama on stage. Rather, they play the roles of catalysts, agents, instruments, blockers, spoilers, destroyers, and sometimes helpers or saviors for the male characters (346).
4. Choose a line that interests you from Euripides' Medea or one of the adaptations, and develop an argument that explores that idea in Euripides or one of the adaptations.
EXAMPLE: "I am the last one to make this journey. My tragedy will be an example to all women like me. Vain women who only know how to be the beloved....I, my kind, am a dying breed of female. I am the last one to make this crossing, the border has closed behind me. There will be no more room for transgressions" (The Hungry Woman, 46).
5. Choose a theme, motif, or formal feature that interests you, and trace it through Euripides and one adaptation using the theoretical texts to help nuance your ideas (or using the adaptations to help add nuance to the theoretical texts).
EXAMPLE: look at the recurring presence of animals in Lars von Trier's Medea in light of Zeitlin's idea of the Body, Nietzsche's idea of the tension between Apollonian and Dionysian, or Loraux's idea of the display of the corpse.
6. Choose one particularly interesting passage or scene to analyze from the point of view of one of the theoretical texts.
EXAMPLE: In von Trier's film, analyze the scene of Jason and Glauce's night in the tent before Medea's exile from the point of view of Theatrical space or the Body; or analyze the scene of Medea gathering berries in the water from the point of view Plot or Mimesis.
7. Re-visit Aristotle's terms as a way of bringing adaptation and theoretical texts together.
EXAMPLE: Compare Aristotle's view of spectacle as a kind of second-rate distraction with Loraux's
view of the display of the corpse as a meaningful part of tragedy's emotional work. Then explore
Euripides and one adaptation to see what kind of attitude these works take to spectacle.
8. "Flip this Theory." What happens if you reverse a theorist's ideas, or experiment in other ways with their thesis?
EXAMPLE: Loraux writes about "the mourning voice" and the way that lamentation works in Greek tragedy. You might look for evidence of other important kinds of voices in the plays. Zeitlin writes about the organization of theatrical space along gendered lines (ie. masculine outside/feminine inside). What else do you notice about how theatrical space is organized in Euripides or in your adaptation? (ie. along lines of class, along thematic lines, by character, into more than two domains?)
9. Choose a keyword (either from the theorists or the plays) to build your essay around.
EXAMPLE: Zeitlin's discussion of desis and lusis (binding and unbinding). Look for places in Euripides or your adaptations where you can see this process at work.
Remember, the traffic between the adaptations and the theoretical texts goes in two directions.
You can use the theoretical texts to analyze the adaptations, or you can use the adaptations to help challenge, expand, or complicate the ideas presented in the theoretical texts. Ideally your topic will allow you to do a bit of both.
Your assignment: Write an essay of 5-7 pages tracing one significant theme from Shakespeare’s original play in an adaptation of your choice. For instance, you might write about how the theme of marriage is re-worked in Hamlet 2, or how the theme of friendship is shown in a new light in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. What do you think the creator of your adaptation is trying to say about this theme?
Some of the themes you might consider include (but are not limited to) the following:
Revenge Madness Marriage Misogyny
Theatricality Acting Fate & Free Will Friendship
Fathers Mothers Religion Mourning
You may choose an adaptation of Hamlet in any genre. Some examples include:
Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (play or film)
Andrew Fleming, director, Hamlet 2
Walt Disney Feature Animation, The Lion King
Laurence Olivier, director/star, Hamlet
Franco Zeffirelli, director, Hamlet (starring Mel Gibson)
Kenneth Branagh, director/star, Hamlet
Michael Almereyda, director, Hamlet (starring Ethan Hawke)
The BBC/ Royal Shakespeare Company Production (starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart)
Some of the themes you might consider include (but are not limited to) the following:
Revenge Madness Marriage Misogyny
Theatricality Acting Fate & Free Will Friendship
Fathers Mothers Religion Mourning
You may choose an adaptation of Hamlet in any genre. Some examples include:
Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (play or film)
Andrew Fleming, director, Hamlet 2
Walt Disney Feature Animation, The Lion King
Laurence Olivier, director/star, Hamlet
Franco Zeffirelli, director, Hamlet (starring Mel Gibson)
Kenneth Branagh, director/star, Hamlet
Michael Almereyda, director, Hamlet (starring Ethan Hawke)
The BBC/ Royal Shakespeare Company Production (starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart)
