In Classical Greek Literature, there are a set of guidelines created by Aristotle that are used to dictate if a piece of Literature is a true Greek Tragedy. These rules mainly apply to the hero character and are in place to maintain a feeling of realism with in the piece. Aristotle believed that the literature must contain peripety meaning a change in state usually occurring in the main character from the beginning to the end, as well this main character must have a discovery and pass from ignorance to knowledge in some aspect. There are also rules for the kind of fate a character can be given based on their character. A hero that is totally good cannot go from happiness to misery in the play, as the audience would feel angry and feel that
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At the beginning of the play Medea is miserable, and suffering but as the play progresses she starts to become more confident and eventually she gets what she wants which is to exact her revenge on Jason. This would lead to the belief that her character follows a path from misery to happiness; however, according to Aristotle’s rules this is only possible if the hero is a completely bad individual. Even in Classical Greece infanticide was something viewed as “break[ing] mankind’s laws (p. 71), but in the case of Medea there seems to be quite a bit of sympathy and understanding given to her which shows that there are other reasons that Medea could have killed her children and not just that she is inherently evil. The Chorus defends Medea and understands how her “anguish” (p. 76) has led to her be so desperate as to have thoughts of murder. Although Medea is an extreme case, she represents the worst parts in all of us. However that doesn’t make her a completely bad person because there are times when her humanity shows through. Therefore, if Medea cannot be labeled as a completely bad peron, she is able to be a part of a story line where she passes from misery to happiness because there is a part of the audience that believes that happiness is
At the beginning of the play Medea is miserable, and suffering but as the play progresses she starts to become more confident and eventually she gets what she wants which is to exact her revenge on Jason. This would lead to the belief that her character follows a path from misery to happiness; however, according to Aristotle’s rules this is only possible if the hero is a completely bad individual. Even in Classical Greece infanticide was something viewed as “break[ing] mankind’s laws (p. 71), but in the case of Medea there seems to be quite a bit of sympathy and understanding given to her which shows that there are other reasons that Medea could have killed her children and not just that she is inherently evil. The Chorus defends Medea and understands how her “anguish” (p. 76) has led to her be so desperate as to have thoughts of murder. Although Medea is an extreme case, she represents the worst parts in all of us. However that doesn’t make her a completely bad person because there are times when her humanity shows through. Therefore, if Medea cannot be labeled as a completely bad peron, she is able to be a part of a story line where she passes from misery to happiness because there is a part of the audience that believes that happiness is