Agamemnon analysis. A Summary and Analysis of Aeschylus’ Agamemnon 2022-12-15

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Agamemnon is a tragic play written by the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus. It is the first play in a trilogy known as the Oresteia, which explores the themes of justice, revenge, and the cycle of violence.

In the play, Agamemnon is the king of Argos and the leader of the Greek forces in the Trojan War. He has just returned home after a ten-year absence, during which time he has been fighting in the war and has been away from his wife, Clytemnestra.

Upon his return, Clytemnestra greets him with open arms and a warm welcome, but it quickly becomes clear that she has been plotting against him. She has been having an affair with another man, Aegisthus, and together they have planned to kill Agamemnon in revenge for his own actions during the war.

One of the most notable things about Agamemnon is the character of Clytemnestra. In ancient Greek plays, female characters were often portrayed as scheming and manipulative, and Clytemnestra is no exception. However, Aeschylus gives her a depth and complexity that is unusual for a female character in an ancient Greek play.

While Clytemnestra's actions are driven by her desire for revenge, she is also motivated by a sense of justice. Agamemnon has sacrificed their daughter, Iphigenia, as an offering to the gods in order to gain favorable winds for the Trojan War, and Clytemnestra sees his actions as an unforgivable betrayal. In her mind, killing Agamemnon is not just an act of revenge, but also a way of seeking justice for their daughter's death.

Another key theme in Agamemnon is the idea of the cycle of violence. Throughout the play, characters are driven by their desire for revenge, and this leads to a cycle of violence that ultimately destroys the family. Agamemnon's murder sets off a chain of events that will eventually lead to the deaths of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus, and the eventual rise of Agamemnon's son, Orestes, to seek revenge for his father's death.

In conclusion, Agamemnon is a complex and thought-provoking play that explores themes of justice, revenge, and the cycle of violence. Aeschylus's portrayal of Clytemnestra as a complex and multifaceted character adds depth and nuance to the play, and the themes of the play continue to resonate with audiences today.

A Summary and Analysis of Aeschylus’ Agamemnon

agamemnon analysis

He does not realize that authority demands responsibility and that his personal wishes must be secondary to the needs of the community. Agamemnon marks a shift towards this new way of writing a more vital kind of drama. When Agamemnon was originally performed in 458 BCE, it was performed along with the other two plays, Proteus would have been performed, but the text of Proteus has been lost. In a review by Thurman Stanback, he observes Agamemnon along with other Greek plays. As a whole, The Oresteia charts the shift in Greek society from personal revenge to a criminal justice system. They do their best to resemble this great story.

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Agamemnon: Metaphor Analysis

agamemnon analysis

During periods of depression and discouragement, he makes wrong decisions, and he is sometimes unfair. Agamemnon : analysis One of the most prominent themes in Agamemnon is revenge. The trilogy focuses on a chain of revenges that occur in the House of Atreus. Oates and Eugene O'Neill, Jr. Both men are great men, but both are quick to anger, and both are conscious of the roles that they must play within the heroic code.


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Agamemnon by Aeschylus

agamemnon analysis

In Agamemnon, events are limited to the castle and centered on the time of Agamemnon's return from Troy. Denouement Clytemnestra kills Agamemnon; Aegisthus reveals himself. Aegisthus reveals that the plot to kill Agamemnon was his idea: he devised it as revenge for the death of his father, Thyestes, who was tricked into eating two of his sons by his brother Atreus. She says Aegisthus is beside her and that they slew Cassandra, Agamemnon's concubine. A great ox stands on my tongue. Agamemnon begins with the triumphant King Agamemnon's return home to Argos after the Trojan War. The Chorus often expresses the idea that ultimately the gods have total control over the fates of the mortals who populate the story.

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Agamemnon Analysis

agamemnon analysis

Clytemnestra's murder of her husband only furthers the bloodshed in the subsequent plays of The Oresteia and solves nothing. Pierre-Narcisse Guerin: Clytemnestra The subsequent plays, The Libation Bearers and The Eumenides, chart the return of Orestes, Agamemnon's son, to Argos. And the altars and the seats of the god are vanished, and the seed is perishing from all that land. Oates and Eugene O'Neill, Jr. How is this going to play out when he comes back home and faces his wife, Clytemnestra? Lesson Summary Agamemnon is only one part of the Greek tragedy, The Oresteia.


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Agamemnon Study Guide

agamemnon analysis

Cassandra also predicts that she and Agamemnon will soon be murdered, and hints that Clytemnestra will do it. Though not nearly as strong, he has a similarly hot temper and prideful streak. This conclusion is actually more like a cliffhanger. Certainly, the Oresteia as a whole has been interpreted as the journey from barbarism to civilisation. I speak with heart devoid of fear to those with wit to understand, and you can praise me or condemn me as you like, it's all the same to me.


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Agamemnon Lines 1

agamemnon analysis

His two sons also became playwrights and poets. The main idea of Agamemnon is vengeance versus justice. What was once hymns eventually became the play's Chorus, which was used to relay information happening off stage or in the past, as well as to foreshadow prophesies and predictions of future happenings. From wooden and metal masks to ancient but simple garbs and props, every reader or producer depicts and organizes the play according to their own perception and genres that he or she adheres to. The Chorus wonders if she has become maddened by some type of potion and says she'll be exiled.

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Agamemnon Plot Analysis

agamemnon analysis

This is seen in Agamemnon's reluctance to walk across the robes that Clytemnestra has lain on the floor in honor of his victory, lest he be struck down by the gods for lacking humility. They were many re-enactments of the play during the Greco-Roman times, Romanticism Era, as well as the Renaissance era. Clytemnestra enters and the Chorus asks why fires of sacrifice are being lit around the palace. Climax Clytemnestra welcomes Agamemnon home. Agamemnon is weak; he vacillates. The play's mood carries a heavy sense of impending doom. Although he is a well-respected leader, he does not have strong resolve and can be convinced to act against his better judgment.

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Agamemnon Themes

agamemnon analysis

Then his mood changes abruptly as he wishes Agamemnon a safe return, and once again he expresses a vague sense of some mysterious and sinister activities that have occurred in the palace, but he refuses to elaborate on what these may be. The play boasts many tragic characters, including Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, and Cassandra, as well as the all-important Chorus. Such is the yoke that he has cast about the neck of Troy, the senior chief born of Atreus, a man dear to the gods, he that is come, worthiest of honor among men now living! Clytemnestra dresses lavishly and disrespects her subjects with profanity and swearing. As the reader carefully studies Agamemnon's character, some growth in understanding can be seen in him particularly in Book IX when he sends the embassy to Achilles. She is proud that she killed Agamemnon. He is aware of the importance of family order if all of society is to remain cohesive.

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Aeschylus' "Agamemnon" Plot Summary

agamemnon analysis

Nestor advises Agamemnon against taking Briseis from Achilles, but Agamemnon doesn't listen, thereby setting up a chain of events that results in the deaths of hundreds of Achaian soldiers. . But, as Clytemnestra enters, they express hope that the coming events will be good ones. She tells of how Apollo gave her the gift of prophecy but then cursed her. The play begins with a Watchman, who is stationed on the roof of the palace of Atreus in the Greek city of Argos. Patrick Rourke The Watchman wore rags and seedy clothing to demonstrate is a humble state.

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Agamemnon Character Analysis in Agamemnon

agamemnon analysis

The gowns worn by the women varied from simple apparel to flowing majestic robes. A great majority of action in tragedies happened off stage, including the murders, of which, in Agamemnon, only the after-effects are seen. He never allows the Achaeans to forget his kingly status. In doing so, however, he invokes the wrath of his wife, Clytemnestra, who plots to kill him on his return. A writer and book artist, she currently works as a content writer with an arts and culture focus. We cannot sleep, and drop by drop at the heart the pain of pain remembered comes again and we resist, but ripeness comes as well.

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