In Euripides' tragedy, Medea, is plot more important than character?

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In Euripides’ tragedy, Medea, is plot more important than character?

Euripides’ Medea is based on the already existing and popular myth of Jason and the Argonoughts and this makes plot very important. As it has a mythical background there is an element of what, to a modern audience, would seem to be magical realism, but to an ancient Greek audience would be believed as possible, for example Medea having divine blood and her grandfather, the Sun God being the deus ex machina taking her away on his chariot. This could also be seen as a weakness in the plot as she is just taken away and it ends.

The plot of Medea follows the Greek tragedy structure and so this controls the plot. It starts with the prologue, the opening scene that tells the audience of the background to the story, and then there is the parados, which is the entrance of the chorus. This is followed by the episodes, which each end with a staismon (choral ode) – in Medea there are six episodes. It then ends with the exidos, in which all of the players make a ceremonial exit.

In Medea the purpose of many characters is to serve the plot, these characters do not have very large roles – they are the stock characters. There is the Nurse with whom the play starts. With her monologue to the audience, she introduces the story and sets the scene. She announces that Jason has left Medea to be with the daughter of Creon. She also tells us of how Medea met Jason, fell in love with him and betrayed her father and country for him. She fears for their children’s safety and describes Medea as a “wild bull” (line 83). This could be a sign of Medea’s character to come

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The Tutor also appears in the first episode and reports to the Nurse that he has overheard the King’s wish to banish Medea and her sons from Corinth. He is told by the Nurse to keep the boys away from Medea in her present mood. This could be another insight into Medea’s character and this also suggests that they already know or fear of her murderous intentions.

There is the Messenger who brings us details of the violent action that does not happen on the stage, the obscene. This is not played out on stage as it would ...

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