Analysis of the Oresteia

Teacher notes analyze the characters, plots, and themes of the Oresteia trilogy.

By Rick Reed

Analyzing a Greek Drama: The Libation Bearers

I. Setting

A. What is the geographical location of the story?

Argos: in a cemetery, outside the palace, inside the palace

B. During what era or during whose reign does the story unfold?

some months following the assassination of Agamemnon

C. What is the atmosphere of the drama?

tragic

D. In what milieu do the characters live? That is, what are the significant surroundings?

royal, oppressive

II. Characters

A. Who is the protagonist?

Orestes

B. Who/What is the antagonist?

Clytemnestra

C. Who are the other major characters?
1. Electra
2. Cilissa
3. Aegisthus
4. Pylades
1. Are they one -, two-, or three-dimensional characters?
a. Electra: two-dimensional - we see both her willingness to seek revenge and her inability to wreak it herself
b. Cilissa: one-dimensional - she represents the “faithful servant”
c. Aegisthus: two-dimensional - he is an archetypal tyrant but also defensive about accusations of his womanish hiding behind Clytemnestra
d. Pylades: one-dimensional - he speaks for religious piety, tradition
2. Are they static (unchanging) or dynamic (changing) characters?
a. Electra: static; she does not change
b. Cilissa: static; she does not change
c. Aegisthus: static; he does not change
d. Pylades: static; he does not change
D. Who are the minor characters?

There are no minor characters

1. Are they one-, two-, or three-dimensional characters?

Does not apply

2. Are they static or dynamic characters?

Does not apply

E. Who constitutes the chorus?

Clytemnestra’s serving women who are slaves taken from Troy

F. What are the motivations of each character?
1. Orestes: vengeance, religious duty, desire to recover patrimony (including his father’s throne), a sense of shame for all Argives over the dishonorable death of his father
2. Clytemnestra: fear of reprisal from beyond the grave; desire to live; need for vengeance against her murderer/son

III. Plot

A. What information is conveyed in the exposition?
1. Orestes’ return from Phocis with his friend Pylades
2. Apollo’s sending Orestes back to Argos to pursue the code of vendetta
3. Clytemnestra’s dream
4. Clytemnestra’s refusal to give Agamemnon a proper burial
5. The disgust of both Electra and the Chorus with Aegisthus’ and Clytemnestra’s foul crime and with their tyranny
B. What is the inciting force?

Electra’s acceptance of Orestes’ identity and plea for him to seek vengeance against Clytemnestra and Aegisthus

C. What complications does the protagonist face?
1. Getting into the Argive palace
2. Getting Aegisthus to meet him unarmed and unguarded
3. Facing down Clytemnestra and responding to her pleas to spare her
D. At what point does the climax take place?

Orestes heeds Pylades’ warning not to offend the gods - that the will of the gods takes precedence over all human ties - and kills Clytemnestra

E. What decline in fortunes does the protagonist experience in the falling action resolution)? That is, what is the catastrophe?

Orestes begins to experience the madness brought on by seeing the Furies

F. How are matters left in the conclusion?

Orestes departs as a suppliant to seek ritual purification at the shrine of Apollo at Delphi

IV. Theme

A. What aspect of human nature does the playwright seem to be examining?

The human desire for justice

The conflict between divine law and human ties

B. What statement (or observation) about the human condition does the playwright seem to be making?

The traditional pursuit of justice does not easily fit every case.

Divine law outweighs human feelings.

C. What universal ideas recur throughout the plot? (These are sometimes called MOTIFS, and may also appear in images.)

Family bonds

Religious devotion

The concept of the hero and the honor due him

The snake as a symbol of evil, death, and retribution

Milk as an archetype of life

Blood as an archetype of death

V. Aristotle’s Poetics

A. The protagonist
1. Is the protagonist a perfectly good person brought from prosperity to adversity?

2. Is the protagonist a bad person passing from adversity to prosperity?

3. Is the protagonist an utter villain from the start?

4. Is the protagonist a person not absolutely or eminently good or wise who is brought to disaster by some error or frailty rather than by sheer depravity?

YES

5. Is the protagonist highly renowned or prosperous or illustrious?

YES

B. The Unities
1. Is the action restricted to one twenty-four-hour period?

Probably

2. Is the action restricted to one geographical location?

No - it begins in a cemetery but ends outside the royal palace

3. Does the play consist of one main action - to the carrying on of which everything else in the play is subservient? Does one mood predominate?

Yes - the one main action is Orestes’ revenge for Agamemnon, and a tragic (absolutely serious) mood predominates

C. Catharsis
1. Does the action arouse either pity or fear?

This is an open question

2. Does the action produce a mood of emotional release or intellectual serenity?

This is an open question

Analyzing a Greek Drama: Eumenides

I. Setting

A. What is the geographical location of the story

The temple of Apollo at Delphi

The temple of Athena in Athens

B. During what era or during whose reign does the story unfold?

some months following the murder/execution of Clytemnestra

C. What is the atmosphere of the drama?

tragic

D. In what milieu do the characters live? That is, what are the significant surroundings?

religious and legal

II. Characters

A. Who is the protagonist?

Orestes

B. Who/What is the antagonist?

Clytemnestra through the action of the Furies (They respond to her bidding) Orestes’ guilty conscience also plays an antagonistic role.

C. Who are the other major characters?
1. Apollo
2. Athena
1. Are they one -, two-, or three-dimensional characters?
a. Apollo: two-dimensional - we see both his traditional adherence to the concept of the vendetta and his willingness to pursue the trial system; we also see him as the spokesman of Zeus and an advocate of human values
b. Athena: one-dimensional - she represents the “voice of reason”
2. Are they static (unchanging) or dynamic (changing) characters?

Both are essentially static.

D. Who are the minor characters?
1. the Pythia
2. the ghost of Clytemnestra
3. the jurors
1. Are they one-, two-, or three-dimensional characters?
a. The Pythia is one-dimensional, acting as Apollo’s mouthpiece.
b. The ghost of Clytemnestra is one-dimensional, speaking as the “voice of vengeance.”
c. The jurors taken as a whole must be regarded as two-dimensional since they vote a split decision - even though they do not speak.
2. Are they static or dynamic characters?

They are all static characters.

E. Who constitutes the chorus?
1. The Erinyes (Furies) constitute the first and primary chorus.
2. The women of Athens constitute the second chorus.
F. What are the motivations of each character?
1. Orestes: desire for absolution, exoneration, atonement
2. The Erinyes (Furies): their mission to hound matricides

III. Plot

A. What information is conveyed in the exposition?
1. Orestes has arrived at Delphi and received absolution.
2. Apollo announces his intention to continue to protect Orestes.
B. What is the inciting force?

Apollo sends Orestes to Athens to seek absolute resolution of his plight.

C. What complications does the protagonist face?
1. Orestes wanders Greece on his way to Athens. 2. The Erinyes (Furies) pursue Orestes into Athena’s temple.
3. The Erinyes (Furies) declare their intention to pursue their primeval directive to hound murderers of blood kin.
D. At what point does the climax take place?

Orestes agrees to a trial and to accept the decision as final, staking his life on the outcome.

E. What decline in fortunes does the protagonist experience in the falling action (resolution)? That is, what is the catastrophe?

Orestes is acquitted.

F. How are matters left in the conclusion?

Orestes swears eternal friendship between his native Argos and Athens.

Athena gives the Erinyes a new job - patrons of family life - and a new name - the Eumenides [“the kindly ones”].

IV. Theme

A. What aspect of human nature does the playwright seem to be examining?

The human desire for justice

The conflict between tradition and change

B. What statement (or observation) about the human condition does the playwright seem to be making?

The system of jury trials provides the possibility of consequences necessary to encourage virtuous behavior but frees the accused of the hot-blooded vengeance of an individual.

C. What universal ideas recur throughout the plot? (These are sometimes called MOTIFS, and may also appear in images.)

The demand for justice

The conflict between tradition (represented by the Furies and the code of vendetta) and change (represented by Apollo and Athena and the jury trial).

Concern for families

V. Aristotle’s Poetics

A. The protagonist
1. Is the protagonist a perfectly good person brought from prosperity to adversity?

2. Is the protagonist a bad person passing from adversity to prosperity?

YES

3. Is the protagonist an utter villain from the start?

4. Is the protagonist a person not absolutely or eminently good or wise who is brought to disaster by some error or frailty rather than by sheer depravity?

5. Is the protagonist highly renowned or prosperous or illustrious?

YES

B. The Unities
1. Is the action restricted to one twenty-four hour period?

No - this play has two scenes - one in Delphi, the other in Athens - separated by at least weeks and perhaps months.

2. Is the action restricted to one geographical location?

No - this play has two scenes - one in Delphi, the other in Athens

3. Does the play consist of one main action - to the carrying on of which everything else in the play is subservient? Does one mood predominate?

Yes - the one main action is Orestes’ trial and the Erinyes’ change into the Eumenides, and a tragic (absolutely serious) mood predominates

C. Catharsis
1. Does the action arouse either pity or fear?

This is an open question

2. Does the action produce a mood of emotional release or intellectual serenity?

This is an open question

Analysis: The Oresteia

I. Tragedy

A. Domestic
1. Clytemnestra
a. Love for children vs. love for husband
b. Love for paramour vs. love for husband
2. Helen
a. Cause of Trojan War
b. Cause for Iphigenia’s death
3. Theme - philos - aphilos (a dynamic force of contradiction)
B. War - Agamemnon
1. Drained Greece of its manhood (at Troy and on the return)
2. Involved the innocent in the miseries of a bitter campaign
3. Exceeded reason in the destruction of Troy
C. Political
1. Chorus
a. See the wrong of the war and tell Agamemnon
b. Remain loyal to his authority nonetheless
2. Aegisthus
a. Takes advantage of popular disaffection
b. Wins throne by winning queen
c. Contrives murder of Agamemnon
d. Defends himself with Agamemnon’s personal body guard
3. Agamemnon vs. Aegisthus
1. Background
2. Immediate action

II. Personal motivations

A. Agamemnon
1. Simply presented
2. Pride (excessive) - hybris
a. Sacrifice of Iphigenia
b. Persistence in besieging Troy
c. Intrigue with Cassandra
d. Walk on purple carpet
3. Could a proud king have chosen otherwise?
B. Clytemnestra
1. Sacrifice of Iphigenia (mother’s resentment)
2. Adultery with Aegisthus (guilty love)
3. Agamemnon’s return with Cassandra (jealousy)
4. Pride
a. Opposition to the code of the spoils of war
b. Assertion of royal authority
c. Grand manner

III. Code of vendetta

A. The background history of the House of Atreus
B. Clytemnestra’s claim to have cleansed the House of Atreus of its pedigree of sin

IV. Contradictions

A. Clytemnestra
1. Savage satisfaction with destruction of Troy vs. prayer for peace
2. Hope that victory will be temperate vs. plotting of murder
3. Love of Agamemnon vs. hatred for Agamemnon
B. Will vs. emotion

Analysis: The Agamemnon

I. Setting

A. Argos
B. Bronze Age
C. Serious
D. Ruling class

II. Characters

A. Agamemnon or Clytemnestra
B. Clytemnestra or Agamemnon (or the curse)
C. Cassandra
1. Two-dimensional
2. Static
D. Watchman
1. Two-dimensional
2. Static
E. The elders of Argos
F. Motivations
1. Agamemnon - triumphant return
2. Clytemnestra
a. Revenge for Iphigenia’s death
b. Desire to keep her lover
c. Desire to maintain her power

III. Plot

A. Clytemnestra’s beacon plan and the background to the beginning of the Trojan War, focusing on Agamemnon’s sacrifice of his daughter, Iphigenia.
B. Agamemnon’s return
C. Complications
1. Agamemnon - treason and unrest at home
2. Clytemnestra - Agamemnon’s will, as seen in the tapestry scene
D. Walking on the red cloth
E. Decline in fortunes
1. Agamemnon fails to believe that treachery stalks his kingdom - and pays with his life
2. Clytemnestra finds herself in contention with Aegisthus
F. Force of final suspense
1. Agamemnon could be saved if the Chorus would believe Cassandra
2. Clytemnestra has no force of final suspense
G. Clytemnestra and Aegisthus rule, both feeling that the curse on the House of Atreus has ended.

IV. Theme

A. The will to revenge a loss; pride; pain of loss; arrogance
B. “Man must suffer to be wise.”
C. Jealousy as a motive for murder; transfer of responsibility

V. Sources

A. “The Curse on the House of Atreus”
B. None

VI. Aristotle’s Poetics

A. Protagonist
1. No
2. No
3. No
4. Open question
5. Yes
B. Unities
1. No (several days between opening scene and Agamemnon’s arrival)
2. Yes - before the palace of Argos
3. Yes - the one main action is Agamemnon’s return and murder, and the mood is serious and tragic
C. Catharsis
1. Open question
2. Open question