analysis of tragedy in agamemnon
Historically, Greek tragedies had been used as a means to convey particular political and ethical testimonials about culture, usually in order to convey particular morals or ensure buy. In this kind of chronicles, a protagonist grapples with a particular conflict or sets of conflicts, usually pertaining to a few universal meaningful code. Aeschylus The Oresteia, like many Greek tragedies, is no exception to the secret. The Oresteia, like many other Greek tragedies of the time, handles issues of justice, exclusive chance, and kinship. However , the play alone does therefore in a way that actually mystifies the group. Unlike various other Greek tragedies, it is difficult to find out whom precisely the protagonists and antagonists will be. Moreover, The epic on its own presents the audience with heroes who happen to be righteous in a way, but very flawed morally. Agamemnon is a character.
From what we are advised by the refrain in the beginning perform of the trilogy, Agamemnon is first presented to us as a man of honor, fearlessly leading his troops in victory through the Trojan Conflict. But then we are told that Agamemnon, in order to change the winds to get the challenge of Troy, sacrificed his own little girl, Iphigenia. The complexity of Agamemnons persona leaves the audience spellbound- is definitely the man terrible, ambitious, desired? Before evaluating Agamemnons serves, it is important to make note of the historical and personal context which is why the perform was created. In the context of this particular story, the act of sacrificing ones kin in the interest of the state could indeed be deemed as righteous. Because Greek takes on were incredibly political, the theme of family members loyalty was oftentimes shown as a threat for culture and purchase. Unlike the Romans whom worshipped friends and family, Grecians had been more focused on the importance of the state of hawaii. Like in Sophocles Antigone, heading against the condition for the sake of family loyalty is seen as a very dangerous thing to do, leading to dire implications for all. Due to historical and political context of the perform, Agamemnons decision to sacrifice his child could be considered as a logical decision, especially since the sacrifice was pertaining to the bag of Troy and the triumph of the Ancient greek language army.
However positive the action itself may well have appeared given the context with the play, Agamemnon sacrifice of his child was faulted however, for that reason making him a complex, multi-faceted character. It could be argued that out of sheer aspirations, Agamemnon killed his girl. This is very important to note because the theme of ambition is exactly what began the conflict in the trilogy to begin with. Remember, aspirations is what formerly sparked the ill-fated curse upon the home of Atreus (Agamemnons father) when he maliciously murdered Thyestes and his children. Now, Agamemnons responsibility to get the bloodshed of his daughter with regard to ambition is another ill-fated curse that has arrive upon his household that the consequence will be his own death.
Regardless of the ill-fated decisions of Agamemnons ambition, he is depicted as virtuous non-etheless. The chorus presents Agamemnon as a meaning character, faced with a dilemma if to destroy his personal daughter. This type of dilemma is definitely the kind of problem a protagonist would be facing. Remember, Agamemnon fought the city of Troy for the sake of advantage, therefore producing him a virtuous figure. And like a protagonist, the heroic Agamemnon is facing a discord regarding if to get rid of his child Iphigenia after he is instructed by the empress Artemis for this in order to spare the lives of his cavalry. Agamemnon contemplates this conflict with much suffering:
If I comply with the empress, and kill my daughter-
What do We become?
A monster to myself, towards the whole world
And to most future time, a list
Wearing my daughters bloodstream.
When I deny the goddess, then what goes on?
Will it be worse?
An complete defeat
For all of us all. And for me-
Devastation. As if I actually deserted this kind of army
Disguised, a traitor to my oath
Shorn of honour.
Agamemnon p. 13
This affirmation gives us some insight on Agamemnons psyche and therefore, his personality. Although we are told of his act against his daughter, Iphigenia, we are given insight upon Agamemnons moral dilemma, for that reason giving the group the impression that this personality does actually have a sense of virtue and principles. In this way, Agamemnons sacrifice of his daughter is somewhat justified in that if perhaps he did not obey the command of the goddess, Artemis, it would possess led to utter destruction of his military services and of the respect code he or she must follow in order to be a commendable ruler. Such as a classic protagonist of Greek tragedies, Agamemnon is faced with a trying conflict by which he must make an ill-fated decision.
On the other hand virtuous and honorable a photo the chorus portrays of Agamemnon, it is not necessarily long before we come across that Agamemnon is flawed yet again. When Agamemnon makes his successful return from Troy he proudly displays Cassandra, his mistress, just before his wife and the refrain. We now are presented with an Agamemnon who will be very arrogant and fresh to his seemingly loyal wife (surprisingly even for the standards with the Greek Hellenistic period). The moment Agamemnon echoes to his wife, this individual does there is certainly contempt and disrespect:
Guardian of my name, of my residence
Great-hearted female that you are
Girl of Leda-
Your eulogies are like my personal absence:
Very long, too much
Agamemnon, p. 43
Yet again the audience is left questioning if Agamemnon may be the protagonist or the antagonist. As opposed to classical tragic protagonists, Agamemnons flaws are dishonorable. Inspite of Agamemnons extended absence by Argos, this individual does not greet his better half with words of delight since she really does to him. Instead, this individual embarrasses her in front of the refrain and his fresh mistress, Cassandra.
Agamemnon presents to us an additional dishonorable downside in his personality during this dialogue between this individual and his wife. Although this individual initially refuses to step on the carpet Clytamenstra has had ready for him, she cunningly induces him to do so, thereby coercing him to go against his rules. This is a key scene inside the play since originally Agamemnon refuses to walk the carpet because he will not want to be hailed as a the almighty:
Do not speak these violet cloths
That ought to be spread just for gods
Yes, only for the feet of gods
For your toes of descended gods.
Do not spread them to me.
Greet me like a man.
Greet me personally as a the almighty and the gods
Will punish us all.
Agamemnon l. 43
Yet , through much badgering, Cytemnestra finally talks Agamemnon to walk around the carpet. Because Agamemnon flies in the face of his principles we see one other weakness of this arrogant king.
Although Agamemnons physical presence in the Oresteia trilogy is very quick, his personas moral dilemma sets the stage for the whole play. Each character in the play has its own sort of dilemma that he must encounter for the sake of proper rights. Clytemnestra must face the dilemma of avenging her daughters fatality by murdering her husband, both Orestes and Electra must murder their own mom and her lover to be able to avenge their fathers loss of life, Aegisthus need to avenge the death of his close friend, and all the while the furies maintain responsibility for making sure no one gets rid of their own blood vessels relation. With this set from the story, meaning conflict in the interest of justice is inevitable and there is bound to become a blood shower.
Mainly because Agamemnon lost his daughter for the sake of desire and the curse of Atreus (Agamemnons father), both criminal offenses ignited a spark in the trilogy that compels every character to get a revenge that has for sure. Appropriately enough for Greek drama, all these characters think some sort of moral and ethical responsibility to murder or torment for the sake of justice. Yet had not Agamemnon and Atreus sparked your initial flame for the curses, this vicious pattern would have been less likely to happen and such bloodshed would have certainly not transpired.
Ruler of Argos and wife to Clytemnestra, Agamemnon is quite an intricate character in fact it is very difficult to tell apart whether he’s virtuous or immoral. Just like a two-sided gold coin, we are presented multi-facets of Agamemnon as being a character. At times he is represented as being extremely moral, and at other times, incredibly immoral. Though presented very briefly inside the play, his actions are definitely the reasons for much of the conflict in the play about the other character types. Not only that, nevertheless Agamemnons impossible dilemma to get vengeance by using violence units the level for much of the dilemmas however to are available in the three set, thereby making Agamemnon an important character through this Greek disaster.
