This essay will ask you to think of the Oresteia as a Gesamtkunstwerk ("total work of theater art"), one that requires all three plays—Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, and Eumenides-to fulfill its vision.
Assignment:
Write an essay that focuses on the "problems" featured in the trilogy:
• The evolving meaning of blood
Begin the essay by showing how Eumenides brings this "problem" to a resolution. Then demonstrate exactly what it is that Eumenides is resolving through an examination of the complications, tensions, paradoxes, complexities, etc., featured in the first two plays. To be clear, then, the goal of the essay is to start by making an argument about some feature of Eumenides, and then to work back through Libation Bearers and Agamemnon to bring context and complexity to the resolution. For example, you might argue that the Eumenides culminates in some new configuration of state-sanctioned violence. The question then becomes, how did we get here? What was happening in the earlier two plays to make this new arrangement ideal? Work extensively with quoted passages from all three plays. Sample Answer
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
The Evolving Meaning of Blood in the Oresteia Trilogy The Oresteia trilogy, composed of Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, and Eumenides, is a masterpiece that can be seen as a Gesamtkunstwerk, or a total work of theater art. One of the recurring themes throughout the trilogy is the evolving meaning of blood. In this essay, we will explore how Eumenides resolves this “problem†by examining the complications, tensions, paradoxes, and complexities featured in the first two plays. To fully understand the resolution presented in Eumenides, it is crucial to explore the context and complexities that lead to it. In Agamemnon, blood is presented as a symbol of both power and violence. The murder of Agamemnon by his wife Clytemnestra is an act of revenge for the sacrifice of their daughter, Iphigenia. This act establishes a cycle of bloodshed and vengeance that permeates the trilogy. In Libation Bearers, the theme of blood takes on a more complex and ambiguous role. Orestes, Agamemnon’s son, returns to avenge his father’s death by killing Clytemnestra. However, this act also raises questions about the morality of shedding blood for personal revenge. Orestes is torn between his duty to avenge his father and the guilt he feels for taking another’s life. His internal struggle reflects the larger societal tension between the need for justice and the consequences of violence. It is in Eumenides that the resolution to the evolving meaning of blood emerges. The play introduces the Furies, ancient deities who represent vengeance and the blood ties that bind families together. However, with the help of Athena, a new order is established that reconciles the conflicting demands of justice and mercy. The Furies are transformed into Eumenides, benevolent goddesses who become guardians of Athens’ legal system. This transformation signifies a shift in the perception of blood. Instead of being associated solely with violence and vengeance, it now becomes a symbol of communal bonds and shared responsibility. In Eumenides, blood ties are no longer a source of endless cycles of revenge but become a foundation for establishing a just society. The resolution presented in Eumenides suggests that through reason and mediation, blood can be transformed from a destructive force into a unifying element. To fully grasp the significance of this resolution, it is essential to analyze the complications and tensions present in the first two plays. The cycle of bloodshed initiated by Agamemnon’s sacrifice in Agamemnon sets the stage for the conflicts that follow. The act of shedding blood for personal revenge in Libation Bearers highlights the moral dilemmas faced by individuals seeking justice. Through extensive analysis of quoted passages from all three plays, it becomes evident that Eumenides culminates in a new configuration of state-sanctioned violence. The transformation of the Furies into Eumenides represents a shift towards a more rational and just approach to resolving conflicts within society. In conclusion, the evolving meaning of blood in the Oresteia trilogy is resolved through an examination of the complications, tensions, paradoxes, and complexities featured in Agamemnon and Libation Bearers. Eumenides presents a new configuration where blood is no longer solely associated with violence and revenge but becomes a symbol of communal bonds and shared responsibility. By transforming the Furies into benevolent goddesses, the play suggests that through reason and mediation, blood can be transformed into a unifying force within society. The Oresteia trilogy serves as a powerful exploration of the complexities surrounding justice, vengeance, and the evolving meaning of blood.
