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  • Thyestes Notes

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    The document provides analysis of the plot and characters of Seneca's tragedy "Thyestes" and how it relates to and comments on Aeschylus' "Agamemnon". It summarizes that "Thyestes" depicts the continuation of the curse on the house of Tantalus. Atreus is the antagonist who deceives and murders his brother Thyestes and Thyestes' sons to enact twisted revenge. While Thyestes is initially portrayed as good and suffering injustice, Atreus performs great evil and feels his actions are justified. The document suggests "Thyestes" can be read as revising understandings of good vs evil and commenting on how crimes

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    Thyestes Notes

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    The document provides analysis of the plot and characters of Seneca's tragedy "Thyestes" and how it relates to and comments on Aeschylus' "Agamemnon". It summarizes that "Thyestes" depicts the continuation of the curse on the house of Tantalus. Atreus is the antagonist who deceives and murders his brother Thyestes and Thyestes' sons to enact twisted revenge. While Thyestes is initially portrayed as good and suffering injustice, Atreus performs great evil and feels his actions are justified. The document suggests "Thyestes" can be read as revising understandings of good vs evil and commenting on how crimes

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    249 views2 pages

    Thyestes Notes

    Uploaded by

    auctmetu
    The document provides analysis of the plot and characters of Seneca's tragedy "Thyestes" and how it relates to and comments on Aeschylus' "Agamemnon". It summarizes that "Thyestes" depicts the continuation of the curse on the house of Tantalus. Atreus is the antagonist who deceives and murders his brother Thyestes and Thyestes' sons to enact twisted revenge. While Thyestes is initially portrayed as good and suffering injustice, Atreus performs great evil and feels his actions are justified. The document suggests "Thyestes" can be read as revising understandings of good vs evil and commenting on how crimes

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as RTF, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 2

    Comment of the progression of the plot - identities of characters - what makes the

    stage ghost different from other characters - in what sense can Thyestes be read as
    a dramatic supplement to, or commentary on Aeschylus Agamemnon
    Tantalus - context of curse
    Atreus - antagonist
    Thyestes - victim
    Aegisthus is only surviving son of Thyestes - lover of Clytemnestra Vengeance - thirst for revenge stronger than hope for his own good fortune - let it fall
    even on me, so long as it falls on my brother - twisted impression of justice - you do
    not avenge crimes unless you surpass them - tyranny - this is the greatest value of
    kingship: the people are compelled to praisetheir masters actions - rejects
    ASSISTANTs proposal of what is honourable - apparent revenge for stealing his wife
    and golden ram - nothing is certain - except my brothers enmity - look to Tantalus
    and Pelops: my hands are called to follow their examples - cruelty - slaying is for a
    lenient tyrant; in my kingdom death is something people beg for - performs evil for
    accomplishment - Odrysian house saw an unspeakable feast - monstrous, but
    already taken - no faith in innocence - ;you fear their becoming evil? They are born
    so - you will deceive the very people by whom you plan to deceive others?/Yes, so
    they may be free of guilt - deceitful - come cling about my neck - psychopathic in
    the way he can so easily change his personage - twisted in that he kills his nephews
    as if a ritual - clearly feels his actions are higher than they are - he himself is priest which shall he sacrifice first to himself - megalomaniacal
    Continuation of story line - same family - references to children eaten by father in
    Agamemnon
    Reversal of motivations for revenge between As Aga and Ss Thy - first has cause of
    infanticide, latter has result of infanticide
    Apparent revision of the nature of good against bad - in Thyestes, he is clearly good
    (humility), but evils are performed against him. A commentary to show that crimes
    are not always performed against the guilty as in Agamemnon (murders daughter)
    Both betrayals initiated by interactions with the gods (Atreus vows to sacrifice best
    lamb to Artemis) (Agamemnon kills Iphigenia to appease Artemis wrath)

    Thyestes has instinct to be apprehensive - I see nothing fearful, but I fear


    nonetheless - doesnt want the throne - a throne has no room for two - oh, what a
    blessing it is to stand in no ones way, to take carefree meals lying on the ground - I
    am not feared, my house is safe without weapons, and my small domain is supplied
    with great peace - some trickery is skulking here - foreshadowing - you are the
    ones that make Atreus fearful to me - accidentally aggression - causes pity for his
    unfortunate wording which may hasten his fall - all that is yours, brother, I regard as
    mine
    Chorus is fooled - dramatic irony - that savage man, the wild, irrational, truculent
    Atreus, was awed and arrested by sight of his brother no force is greater than true
    love of family
    Horror over pity - Seneca > Aeschylus
    Beginning of Act 4 - trope of withheld information building suspense
    Murder scene in Thy - horror augmented by understatement - the hand meeting the
    throat as it thrust deep - gives impression of inconsequence to Atreus - hysteron
    proteron - the head rolls away, mumbling some unintelligible protest - personification
    of internal body parts - organs trembling, hearts throbbing in terror - dramatic irony
    of Atreus saying how he will show you shortly the faces you long for, and give the
    father his fill of his own dear throng - no justice - the gods above have fled

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