Speeches

Question 1

Medea: Medea’s first speech (poor women)

Answer 1

• says how she is heart broken and done all that she can to fit into this land.
• women are most wretched creatures. take masters to their body. divorce brings them shame but men can do what they want. Women must stay at home.
• rather stand three times in battle than bear one child
• this is challenging for the exclusively male audience of the athenian theatre.
• says how she is alone. no family. suggests the danger of women who are wronged in their marriage bed. theme of sexually slighted women

Question 2

Medea - nurse speech 1

Answer 2

• Wishes jason had not journeyed with the argonauts so then Medea would not have presuaded daughters of Pelias to kill their father (suggests her murderous behaviour)
• says how jason has betrayed her and the children by marrying creon’s daughter. emphasises how medea is alone in foreign country. friends try to give her advice (sympathy. friends love her).
• Europedes establishes an unheroic domestic realism at start of the tragedy.

Question 3

Medea second speech. (after Creon. The plan)

Answer 3

• This speech comes after Creon says she is exiled but gives her one day.
• Medea calls him stupid in her speech and says how in this day she will “make three of my enemies corpses”
• says she will use poison which suggests her witchcraft
• Says how women are helpless with good to be done, but clever when bad deeds to be done (contrast to previous feminine speech)

Question 4

Jason and Medea first encounter

Answer 4

J: smug views about passions being destructive. He doesn’t mind she is being banished. Says he is thinking about her in marrying princess and the children.

M: calls him traitor. saved him by killing dragon, betraying her own father and having pelias killed. Says she bore him children so theres no excuse to leave her. Asks where she can turn now. calls to Zeus to help distinguish bad men

J: “escape the wearisome storm of your words”. Says she should be thankful cuz no longer living in barbarian country. Reassures that he did not hate sleeping with her. just wanted to bring up children in a worthy manner. Human race should get kids another way and women should not exist. “mankind would be free from every evil”.

M: “a bad man’s gift can bring no good”.

Question 5

Medea third speech (after Aegeus; the new plan in depth)

Answer 5

This is after fighting with jason, and now aegeus has offered his home in exile if she gives him kids. She will ask Jason (pretending to be nice) to let kids stay. send kids holding gifts for princess which will poison her and freon. then kill own children. calls herself “a woman of a very different kind”
tells chorus to say nothing.

Question 6

Medea 4th speech after tutor states the children can stay

Answer 6

weeps for children. in vain she suffered birth pangs. trusted they would care for her when she was old. children look with loving eyes. she cannot do it, but then says she’s a coward and must. loves the children’s “sweet embrace”

Question 7

messenger speech Medea

Answer 7

boys arrived. servants kissed them. Princess was disgusted by them but then saw gifts and could not resist. then she collapsed howling crown went on fire melting her flesh. father arrived and threw hands on corpse. body stuck to mangled flesh and he too died. “they lay there corpses, the girl and her old father”.

Question 8

Aphrodite speech Hip

Answer 8

Hates mortals who are arrogant to her. Hippolytus “spurns sex and keeps clear of marriage”. She will take revenge. cursed Phaedra to love him. his father will kill him. Phaedra will die with her honour safe.

Question 9

Hip first speech to Artemis

Answer 9

My mistress. brings her gifts, says he alone among mortals can do this. hopes to finish life as he begun it.

Question 10

Phaedra first speech to women of Trozen

Answer 10

says she is wounded by love. first tries to endure it. and conquer it. but if she fails she will die. says she is a “woman - an object of loathing to all men”.
says women should never shame their marriage beds. she hates those women. Says how parents reputation effects their children.

Question 11

Nurse first speech to Phaedra (after she says about being in love)

Answer 11

Nurse says this is nothing extraordinary. cypris roams the air. Says she must go through with it. other mortals fall in love. She has a love charm… ambiguous

Question 12

Hippolytus second speech: speech about women

Answer 12

why did zeus create women? get children through another means (jason). women is a great evil. hate clever women (medea). Women should live with animals. horrified about his fathers wife wanting to make a match of him (incest hints). Hip says he will stay silent and not break oath.

Question 13

Phaedra final speech about what she will do

Answer 13

calls to earth and light (like hip). what shall she do? calls herself a victim. ill fated woman (medea). hates on the nurse. must make new plans. Fears Hippolytus will tell people and fill her with shame. Makes the women of Trozen swear silence (swear to artemis). She says she will die and bring “calamity to another”. calls Hip arrogant.

Question 14

Theseus speech after Phaedra’s death

Answer 14

why gates not opened for my reatus? (realised something is wrong). first worries death of children. Says Phaedra’s death is the ruin of his life. Vanished “like a bird” from him (link to chorus song. he says Phaedra is delicate). Theseus laments wishing it was he who died. starts using direct address to her asking why she killed herself. Calls her “the light of the sun”. reads tabled and asks Zeus to “destroy my son”. says he will banish him.

Question 15

Messenger speech Hippolytus death

Answer 15

Hipollytus was weeping in exile. Says he must obey fathers orders. the earth rumbled and a wave crashed forward from the sea and released a bull. Hip fell and crashed his head against the rocks

Question 16

Artemis speech to theseus

Answer 16

Says “you killed your son”. said wife was lying. she wants to give him pain. she will give him honour in death. says it was cypress who sickened wives heart. it was a trick she wrote about Hippolytus on the tablet. Says how theseus faulted in not waiting to find out truth from proof or prophet, but recklessly cursed son. The gods do not rejoice when pious men die .

Question 17

Antigone prologos: opening speech to ismene

Answer 17

Reflects on the griefs of Oedipus. States a decree has just been declared giving doom to one they love (ismene asks what it was saying how they have just been robbed of their brothers)
Antigone states that they are outside the gates. says how Creon will bury one brother but not the other. left for the birds to feast on. Creon said death will come to the one who buries him. asks Ismene to help her bury.

Question 18

Ismene first speech. Response to antigone asking to share the labour

Answer 18

Reflects on the terrible death of their father and compares. lists the death of their family members and their common destiny. they are only two left. they will have horrible death if they violate the laws. we are women so must submit. this act would be madness.

Question 19

Antigone: Creon first speech to men of Thebes

Answer 19

ship of state is safe. Says how he now possesses the throne after the death of the two brothers. States how he is a clear politician and his view on protecting country. states his law about keeping Polynices unburied.

Question 20

Antigone: First messenger speech

Answer 20

Not winded for running, thought he was going to his death delivering this message. states first how he is innocent then goes on to say someone has buried the body. there was no spade or axe nor earth turned up (gives a list of missing clues - suggesting it was the gods? trying to scare Creon?)
states how then every man was manic to defend themselves. then how he had to come and tell Creon .
(leader then follows speech asking if it was gods)

Question 21

Antigone: Creon speech in response to first messenger

Answer 21

furious at the suggestion that it was the gods. says the gods don’t care for that body. don’t celebrate traitors. Says it was one of the men who were against him being king. thinks men were bribed to do it. they will pay the price. says to sentry that if they don’t find the man then they will be killed

Question 22

Antigone: Second messenger speech

Answer 22

brings Antigone saying she buried the body. They went back to the slimy corpse and removed the burying dirt from it. then hid to see who came (hiding also from smell of corpse). suddenly a whirlwind came ripping leaves from trees (suggesting again the supernatural). then saw the girl screaming at the uncovered body. she began burying again and they grabbed her. she denied nothing of the offence.
Said it made him feel sad but didn’t matter cuz meant he was safe of accusation

Question 23

Antigone speech to Creon after being seized

Answer 23

States how she did. Zeus did not make the law against his burial, nor hades or justice. a meer mortal has no right to make such a law. cannot break the unshaken traditions. “die i must”. says how she doesn’t mind cuz got nothing to live for. could not allow brother to rot.

Question 24

Creon speech to antigone after she confesses

Answer 24

says she will bend to his rule. “spirited horses” can be broken (talking about citizens like animals…tyranny). She has broken the law and will be punished. states that even tho she is his sisters child, he will not change his views. then accuses Ismene and calls for her.

Question 25

Creon speech to Haemon after saying “i obey you”

Answer 25

says that he is expected to be subordinate. man prays for good sons. tells him never to loose sense of judgment over a woman. says he needs to let the girl go if she is a misery. says he is going to kill her for being a rebel. he will punish whoever steps out of order. will not let city be destroyed by anarchy. he will never be inferior to women.

Question 26

Haemon reply to Creon saying he will kill antigone

Answer 26

Says how he does not wish to tell him he has done wrong but he must. everyone fears Creon and the city secretly mourns for the girl. say she will have a brutal death for a glorious action. he states how he rejoices in his fathers success, but states not to be singleminded. Even wise men can still learn things. realises he is only young, but has good advise.

Question 27

Antigone’s final speech when being taken away by guards

Answer 27

contrasts tomb with bridal bed. states she will soon embrace her family. she will go down before her time and see the rest of her family (not mentioning Ismene). Praises how she managed to bury both bodies of brothers. She would never to this to herself if it was her child or husband because they can be replaced. but not a brother. reflects on missing out on marriage and children. asks the gods to make these men suffer unless she has been wrong.

Question 28

Antigone: Tiresias to Creon warning

Answer 28

he was at a sanctuary where birds hover at his hands. they then began killing and ripping at each other. he then saw the burnt sacrifice but there was no fire yet the body was oozing and spitting. the rites failed. it is all because Creon has plagued the city and fouled the alter. he is doomstruck like oedipus. says humans make mistakes and he must take back his folk because pride is a crime. (ultimately Creon ignores)
After Creon speaks and insults. T says “a corpse for corpses in return” (Haemon and Eurydice)

Question 29

Antigone: messenger to Eurydice

Answer 29

he escorted creon to the body of Polynices. they washed the body (eaten a bit by dogs) and gave it the burial. they heard a cry and Creon recognised it was Haemon (C: “my son- its his dear voice). they ran to the tomb and saw Antigone hanging by the neck with the boy flung round her waist. Creon saw him and wept for “my child” begging him to come out. H spat in his face and drew his sword… only to fall on it and die.

Question 30

Oedipus the king: prologos oedipus and priest

Answer 30

Oedipus: calls thebes his children, says i am oedipus, you know my fame (hubris and ironic). Asks priest why he is kneeling here. says he wants to help and will do anything “blind to misery” not to pity his kneeling people

Priest: Calls to oedipus saying how everyone kneels at his alter. says Thebes is dying. crops wont grow, women die in brith with stillborns, terrible plague. Says he prays to him to help as they rate him as the best man. freed them from Sphinx. says he bends on his knees to him (wrong as priest above a king). asks to act and raise up the city.

Oedipus: i have also wept for the city and have already acted, sent freon to delphi so ask gods why there is a plague.

Question 31

Oedipus the king: Oedipus speech to the people of thebes about finding the murderer

Answer 31

says the murderer will be only exiled if he speaks up. reward anyone who knows who murderer is. (no one responds) O urges people who know murderer to drive him out as he is the plague. places his curse on the murderer and says “i curse myself as well!”
says these are his orders. asks why no one searched Laius murder before. says he feels connected to laius cuz same wife. He curses anyone who does not do his orders.

Question 32

Oedipus first speech to Tiresius (please help us)

Answer 32

flatters saying he is the saviour. “I beg you” to rescue the city. O demonstrates great passion for the city. T responds saying it is terrible to see the truth and asks to be sent home.

Question 33

Oedipus to Tiresius after Tiresius has said “you are the curse” “you are the murderer you hunt”

Answer 33

He thinks this is Creon’s conspiracy. says how Creon envys his power. Creon “my loyal friend” (lost his reason) is now hungry to overthrow oedipus. Then abuses Tiresius calling him a fraud. said Tiresius never freed the people from sphynx with a prophecy. he did tho. Says he did it with no help from the birds - how can T hope to overthrow such a man! (hubris)

Question 34

Tiresius speech to Oedipus after oedipus suggests conspiracy

Answer 34

T says although he is king, he has the right to respond to the kings words. says “you mock my blindness?” then states how he is blind to his corrupt life. asks oedipus who his parents are (rhetorical mocking questions). Says his mother and fathers curse will take him from the land. soon he will learn about the truth of his marriage

Oedipus then asks who his father was. T responds with riddles. says the murderer will become blind and poor, brother and father both, to his mother son and husband (this is a prophecy).

Question 35

Creon first speech to Oedipus after O states about the ‘conspiracy’

Answer 35

Says Oedipus is not being rational. says why would he want to rule and live in anxiety? Particularly because he already has equal say in ruling (as Oedipus just said - all three O, J, C are equal). Said he doesnt want the crown because many duties. he prefers to just give his influence. Says go to delphi and find out. if he is right then creon says arrest me.

Oedipus responds being like “no i want you dead” creon says he is insane.

Question 36

Jocasta about prophecies being false (after Oedipus and Creon fight)

Answer 36

Tells O not to worry about T cuz no human can predict future. Says oracle came to Laius and said his son would kill him. BUT laius was killed by strangers were three roads met. Her son was bound and flung on mountain. Says apollo was not saying what the prophet falsely delivered so dont worry just ignore T.

O then worries that he killed Laius cuz killed a man at same place lol who looked the same and was at around the same time. Needs to find servant who was there and said it was a band of robbers who killed.

Question 37

Creon to Jocasta about being told he would kill his parents

Answer 37

Begins saying Jocasta means more to him than anyone, and that he is afraid and needs her to help him get though this. Father was polybus and mother Merope. Drunk man at a banquet shouted that he was not his fathers son. Asked parents and they were furious. So he secretly went to delphi and asked Apollo who flashed before his eyes the future. people shouted “you will couple with your mum and kill your father”. He then ran from corinth. while running he reached those roads. wagon nearly hit him from the road so killed them. there was an old man.
Begins worrying if it was laius saying he is now hated by the gods. Thinks about his curse on himself. says he must exile and never see his parents so as to avoid the doom.

Question 38

Messenger J dead and O blind

Answer 38

J ran into room crying for laius and their child. wept for her child being her husband. Oedipus burst in screeming for a sword and then ran to jocasta’s chamber and broke in. Found jocasta hanging. he saw her and sobbed. he took her down, ripped off the pins from her dress and dug them into his eyes. then the messenger reflects on their reversal - previous joy and now madness and doom.