Agamemnon is a play by Aeschylus that was first published around 458 BC. Given that the original audience of the play was familiar with the story, the Chorus’s inability to understand the prophecy would have created an almost unbearable sense of dramatic irony at this point. Even so, we can sense a "curse" on the house much earlier in the text. Our, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in. In the end, having no other recourse, the fretting Chorus must agree with Clytaemestra. This act of revenge on Apollo’s part is another moment in the play where a woman is punished for defying society’s expectation for women. Agamemnon is a play by Aeschylus that was first published around 458 BC. Every day brought a new rumor of his death or injury: "Had Agamemnon taken all / the wounds the tale whereof was carried home to me, / he had been cut full of gashes like a fishing net" (866-68). All of a sudden, we hear Agamemnon from within the palace screaming that he is being attacked. She is remorseless; the Chorus is appalled at her brutality.

houses clear in their right are given children in all loveliness" (758-62).

Agamemnon gives thanks to the gods for their part in his victory at Troy, and tells the Chorus that he hears their words--that the most loyal man serves obediently even if he disagrees with the ruler.

Need help on characters in Aeschylus's Agamemnon? Further he cannot sleep for restless fear. The senescent Chorus enters and begins its recapitulation of the commencement of the Trojan war tens years previous: the call to action, the deploying of the one thousand ships, the loss of so many young Argive lives.

A Watchman, stationed on top of the palace, waits for a signal fire indicating that the ten-year Trojan War (between the Greeks and the Trojans) has come to an end. Agamemnon literature essays are academic essays for citation. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. In his own time Aeschylus gained a reputation for dynamic and ornate sets, as well as for stunning sound and visual effects. The first words of the play are spoken by the Watchman sitting on the roof of the palace of Agamemnon in Argos, Greece. The Chorus meditates on its uncured anxiety.

Agamemnon is the first play in The Oresteia, Aeschylus’ trilogy of tragedies which portray a set of revenges, each leading to the next in a vicious cycle, in the House of Atreus (the family and descendants of Atreus, Agamemnon ’s father). Agamemnon was proud and self-centered.

Cassandra cries out insanely to Apollo, who the Chorus notes is not a god of lamentation, and utters abstruse prophecies about infanticide, fatal baths, and a murderess in the house. Agamemnon. Clytemnestra enters and the Chorus asks why fires of sacrifice are being lit around the palace. resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. This is the key prophecy of the play. Clytaemestra announces victory at Troy. She greets Agamemnon in full grandiloquence, and the king is asked to step into his home on tapestries of crimson unfurled at his wife's command. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Compare Agamemnon, Hamlet and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. I can't even begin to fit a good answer in this space. “Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs.

Agamemnon Introduction.

The Herald exits after narrating the storm.

The tension between, tyranny and democracy, is introduced in Agamemnon and, again, is developed more in the next two plays. In the play, the terrible legacy that leads each successive generation to vengeful murder is not fully revealed until Aegisthus tells the story of how his father, Agamemnon's uncle, was fed his own boiled children. Apart from Clytemnestra’s personal revenge on Agamemnon, her plot will also be enacting the punishment of the gods upon the House of Atreus.

Here we should remember that Agamemnon is only the first of three plays and that, just as past crimes lead to murder in this play, the King's death will lead to more violence in the next two dramas. Copyright © 1999 - 2020 GradeSaver LLC. Plays were judged according to both high aesthetic criteria and the approval of the general audience.

GradeSaver, 12 August 2000 Web. Daring is recorded as the undesirable offspring of aged Pride. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class.”, LitCharts uses cookies to personalize our services. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Her behavior is suspicious. What is to come, the future, the action of the play, apparently lies in the hands of Clytaemestra. Next, Clytaemestra tries to justify her action as righteous, as ordained by the gods, retribution for the slaughter of her daughter. Teachers and parents! By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our. The Chorus, a group of elderly men too old to have fought in the war, come out and explain that the Trojan War began out of a feud between Paris, the Trojan prince, and Menelaus, the Greek king. Visit BN.com to buy new and used textbooks, and check out our award-winning NOOK tablets and eReaders.

We are made aware that "the secret anger" which "remembers the child that shall be avenged," refers to anger over the sacrifice by Agamemnon of his maiden daughter Iphigeneia. He is considered by historians of Greek tragedy to be a major innovator in these areas. Agamemnon Plot Summary. Section 1: From the first line to Clytaemestra's: "Of all good things to wish this is my dearest choice", Section 2: From the Chorus' line: "My lady, no grave man could speak with better / grace" to the exit of the Herald, Section 3: From the exit of the Herald to Clytaemestra's exit after speaking to Cassandra, Section 4: From Clytaemestra's exit after she speaks to Cassandra to the opening of the palace doors after Agamemnon's cries, Section Five: From the opening of the palace doors on the bodies of Agamemnon and Cassandra to the end of the play, Section 1: From the first line to Clytaemestra's: "Of all good things to wish this is my dearest choice" Summary and Analysis, The Thematic Purpose of the Powerless Underclass in Agamemnon, The Significance of the Parados of the Oresteia, Chorus Metamorphosis (The Chorus of the Oresteia).

During his life, Aeschylus is know to have made at least two visits to the court of the Sicilian tyrant Hieron. The conventions of the competition were such that dramatists were responsible for nearly every aspect of production and staging, from composition of the plays themselves to costumes and scenery. Essentially they are debating culpability; that is, whether Clytaemestra's actions were divinely caused, or whether what she did was motivated by a base, human desire for revenge.

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Sick at heart, they await the inevitable flow of blood. Agamemnon, as leader of the largest contingent, was made commander. At once the doors of the palace swing open and behold! Orestes is spoken of as the only hope for Argos.

They inquire about the bonfires, sacrifices, and oblations the queen has ordered to be executed throughout the city, to all the gods. In fact, Aeschylus probably acted in the first performances of the Oresteia. The Chorus details how Helen incited the fall of Troy. How is Agamemnon ultimately responsible for his own downfall? An inquiry is made by the Chorus to the Herald as to Menelaus' state and whereabouts. They enter the house. "Agamemnon Summary". Normally there would be a public lament for the fallen hero. The Question and Answer section for Agamemnon is a great

Continue your study of Agamemnon with these useful links. Lines 1-354. Wow that is quite an essay you have in store. In the immediate aftermath of the fall of Troy, the play opens at King Agamemnon's palace in Argos with the lonely Watchman's soliloquy. Agamemnon, as leader of the largest contingent, was made commander. Agamemnon Character Analysis | LitCharts. Here, Cassandra explicitly reveals how the dark history of the House of Atreus, alluded to throughout the play by the Chorus and others, connects to the impending climax. Murdering his own daughter was a great sin, something that his wife would never forgive.

There is no escape, they say, from perdition. Agamemnon stands on its own, but it is greatly enriched by the other two plays. )When we say it is part of a trilogy, we don't mean like nowadays, when some blockbuster movie makes a ton of money, prompting studio executives to crank out a couple of sequels. She is mute. The expedition assembled at Aulis, on the eastern coast of Greece, but was unable to sail for Troy because of adverse winds. Clytemnestra tries to force Cassandra to go into the palace, but Cassandra remains silent, and Clytemnestra gives up and leaves her in the chariot. Agamemnon is the first play in a trilogy of tragedies called The Oresteia.The trilogy focuses on a chain of revenges that occur in the House of Atreus. Clytaemestra indicts all Argos in her action and declares that her husband shall not be mourned. Because they subscribe to the Greek societal norms of gender, they miss considering Clytemnestra, who has been hiding in plain sight, as the possible murderer. (For more info on the Trojan War, check out this website, or read all about it in our "Detailed Summary.") They discuss the origin of her gift - and her curse, which auditors forever be incredulous of her veracious forecasts.