Questions:
1. Why would you say that Phaedra rather than Hipolytus is the protagonist in Seneca's Phaedra, despite the fact of injustice and death suffered by the latter?
2. Compare and contrast the following pairs:
a) Agamemnon (Aeschylus' Agamemnon) and Oedipus (Sophocles' Oedipus Rex.)
b) Clytemnestra (Aeschylus'Agamemnon) and Phaedra (Seneca's Phaedra)
** Submissions are made to the Departmental office. Not acceptable after the date mentioned.
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3 comments:
Interesting to know.
Hey...
the second year comment book is barren... i don't know why... can't u people put questions for masud sir to answer? where will u find a better mentor? let me ask u some questions (if u don't know the answers, u should try to know them):
a. who is the god of fate in Greek mythology? or is there any god at all who controls destiny?
(from Oedipus Rex)
b. what is the significance of the place 'where three roads meet?' why did it have to happen there, not somewhere else? (ask Zarin madam if she knows)
c. find out the two meanings of Oedipus? (u'll have to explore etymological sources)
d. what does 'Rex' mean? do u think it a correct Latin translation? ('coz Greek type of king largely differs from those of Roman or English)
e. what are the differences between a Greek Sphinx and an Egyptian one?
f. do u find any irony in the sentences 'one is not more than one'?
g. have u heard of Barnerd Knox? (if not, u haven't read Oedipus)
h. do u think Oedipus possesses some tragic error just because Aristotle and ur teacher told u?
(from Agamemnon)
i. who is the HERO of Agamemnon?
j. can u justify Agamemnon's killing of his daughter anyway? ( if not, u haven't read Agamemnon. remember ISMAEL?)
k. why do u think Aeschylus explored the theme of Democracy?
l. do u think Aristotle stole the theory of 'GOLDEN MEAN' from Aeschylus's Agamemnon?
m. (if u don't read the whole of the trilogy, u've explored 5% of the theme) can u relate Zeus' coming to terms with Prometheus to the play's theme of democracy?
n. has Agamemnon pleased one god(ess) and angered other god(ess)?
(from Poetics)
o. who is Aristotle to talk about poetry?
p. do u think Aristotle is the savior of poetry while Plato can be charged with attempted murder?
q. why is a tragic hero an 'undeserving sufferer'?
r. do u find any smell of poetic beauty in Poetics itself?
(from Phaedra)
s. how do u categorize hipolytus? a human being or an animal under skin?
Shourabh Pothobashi
(sorry, u can't expect such INNOVATIVE questions in ur exams? INNOVATION and ORIGINALITY and CREATIVITY has been exiled from our dept.) and if u think these r pointless for that reason, plz don't take the pain of thinking about them... better go give another tuition)
You 2ndyr guys! Watch Shourabh! He might put you in a tight spot.
I shall try to answer for you on the basis of one release a day.
Q.1.
READ THE FOLLOWING EXCERPT FROM AN EPIC ENCYCLOPAEDIA. This should be enough to clarify your idea of fate in the Gk. religion. If you still have any further query, don't hesitate to ask.
Moira
Moirai Moira
Moirai Parca, Fatum
Parcae, Fatae Fate,
The Fates
THE MOIRAI (or Moirae) were the goddesses of fate who personified the inescapable destiny of man. They assinged to every person his or her fate or share in the scheme of things. Their name means "Parts." "Shares" or "Alottted Portions." Zeus Moiragetes, the god of fate, was their leader,.
Klotho, whose name meant 'Spinner', spinned the thread of life. Lakhesis, whose name meant 'Apportioner of Lots'--being derived from a word meaning to receive by lot--, measured the thread of life. Atropos (or Aisa), whose name meant 'She who cannot be turned', cut the thread of life.
At the birth of a man, the Moirai spinned out the thread of his future life, followed his steps, and directed the consequences of his actions according to the counsel of the gods. It was not an inflexible fate; Zeus, if he chose, had the power of saving even those who were already on the point of being seized by their fate. The Fates did not abruptly interfere in human affairs but availed themselves of intermediate causes, and determined the lot of mortals not absolutely, but only conditionally, even man himself, in his freedom was allowed to exercise a certain influence upon them. As man's fate terminated at his death, the goddesses of fate become the goddesses of death, Moirai Thanatoio.
The Moirai were independent, at the helm of necessity, directed fate, and watched that the fate assigned to every being by eternal laws might take its course without obstruction; and Zeus, as well as the other gods and man, had to submit to them. They assigned to the Erinyes, who inflicted the punishement for evil deeds, their proper functions; and with them they directed fate according to the laws of necessity.
As goddesses of birth, who spinned the thread of life, and even prophesied the fate of the newly born, Eileithyia was their companion. As goddesses of fate they must necessarily have known the future, which at times they revealed, and were therefore prophetic deities. Their ministers were all the soothsayers and oracles.
As goddesses of death, they appeared together with the Keres and the infernal Erinyes.
The Moirai were described as ugly old women, sometimes lame. They were severe, inflexible and stern. Klotho carries a spindle or a roll (the book of ate), Lakhesis a staff with which she points to the horoscope on a globe, and Atropos a scroll, a wax tablet, a sundial, a pair of scales, or a cutting instrument. At other times the three were shown with staffs or sceptres, the symbols of dominion, and sometimes even with crowns. At the birth of each man they appeared spinning, measuring, and cutting the thread of life.
The Romans called the goddess Parcae and named the three Nona, Decuma and Morta.
To sum up, MOIRA (Moira) properly signifies "a share," and as a personification " the deity who assigns to every man his fate or his share," or the Fates. Homer usually speaks of only one Moira, and only once mentions the Moirai in the plural. (Il. xxiv. 29.) In his poems Moira is fate personified, which, at the birth of man, spins out the thread of his future life (Il. xxiv. 209), follows his steps, and directs the consequences of his actions according to the counsel of the gods. (11. v. 613, xx. 5.) Homer thus, when he personifies Fate, conceives her as spinning, an act by which also the power of other gods over the life of man is expressed. (Il. xxiv. 525, Od. i. 17,iii. 208, iv. 208.)
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