Medea

I bought this book to update my memory of Medea for a campfire circle with my grandchildren. So some of you might say, "How could you tell little children this story?" Well, I used to tell my daughter Edgar Alan Poe stories around the campfire. She remembered them so well that she begged me for more for our recent trip camping with her sons.Medea is a perfect story for all ages. Euripides tells it much better than I. The English in this version is from about a century ago but If you're used to Edgar Alan Poe or his contemporaries it is very good. Medea pulls your heartstrings and lets us know that not much really changes over the thousands of years when it comes to human emotion.

The forward in this edition provides an excellent basis for the understanding of the climate in which the play was first crafted as well as providing a break down of what we will be reading/ its meanings. Unfortunately the latter is securely in spoiler territory for those who want to go in blind... or as much as one can with a millennia-old classic work of fiction. Disturbing and incredibly human throughout. A good thought piece if nothing else.

I read this before heading to Ashland to see Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella just to have a frame of reference. I enjoy plays in a wide variety of forms and styles from Shakespeare to Chekhov. I must say that I also enjoyed the tale of Jason and the Argonauts which was the first appearance of Medea. In that story she did some pretty horrific things, such as chopping her brother into bits and scattering the pieces in the Black Sea to shed her pursuing father. So I was ready for her to commit some atrocities.The play is short and pretty much consists of one setting. Granted this was written (or played and told) in a time when there weren't 'sets'. But the play mainly consists of Medea conversing with a variety of folk. She is angry that Jason, her husband, has taken a new wife, one with a better social standing. Medea plots revenge. She curses a dress and causes it to engulf Jason's new wife and her father, the king, in flames. She then kills her own children in order to prevent others from using them against her. But really it seems she did all of this just to torment Jason.The events are tragic, but take place away from the 'viewer'. We hear about the death of the king and his daughter from a servant and Medea goes into her house and commits her final atrocity. It really detaches the reader. Again, I understand that this was groundbreaking in Ancient Greece. But after reading so many modern plays, it really does show its age. It is well worth reading for a foundation on classic theater, but reading for entertainment, it will probably fall short of expectations. I could see it being adapted well to modern stage with some good writing and directing though.I downloaded the free version to my Kindle player on my phone. It was a good version (different from the paperback I checked out from the library, just a different translation). It is the same version on the Project Guttenberg site and was probably the same individual(s) that published it for the Kindle as well.

Well, Medea makes soap operas at their worst look sweet and tame.

A very accessible translation, supported by a good introduction and well reasoned and scholarly end notes regarding the disputed issues in the meaning and style points of the play.

I didn't like the play too much (until she rides off in the dragon chariot) but it is a classic Greek tragedy and should be browsed over to pull up in conversation when the time comes.

This is a fascinating exploration of revenge and justice and is delivered by an unforgettable woman. Medea's cold and calculated wrath is incredible to read.

Reminds me of college humanities class which was one of the most important classes I took in being exposed to art, literature, and music of classical masters.