senecas tragedies Flashcards
What does Seneca reflect in his plays?
Ambition, tyranny + cruelty reflect his own experiences under Tiberius, Caligula + Claudius
What was believed about who wrote Seneca’s tragedies?
Believed that they were written by 2 diff people: ‘Seneca to tragedian’ + ‘Seneca the philosopher’
What do Senecas characters show?
Tyranny
Moral lessons of what can happen if passions get out of control
Which passion haunts Seneca’s plays?
Anger - consequences of unrestrained human aggression
What do Seneca’s characters show?
They show no mercy to themselves or those around him
How does Seneca describe Oedipus’ mutilation?
He “greedily digs his nails into his eyeballs”
What does Agamemnon say in ‘Trojan Women’?
“Those who abuse their power never stay powerful long”
What does Medea say about what drove her?
“I was not even angry; I was driven by painful love”
What is Phaedra described as doing?
“She feels no concern for food or health + goes around of uncertain feet, drained of her strength”
What did Clytemnestra do?
Killed her husband, Agamemnon (bc he sacrificed their daughter) + had an affair
What does Clytemnestra show?
Love gone mad + bitterness of love
What does Clytemnestra say about lust? What does this mean?
“Ugly lust, its partner crushes me + will not let me win”
Internal conflict between rational + irrational feelings
What happens to Tantalus in Thyestes?
Punished for testing the gods’ omniscience by offering them a dish of the flesh of his son
How is Tantalus punished?
Imprisoned for eternity, hungry + thirsty in a pool of water beneath branches of fruit that he can’t reach
What happens to Phaedra?
She has a consuming lust for her stepson, Hippolytus
