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Title: The Oresteia Trilogy: Agamemnon, the Libation-Bearers and the Furies by Aeschylus, Aeschylus, Aeschylus Agamemnon, Aeschylus Libation-Bearers, Aeschylus Furies, E. D. A. Morshead ISBN: 0-486-29242-8 Publisher: Dover Publications Pub. Date: 01 September, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $2.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.78 (18 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times, gods and Murder
Comment: The Oresteia Trilogy, written by Aeschylus, consisted of three well written plays; Agamemnon, The Libation-Bearers, and The Furies. Even though Aeschylus lived in Athens from 525 until 456 B.C., he wrote the play to take place around 1250 B.C. Even though I struggled with the language, the characters had such strong feelings they made the play easier to understand. Aeschylus always gave his characters great emotional range, their feelings moved from one extreme to the other. For example, when Clytemnestra found out that Agamemnon had killed their daughter Iphigenia, she knew the only way to avenge him would be to kill him.
Orestes plan to avenge his mother was complicated. The god Apollo, as well as Electra, thought Clytemnestra deserved to die because she killed her husband. Apollo thought it might help
end the curse on the house of Atreus. Regardless, the Chorus thought Orestes' murder was much worse than the murder Clytemnestra committed. Orestes committed matricide, the murdering of one's mother. I liked this passage. I could relate what Orestes was going through, but on a different level. I know what it's like to be indifferent and have everybody expect you to do something, regardless of how you actually feel. Peer pressure is hard enough to deal with and worse if your beliefs aren't set in stone. Being confused and pressured made Orestes' character seem real to me.
I would definitely recommend The Oresteia Trilogy to anyone as a spectacular play to read. The way the characters' emotions were portrayed and toyed with made the play come to life. I thought Aeschylus did a great job of bringing all of his characters, especially Orestes, to life. The plot was really well developed and made the play much more captivating to read. Overall, this is one of the best plays I have read in an extremely long time. Aeschylus definitely deserved all of his awards for being a playwright.
Rating: 5
Summary: Shadow to Light
Comment: Matt Motycka
August 27, 2003
Critical Review
Mr. Hayden
FROM SHADOW TO LIGHT
"-Justice, hear my call!-"
~The Oresteia Trilogy: "The Furies"
Death, destruction, curses, vengeance, valor, and changes of heart: the Greek tragedy The Oresteia Trilogy by Aeschylus encompasses all these components. Aeschylus, also known as 'the father of Greek tragedy', composed 90 plays, of which only seven have survived through the past 2,500 years. During this time period (600-500 B.C.), the theatre underwent dramatic changes. For Aeschylus's part, he made the major modifications of changing the chorus from 50 people to 12 and adding a second actor to perform character roles. He also made other changes, such as incorporating poetic diction, adding more dialogue, and increasing the background detail and staging. The milieu (social or cultural setting) for The Oresteia Trilogy is where present-day Greece now stands in the time period that falls at the tail end of the Trojan War around 1200 B.C. The story unravels from that point, gripping the audience and keeping their interest peaked throughout the story till the unseen conclusion. As the story goes on, questions arise about retribution, true justice, and the very core of what is right and
Matt Motycka
Page 2
wrong in society. The Oresteia Trilogy by Aeschylus has all the makings of a story capable of entertaining and captivating any person competent enough to understand the intricacies of it.
The story starts with action, the last stage of a ten-year long war, later known as the Trojan War. One of the main characters, Agamemnon, was faced with a heart-breaking decision. He was forced to choose between keeping a vow to his brother Menolaus or sacrificing his daughter Iphigenia by the goddess Artemis. Artemis holds the armada in queue, which is on its way to battle the city of Troy to regain Helen, Menalaus' wife. Paris, a prince of Troy, had abducted her. The reader is in for a torrent of consequences that move the story along at a feverish pace. The first play also includes the backdrop of curses and veins of hatred that lead to the problems and issues the main characters face. The ending events of the play, "Agamemnon," filter into the next story, "The Libation-Bearers."
In the second play of the trilogy, Orestes, the son of Agamemnon, comes back to seek vengeance for the murder of his father. Orestes' mother, Clytemnestra, and her incestuous son, Aegisthus, currently reign of the region of Argos. Orestes changes that with an ingenious plan and the help of the Gods. Now however, with matricide hanging close to his heart, he must face the Furies, the avenging deities sent from hell.
The issues of vengeance and justice are closely intertwined and puzzled throughout the plays. Justice is thrown around throughout all three plays in his trilogy as a reason to murder. It keeps the reader analyzing and pondering the nature of justice and
Matt Motycka
Page 3
if justice can ever truly be fulfilled. It is the factor that keeps the reader's interest throughout the less-intriguing parts of the story. That question is not put out to pasture in this trilogy however, but is finally answered in the last play, "The Furies."
"The Furies," the final play of the trilogy is a battle between Apollo, the son of Zeus, and the Furies, who are hell-bent on fulfilling their obligation to torment Orestes to commit suicide. Orestes is chased throughout the eastern world until he makes his way to Athens. There, the gods and demons of hell face off in the last portion of the play. The final event will leave readers questioning the value of justice and morality in their lives.
The impact of this story still has meaning in today's world. The abstract and ever changing view of justice is still being molded in our society today. Great societies of the past have looked toward their ancestors for the meaning of justice and we need to do the same. When is justice fulfilled? When we stoop to the level of killing a killer, are we fulfilling true justice or merely acting out the only form of justness we can fathom? This play allows for some insight on this and many other factors that the leaders of our world still fight with today.
The Oresteia Trilogy is both entertaining and enlightening. Only through viewing the mistakes of the past can we ever hope to move toward a utopian society with an omniscient view of justice and a true way to right the world of all the wrongs. This goal, the goal of justice, is not only the central theme of the trilogy, but also the central theme of life, to live justly.
Rating: 2
Summary: A Scene Not Worth Seeing
Comment: The value of The Oresteia Trilogy, written by Aeschylus in the fifth century B.C., can be described as educational and informative. However, the entertainment value, by present day's standards, is extremely lacking. The lengthy speeches and lack of physical action are too restricting for today's drama. A performance of The Oresteia Trilogy, while well regarded in theater departments of universities, would not be well received by an audience looking for a night of entertainment. The tragedy set in ancient Greece in 1250 B.C. tells the background and story of Orestes, the son of a king. He vows to avenge his father's murder by his mother, Clytemnestra. The Oresteia Trilogy is missing the ability to provide the audience with entertainment and information at the same time, which is a key concept for an enjoyable experience.
In the Golden Age of Athens, the time and city of Aeschylus, drama and the idea of a pure democracy were two of many advances. In The Oresteia Trilogy as well as many of the other plays Aeschylus wrote, he introduced many innovations to go along with the progressing times. A reduced chorus, more dialogue, poetic diction, as well as elaborate staging and multiple actors are all a result of Aeschylus's influence. The idea of democracy is also introduced in the third play of the trilogy, "The Furies." A court is held with what is now known as a jury of peers, which now plays an important role in today's courtrooms. The importance of The Oresteia Trilogy in today's society is that it gave one of the first glimpses of justice working in the democratic court system.
In relation to many plays with tragic themes, it is fair to say Aeschylus's The Oresteia Trilogy is archaic, as far as relating to current society. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, also a tragedy, can be related to the modern-day teen, such as myself, easily. It involves the story of two young adults, in love, with the problem of their families being at conflict for many years. They struggle to stay together only to both resolve to suicide. However, many adolescents can relate to their own families disapproval of the person they date. Conversely, in The Oresteia Trilogy I found it difficult to relate to any one character. The story involves the sacrifice of a daughter, Iphigenia; the murder of a husband and king, Agamemnon; and the murder of a mother, Clytemnestra, by her son, Orestes. Throughout this whole plot, it was challenging to align with any single event or character in the story. The adultery present can be related to the contemporary culture as well as the trial of Orestes, but as a whole the play resulted in little connection with the youth in today's world.
The predictability of the story line was also a disappointing part of the reading process. After the first play, "Agamemnon," the second two plays, "The Libation-Bearers" and "The Furies," seemed to be unsurprising and expected. The audience is able to predict the murder of Clytemnestra and the role of Orestes. One unknowledgeable fact in the beginning is the fate of Orestes. However, after the first several pages of "The Furies" that, as well, can be foreseen.
Finally, while the entertainment value of Aeschylus's trilogy is not adequate, the educational worth is ample. After reading the plays, one has a better understanding of the time period surrounding 1250 B.C. These works resulted in a greater comprehension of the religious beliefs of the time, which include a polytheistic view with the gods working directly with the common people. Also, mentioned was the government, in the form of kings and queens, as well a brief glimpse of the Trojan War. Knowledge of the fifth century drama presentation using a chorus and less direct dialogue between characters was also achieved when reading The Oresteia Trilogy.
As times have changed, so has the overall worthiness of Aeschylus's The Oresteia Trilogy. It is worthwhile for the reader to both attain knowledge and experience entertainment. Other representations of a tragedy are available that reach this goal. The Oresteia Trilogy does not accomplish both these goals, and therefore, cause the audience to lessen their purpose in reading. While the educational purposes of reading this particular trilogy are present and effective, if the fundamental reason to read is entertainment, it is worthwhile to look at different tragic plays available. The plot and the author's ability to relate the characters to the reader are downfalls for the audience and could lead to a great disappointment.
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