IPHIGENIA IN AULIS Essay Summary Example For Students

IPHIGENIA IN AULIS Essay Summary A monologue from the play by Euripides NOTE: This monologue is reprinted from The Plays of Euripides in English, vol. i. Trans. Shelley Dean Milman. London: J.M. Dent Sons, 1920. CLYTEMNESTRA: Now hear me, for my thoughts will I unfoldIn no obscure and coloured mode of speech.First then, for first with this will I upbraid thee,Me didst thou wed against my will, and seizeBy force; my former husband TantalusBy thee was slain. By thee my infant son,Torn from my breast by violence, was whirledAnd dashed against the ground. The sons of Jove,My brothers, glittring on their steeds in armsAdvanced against thee; but old Tyndarus,My father, saved thee, at his knees becomeA supplicant; and hence didst thou obtainMy bed. To thee and to thy house my thoughtsThus reconciled, thou shalt thyself attestHow irreproachable a wife I was,How chaste, with what attention I increasedThe splendour of thy house, that entring thereThou hadst delight, and going out, with theeWent happiness along. A wife like thisIs a rare prize; the worthless are not rare.Three daughters have I borne thee, and this son.Of one of these wilt thouO piercing grief!Deprive me. Should one ask thee, for what c auseThy daughter wilt thou kill, what wouldst thou say?Speak; or I must speak for thee! Een for this,That Menelaus may regain Helena.Well would it be, if, for his wanton wifeOur children made the price, what most we hateWith what is dearest to us we redeem.But if thou lead the forces, leaving meAt Argos, should thy absence then be long,Think what my heart must feel, when in the houseI see the seats all vacant of my child,And her apartment vacant: I shall sitAlone, in tears, thus ever wailing her:Thy father, O my child, hath slain thee; heThat gave thee birth, hath killed thee, not another,Nor by another hand; this is the prizeHe left his house. But do not, by the gods,Do not compel me to be aught but goodTo thee, nor be thou aught but good to me;Since there will want a slight pretence aloneFor me, and for my daughters left at home,To welcome, as becomes us, thy return.Well, thou wilt sacrifice thy child: what vowsWilt thou then form? what blessing wilt thou askTo wait thee, thou, wh o dost thy daughter slayThou, who with shame to this unlucky warArt marching? Is it just that I should prayFor aught of good to thee? Should I not deemThe gods unwise, if they their favours showerOn those who stain their willing hands with blood?Wilt thou, to Argos when returned, embraceThy children? But thou hast no right: thy faceWhich of thy children will behold, if oneWith cool deliberate purpose thou shalt kill?Now to this point I come: if thee aloneTo bear the sceptre, thee to lead the troopsTh occasion called, shouldst thou not thus have urgedThy just appeal to Greece: Is it your will,Ye Grecians, to the Phrygian shores to sail?Cast then the lot whose daughter must be slain.This had at least been equal; nor hadst thouBeen singled out from all to give thy childA victim for the Greeks. Or Menelaus,Whose cause this is, should for the mother slayHermione: but I, who to thy bedAm faithful, of my child shall be deprived,And she, that hath misdone, at her returnTo Sparta her young d aughter shall bear back,And thus be happy. Aught if I have saidAmiss, reply to that: but if my wordsSpeak nought but sober reason, do not slayThy child, and mine: and thus thou wilt be wise. .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616 , .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616 .postImageUrl , .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616 , .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616:hover , .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616:visited , .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616:active { border:0!important; } .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616:active , .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616 .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ubf478ecc28b1cf221cd129852cf89616:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Coriolanus Essay Volumnia