Comparitive Study Between Euripides’ Alcestis and Hippolytus

Euripides, youngest of the three great classical tragedians, was born c. 485 BC though he was scarcely a coevals younger than Sophocles, his world view better reflects the political, social, and intellectual crises of late 5th-century Athens. Euripides large range spans contradictory tendencies He was two a rationalist and a romanticisthe some(prenominal) criticized the traditional gods and celebrated religious pheno workforcea He incorporated the new intellectual and scientific move workforcets into his works but besides conveyed the irresistible power of the irrational.Original and experimental, he parodied the conventions of tragedy and also employ new theories about the illusionist and deceptive powers of language. He created tragicomic plots. His Alcestis and Hippolytus atomic number 18 his two great jobs. We depart nonice many similarities in Euripidean buncos. at that place are many similarities in Alcestis and Hippolytus and also make up some dissimilarities. c omparative degree studies between these sportswomans are discussed below. In ancient Greek tragedy on that point has several partsPrologue, Parados, Episode. the first Stasimon the second Episode, the second Stasimon, the ternion gear Episode, the third Stasimon, the fourth Episode, the fifth Stasimon and Exodos. The plot structures of both finds are same. In both lean we find Prologue, Parados, Episode, the first Stasimon the second Episode, the second Stasimon, the third Episode, the third Stasimon, the fourth Episode, the fifth Stasimon and Exodos and also choral ode with strophe and antistrophe. In both play the unity of time, place and action have been maintained. Both plays are compose in Iambic Pentameter.Both Alcestis and Hippolytus open with prologue or monologue which is a common characteristic of Greek plays . In both plays the consultation have lost their interest from the very beginning because everything has been told before in the prologue. The play Alcestis b egins with the prologue of the god Apollo. Here Apollo stops conclusion from taking the carriage of Admetus and predicts that Alcestis will die instead of Admetus. He also predicts that Alcestis brio will be allayd by Heracles, the demi god. Similarly the play Hippolytus also begins with the monologue of the goddess Aphrodite.In the play Aphrodite the goddess of manage, is angry with Hippolytus because of his devotion to Artemis, the goddess of chastity and hunting. So she makes a externalize to ruin the life of Hippolytus, phadra and Theseus as well. Chorus plays a very pro build position in Greek plays. The countance of emit is mandatory in Greek plays. In the plays of Sophocles the chorus continually present on the stage. In Euripides the picture is quite different. His plays are relatively complex. He experienced difficulties in retaining chorus.In Alcestis The entry of the chorus, or the parodos sequence, follows a chorus of fifteen men of Pherae, led by a coryphaeus ( chorus-leader), enter the orchestra of the theatre. The chorus-leader complains that they are in a state of suspense, ignorant of whether they ought to be performing mourning rituals for their queen. The chorus lyrical ode, to which they spring as they sing, consists of two paired stanzas of strophe and antistrophe. They sing of the silence that greets their search for signs of mourning, the deduction of Alcestis remnant. When goodness dies, they lament, all good men suffer, too. The chorus-leader concludes by dismissing the chorus search for apply in the situation The King has exhausted every ritual. The Chorus is world-shattering here and active. They informed the audience about what is happening inside the palace. strange Senecas chorus, the chorus is very active and plays a very great image. In Hippolytus the chorus is composed of fifteen women of Troy. In this play the chorus is mostly passive. For in a Sophoclean play the chorus announces new comers.In Hippolytus th e chorus is not as active as Sophoclean tragedy. They inform the audience of the death of his wife. tho under no circumstances could they speak of the cruel honey of Phaedra for Hippolytus. That would have been the height of impropriety. That is why Phaedra has to lay bare her mettle to the Nurse. It is Artemis who informed Theseus of what actually happened. What mortals fail to do, Dues ex machine can. The choruses in Hippolytus thence do not serve any important purpose as they do in the tragedies of Aeschylus and Sophocles.Euripides always highlights the role of servant or she-goat end-to-end his plays. He always highlights the salve character. In Alcestis it is the servant who reveals the unknown to Heracles that their queen is dead. Heracles gets drunk and begins irritating the servants, who bonkd their queen and are sour at not being allowed to mourn her properly. Finally, one of the servants snaps at the client and tells him what has happened. Heracles is terribly e mbarrassed at his blunder and his bad behavior, and he decides to tarry and live Death and save Alcestis from the clutches of Death.Similarly in Hippolytus it is defend who reveals the secret of her queen to Hippolytus which hastens the death of Phaedra. Phaedra took her Nurse into her confidence. But the nurse foolishly exposed the truth to Hippolytus. So we can say in both plays. Euripides reveals the truth by a slave character. Aeschylus and Sophocles had implicit faith in the Olympian gods and goddesses. Euripides had refined sensibility and looks at the divinities a little critically disciple of Xenophanes and Anaxagoras, he had a rational outlook on men and things. He was not a skeptic, far less an atheist.He abundantly utilize the traditional myth and legends. In Alcestis, Admetusforgot to sacrifice to Artemis, and consequently found his marriage chamber full of coiled serpents. Apollo bade King Admetus reconcile the goddess, and meanwhile he obtained (because Admetus1 was such a kind track towards him) a special favour of the MOERAE that when Admetus1 should be about to die, he might be released from death, if someone should choose voluntarily to die for him. In Admetus I found a godly man. And so I pull through him from death by tricking the MOERAE.These goddesses promised me that Admetus could escape an immediate death by self-aggrandizing in exchange another corpse to the powers below. (Apollo. Euripides, Alcestis 10). Alcestis dies in vicarious death Admetus could not find someone who would die for him. scarce because of the role of Apollo, Admetus life saves and Alcestis dies instead of him. Euripides makes gods and goddesses questionable. In Alcestis, Alcestis dies because Admetus could not find someone who would die for him. Only because of the role of Apollo, Admetus life saves and Alcestis dies instead of him.Here the justice of Apollo is definitely questionable. In Hippolytus, the Olympian gods and goddesses plays a very important role although they are presented in the play in an unpleasant way. Hippolytus is very much devoted to the goddess Artemis and do not worship Aphrodite which makes the goddess angry and she made a plan which ruins the life of Hippolytus, Phaedra and Theseus as well. The main theme of this play is the conflict between get by and chastity, infact it is the conflict between Aphrodite and Artemis. Artemis is not also tallyly blameless.She could have save her favorite but didnt do so. Although the god Poseidon does not appear physically but he plays a very significant role in this play. He too is responsible for the death of Hippolytus. Euripides portrayal of women in his plays has been somewhat bizarre. His female characters kill out of r planege, kill out of green-eyed monster and kill because a god possessed them too. Women occasionally assert dominance in the household although, even within the home they posses limited bow over their husbands. An interesting theme runs through Eu ripides theatrical tragedies Alcestis and Hippolytus.In each(prenominal) play the lead female character forgoes her life for the sake of chicane. In Alcestis, Alcestis willingly gives her life to prevent her husband Admentus death. In Hippolytus, Phaedra chooses to commits suicide as a result of falling in love with her husbands son and refusing to be deceitful to her husband. Although Alcestis love should be considered as deterrent example and virtuous where as Phaedras passion for her son was immoral, incestuous and illegal. In these two plays, a major female character challenges the predominately masculine stub pf power and authority and in some way questions the limits of that power.Alcestis forces her husband to confront the gap between the value that he attaches to family ties and affections and the honorific exchange of customer relationship that belong to the outward-facing world of male prerogatives. Phaedras erotic passion invades the garden world of idealized purity that Hippolytus would create with his virginal huntress-goddess, Artemis and shatters its defense team by opening it up to the power of Aphrodite that he has rejected (both for himself and others) so absolutely.In the process, Phaedra also releases the suppressed violence and hatred that fuel Hippolytus total rejection of Aphrodite. .Although Phaedra has passionate desires for her stepson she is thoroughly a disgraced of these feelings and as a result of her shame she decides to die by starving herself. She also condemns women who are unfaithful to their husbands as she says And I despise them, women who preach faithfulness to husbands but dare the finish off behind their backs. Euripides, therefore, presents Phaedra as a moral woman who is just an doomed victim of AphroditeIn these two cases the women are impelled to their actions by their smart emotional commitment to house and family. Alcestis and Phaedra both try to ensure their childrens future and each is prepared to sacrif ice her life in the process, although in diametrically opposite ways. In the play Hippolytus we notice the development and instruction in Phaedras character. She is a dynamic or round character. But Alcestis does not have any growth and development throughout the play. She is a static character. Unlike Phaedra she plays a trivial role in the play. on that point is a question whether Euripides is misogynist or not.Euripides innovation in his Hippolytus is to draw up the woman as a sympathetic character, Aphrodites helpless victim caught in a divine plan to destroy Hippolytus. His audience expects to see the unsavoury woman vilified and the virtuous youth exalted that is the tradition. Instead, Euripides portrays his Phaedra as a passing moral woman struggling against the shame of her passion, while Hippolytus is an intolerant prig. Alcestis love is virtual, a sacred love for a husband. But Phaedras love for his step son has been considered in the play as sickness. She became lov e sick.Since her love is not pure like Alcestis so her love defined as sickness throughout the play. Euripides sympathetic tone is toward woman is also verbalized in the play Alcestis. Alcestis fate can be viewed as a reflection of the male- dominated world of fifth- century Athens- her death is decided by her husband, in that he allows her to take his pre-ordained place in Hades her surrender from Death comes only through Heracles disturbance. Being led silently from the grave accent perhaps symbolizes the womans role in the Athenian household as a subordinate figure, from whom it was preferred to hear little.In all, the play shows that the rules of the male world, guest- familiarity and hospitality in particular, are more important that the whims of a female, even her dying wish are disregarded. So he cant be considered as misogynist. Heroes are undistinguished in Euripidean plays. They do not have much heroic qualities. They are very common and childly rather heroines are m ore focused in Euripidean play. For example in Alcestis, Admetus role is not heroic rather he is coward and self centered. He has not any growth and development.Alcestis sacrifices her own life for her husband, Admetus just laments on her wifes death. He does not try anything to save her darling wifes life. Rather it was Heracles who save the Alcestis life and rescued her. In Hippolytus, we notice the growth and development of Phaedras character. Phaedras love, her passion, her struggle and her death makes her a round character. But Hippolytus remains quite inactive throughout the play. He has no contribution to the action of the play. Phaedra and Aphrodite play the main role in this play.They are more focused than Theseus or Hippolytus. According to Aristotle a hero should not be too good or too bad. Hippolytus is too good. He is a debatable hero. He has no growth and development. Unlike Phaedra he is a static character. Deus ex machine is a technique where a god or artificial or improbable device introduced into a play to resolve the entanglements of the plot. This technique is frequently used by Euripides. In the play Alcestis, Heracles acted as Dues ex machine. In the play Hippolytus it is the goddess Artemis who is presented as Dues ex machine.Alcestis is considered as a satyr play. Alcestis is a home(prenominal) tragicomedy with a mixture of fairy tale atmosphere and zealous personal suffering that in the extant plays reappears again. Although the play begins with a grubby and tragic mood but the ending of this play is joyous. It has a halcyon ending though artificial. So this play is considered as a tragicomedy. His play Hippolytus explores the nature of passion, the problem of communication and language and the emotional and the moral pitfalls of severe aspiration and one-sided devotion to the ideal.This play is totally a tragedy. In this play Phaedra commit suicide and the play ends with death Hippolytus. Obviously this play does not end with a happy tone. So it has been considered as a pure example of tragedy. Euripides has come to be increasingly appreciated in modern times for his intellectual subtlety, bold and original dramatic power, bright psychological insight, and ability to elicit unexpected symbolic meaning from ancient myth and cult. Critics find the Alcestis a richly rewarding play in many areas. D. J.Conacher explores how Euripides expanded the myth of Admetus and Alcestis, adding comic and folk tale elements to face the needs of his tragedy. In Hippolytus, he also adapts the myth of Pasiphae the mother of Phaedra and Ariadne, the baby of her. But he relates it to the play by his own way. Throughout his works Euripides struggled to show the human side of his characters and tried to elevate their actions to a circumstance of importance and not just as a consequence of the intervention of the gods. For this reason Euripides stands apart as does his works.