CHARACTERS: The Pythia (priestess of Apollo), Apollo, Orestes, Athena CHORUS(ES): Furies (ancient goddesses of vengeance); Athenian men and women SETTING: the temple of Apollo at Delphi; the Acropolis at Athens; the Hill of War (Areopagos) at Athens SYNOPSIS: The Pythia arrives at Apollo’s temple to find a man with bloody hands (Orestes) inside surrounded by…
Tag: Analysis
Aeschylus’ Libation-Bearers (Choephoroe): Summary & Analysis
CHARACTERS: Orestes, Elektra, Klytaimestra, Nurse, Aigisthos, Attendant, Pylades CHORUS: servant women SETTING: the tomb of Agamemnon; the palace at Argos SUMMARY: Orestes has come home to Argos from exile with his friend Pylades. He makes an offering at the tomb of his father, Agamemnon, and withdraws as a group of women approach. Klytaimestra has had…
Aeschylus’ Agamemnon: Summary & Analysis
CHARACTERS: Watchman, Klytaimestra, Messenger, Agamemnon, Kassandra, Aigisthos CHORUS: elders of Argos SETTING: the palace at Argos SYNOPSIS: A watchman on the roof of the palace at Argos sees the beacon announcing that Troy has fallen to the Greeks. The chorus in flashback narrate the fateful omen that attended the departure of the army, the dilemma…
Aeschylus’ Oresteia: Analysis
Oresteia contains plays Agamemnon, Libation-Bearers, Eumenides; Proteus (satyr-play) DATE: 458 COMPETITION: won first prize ANALYSIS: The trilogy takes the form: action Æ reaction Æ resolution, and depends on a definition of dike (“Justice”), by which the “doer shall suffer, that is law.” We see in the first play Agamemnon come home from Troy to be…
Aeschylus’ Suppliants: Summary & Analysis
DATE: between 466 and 459, with 463 being the favored date; part of the “Daughters of Danaos tetralogy,” the other tragedies being Egyptians and Daughters of Danaos, with Amymone as the satyr-play COMPETITION: won first prize CHARACTERS: Danaos, King of Argos (Pelasgos), Herald of the Egyptians CHORUS(ES): the daughters of Danaos, their cousins the sons…
Aeschylus’ Seven against Thebes: Summary & Analysis
DATE: 467, part of a Theban tetralogy: Laios, Oedipus, Seven, Sphinx [satyr-play] COMPETITION: won first prize CHARACTERS: Eteokles, Messenger, Antigone, Ismene, Herald CHORUS: women of Thebes SETTING: the palace at Thebes SUMMARY: The Argive army, led by Polyneikes, is at the gates of Thebes. Eteokles rallies the spirits of his terrified people and leads them…
Aeschylus’ Persians: Summary & Analysis
DATE: 472 COMPETITION: Aeschylus won with Phineus, Persians, Glaukos of Potniai, and Prometheus FireLighter (satyr-play) CHARACTERS: Queen Mother of Persia, Messenger, ghost of Dareios, Xerxes CHORUS: Persian elders SETTING: the tomb of Dareios before the Persian royal palace at Susa SUMMARY: The chorus enter and describe the glory of the great army that the Persian…
Faith Within Reason by Herbert McCabe: Summary & Analysis
In the first chapter titled ‘Is Belief Wishful Thinking?’ Herbert McCabe throws light on the evolution of faith. According to McCabe, one of the lazy pretexts for religious belief is its comforting illusions. People have a tendency to want to believe in a fair and wise God who dispenses justice to all. But this is…
The Journey of Man by Spencer Wells (Documentary): Summary & Analysis
The Journey of Man, presented by Dr. Spencer Wells, is a very important documentary film that sends out a message of human solidarity. As Dr. Wells says in the introduction, it is the retracing of the all routes of human migration out of Africa in the last 50,000 years. It is a fascinating story constructed…
The Kiss by Anton Chekhov: Summary & Analysis
The Kiss by Anton Chekhov is a brilliant short story. It contains all the requisite features of a good short story. Elements of excitement, drama, romantic infatuation and suspense make the story hold its ground. In terms of literary devices, the apt yet optimal use of imagery and symbolism accentuates the overall effect on the…