Medea Holiday Lesson Plan

Lesson 1: Introducing the Text Response and Medea

The VCE text response question is similar to what students will have done in Year 11. You
will choose from two questions and write an essay of about 750 to 1,000 words to answer
that question. To achieve a good score, your essay must demonstrate deep knowledge of
both the play Medea as well as the wider context that it is set in.

Now I will go through a brief outline of the essay. In most cases, your essay can be divided
into three sections:

1. Introduction
2. Body (Three Paragraphs)
3. Conclusion

Your body paragraphs should analyse the question in-depth and provide a balanced
viewpoint that covers both sides of the argument. It is no use, for example, to totally agree
or disagree with a do you agree? question. Instead, it is better to dedicate two paragraphs
to explain why we might agree with the question, and one paragraph to explain why we
might disagree. This means that you will have to understand what each character wants,
how they act, and why we as members of the audience sympathise with their respective
situations. Only then will you be able to use a wide range of quotes from the text to reveal
the motivations of key characters and how they evolve along with the story.
Medea: Background Information

MEDEA is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides, based upon the myth of two well-
known heroes, Jason and Medea, and first produced in 431 BC. The plot centres on the
actions of Medea, a former princess of the "barbarian" kingdom of Colchis, and the wife of
Jason. She finds her position in the Greek world threatened as Jason chooses to marry
another woman, a Greek princess of Corinth named Glauce. Medeas outpouring of grief
and bitter spirit leads King Creon to exile (force to leave) her immediately from the city
before she can do any harm to his people. Medea, however, begs Creon for one day to
make preparations, which he reluctantly grants. Medea then takes vengeance on Jason by
killing Jason's new wife as well as her own children, after which she escapes to Athens to
start a new life.

Writer: Euripides, around 431 BC

Setting: Heroic Age of Ancient Greece
Location: Corinth, a city in Greece

Medea: Part One

[30] Medeas Nurse opens the play, a wise and kind-hearted old woman who has looked
after her mistress physical and emotional needs for all her life. She wishes that Medea and
Jason had never met and then Medea would not have been mad with love for Jason,
forced to destroy her family (who were themselves enemies of Jason) and escape to the
Greek city of Corinth. But this is exactly what has happened.

Thus far, the Nurse observes that Medea has been a model wife: to Jason she is all
obedience and in marriage thats the saving thing, and to the citizens of Corinth she
comes as an exile, earning their welcome.

Unfortunately, Medea is unhappy, and we soon discover why. Her world has turned to
enmity, and wounds her where her affections deepest. Where there was once great love
for Jason borne out of passion, there is now great hatred. This is because Jason has betrayed
her, and their two sons, for a royal bed he has wed the Corinthian Princess, Glauce, and
broken his sacred oaths of marriage to Medea.

[31] Now Medea hates her sons and derives no joy from them. In a moment of
foreshadowing, the Nurse predicts that some dreadful purpose is forming in her mind. She
is a frightening woman and will not sit back while she is wronged. Medea is a strong,
proud, passionate woman; a princess too from her own island. The audience sees a tragedy
brewing, and fears for Medeas sanity and the safety of her sons.

[32] The boys and the tutor appear. They are minor characters who do not influence events
much. We learn that Medea is still crying in the house, whose doors are always shut. Dark
things are being planned inside: the house is a symbol.
[33] Old love is ousted by new love. Jasons no friend to this house.

[34] The Nurse passes judgment on Jason here: he is guilty: he has betrayed those near
and dear to him. But then the tutor pronounces that man is by nature selfish, and now that
Jason has found a new bride, old ties lie forgotten.

[35] The Nurse reminds us that Medeas mood is cruel, her nature dangerous, her will
fierce and intractable.

[36] The Nurse also reminds us that Medeas mind is that of a queen: used to giving
commands, not obeying them: her rage once roused is hard to appease. We shall see later
how her pride is one cause of the tragedy. She is after all the daughter of Helios, the sun god
that makes her semi-divine and this is reflected in her behaviour. The Greek gods are
unpredictable, incomprehensible; their ways are not known to men.

[37] Moderation is, according to Aristotle, the best way to live. Here, the Nurse repeats the
idea: the middle wayis best bay far, in name and practice. Being too passionate (like
Medea) or rational (Jason) brings disaster.

[39] Medeas desire to see Jason punished for his misdeeds is clearly illustrated here: may I
see Jason and his bride ground to pieces.for the wrong they have dared to do to me,
unprovoked! No doubt she is the victim here at this stage, and Jason the perpetrator.

[42] Medea speaks to all Greek women in her famous monologue. She bemoans her status
as a foreigner, but says she has done what has been required of her when in Rome, do as
the Romans do. Of course a stranger must conformI accept my place.

[43-44] One of the most important passages in the play; here Medea puts forth her feminist
argument. Women, she says, are ill-treated in Greece: a world ruled by men: Surely, of all
creatureswe women are the most wretched. Marriage is the most unfair of contracts:
they must buy a husband and accept them as possessor of our body. Divorce is not
respectable if they marry a bad man, death is better!

Greek women are thought of as weak and submissive that is their role in society. Yet a
woman, according to Medea, defends one right fiercely: touch her right in marriage, and
theres no bloodier spirit. The Chorus agrees: to punish Jason will be just. Medea re-
iterates her desire to see Jason punished, although we fear she will take it too far: there will
be blood before the play concludes.

[45] Creon arrives and exiles Medea, effective immediately. He fears Medea, both her
capacity to harm his daughter and because of her foreign ways. Youre a clever woman,
skilled in many evil arts
[46-47] Medea: What do you gain by being cleverall your fellow citizens hate you. A
woman of hot temper and a man the same is a less dangerous enemy than one quiet
and clever. Medeas intelligence does not win her friends in Greece, clearly.

[49] Medea uses her intelligence to manipulate Creon: she portrays herself as weak and
deserving of sympathy, but makes cunning plans behind her mask: show some pity: you
are a father tooI weep for [my children]; their fate is very hard. These are barefaced lies
and now we see that Medea has begun her turn towards villainy. She means to kill her
children, so why does she want a show of pity for them?

[50] Contrast the above with Medeas next lines a promise to take her revenge: do you
think I would have ever fawned so on this man, except to gain my purpose?

Questions:

1. Describe your impressions of each character up to this point:

Medea

Nurse

Creon

Jason

Chorus (what is the function of the Chorus?)

2. Why does Medea feel that she has been mistreated? Give TWO reasons.

3. Euripides sets us up to feel pity for Medea in the first half of the play, and yet she is not
all that she seems. What evidence is there for this? Follow the model template (Homework).
 Medea Holiday Lesson Plan

Lesson 2: Medea, Part II

Medea: Part Two

[51-52] Medea is resolute in carrying out her revenge, no matter what happens afterwards.
If some strong tower of help appears, Ill carry out this murder cunningly and quietly. But
if she receives no assistance, she will nevertheless harden [her] heart to the uttermost and
kill them both, even if I am to die for it. Then, she utters a rather strange proclamation:
we were born women useless for honest purposes, but in all kinds of evil skilled
practitioners. What sort of message is Euripides sending here regarding femininity; what it
means to be a woman? At first glance this is another of Medeas false statements, as clearly
the Chorus and the Nurse are set up to be good and trustworthy characters. Present here is
a strong contrast between our traditional conceptions of feminine wisdom and Medeas
propensity for madness. You might ask yourself if women are intelligent in a different way
to men.

[53] The Chorus speaks again, reinforcing Euripides feminist themes: a time comes when
the female sex is honoured, while men go out of fashion. But this lesson will carry a great
and terrible price.
You might see this as similar to the strong independent woman of the 21 st century: gender
roles are more fluid.

[54] The grace of sworn oaths is gone and Medea is a woman scorned. Promises are
one of the recurring devices in the play and may be tested in the exam. Generally speaking,
promises that are kept bring rewards, while those that are broken bring disaster. This
appears to be the will of the Gods

[56-58] Here comes Medea retelling the story of the Argonauts. And indeed she has helped
and saved Jason on many occasions, without which Jason would have died, his story
unknown. She whips up the anger of the audience with her rhetoric.

[59-60] Jason replies to her accusations here, displaying much sophistry. That is, he is
intelligent and highly logical in the debate, but he does not use his qualities justly. For it is
plain to see that he has treated Medea poorly and should seek forgiveness, but his
overweening pride gets in the way.

Jason argues: credit for my successful voyage was solely due to Aphrodite, the goddess of
love, who induced Medea to help him so that they could be lovers. You left a barbarous
land to become a resident of Hellas (Greece); here you have known justice and law he
insinuates that Colchis was not a very nice place to be, lacking civilisation and order. So,
when Medea saved Jason, she got far more than she gave.

Then he shifts tack: I wanted to ensure first, and the most important, that we should live
well and not be poor. He claims that marrying the princess was a decision that benefitted
his whole family, and that he had their interests as heart. Whether this claim is genuine or
not is up to the audience to decide. Nevertheless, Jason is also characterised as somewhat
of a power-hungry person, as he will be next in line to the throne of Corinth and will one day
be King.

[61] A shockingly sexist line is uttered here by Jason, revealing the attitude of Greek men in
general: if only children could be gotten some other way, without the female sex! If
women didnt exist, human life would be rid of all its miseries." In other words, to him,
women are the source of all unhappiness, and they are only good for making babies. Being
confined to the roles of a baby-maker and a housemaid deprives Greek women of status.

The Chorus then reprimands Jason: you are acting wrongly in thus abandoning your wife.
This is a decisive judgment that damns Jason in front of the audience.

[63-64] Jason, all sanctimonious, makes a grand show of fake generosity to Medea. Of
course she does not buy it neither should the audience.

[65-66] We hear the lamentation of the Chorus, a sad and pleading song detailing Medeas
plight. You, Medea, have suffered the most shattering of blows, yet neither the city of
Corinth nor any friend has taken pity on you Since no Greek in the play seems to
sympathise with Medea, it is implied that the audience should offer theirs.

[67-70] King Aegeus of Athens arrives. Medea recognises him as her friend, and he informs
her of his little problem: he cannot have children. Medea then informs him of her treatment,
and Aegeus thinks that it is shameful.

[71-72] Medea reveals the power of her magic here by suggesting a deal. Aegeus will grant
her a safe place in Athens once she escapes Corinth, and she will suggest some magic drugs
that will aid in begetting children. This reinforces her initial connection with the forces of
nature and animality; forces beyond reason and the control of men.

For diplomatic reasons Aegeus cannot directly rescue Medea, but once you can get to
Athens, Ill keep my promise and protect you all I can, he swears. As a matter of fact, it is
well-known that Aegeus eventually marries Medea, and they have children together.

[73] Swear by the Earth under your feet, by the Sun, my fathers father Once again
Medea invokes her semi-divine status, and calls upon the gods to witness the forming of this
pact. Promises appear to be governed by a higher power.

Questions:

1. Now you have heard both Medeas and Jasons arguments, set in the form of a big
struggle (the Greeks call this an Agon). Who do you think is in the right? Explain your views.

2. Some promises are kept and some are broken. What is the significance of promises in the
play so far? Give three examples (homework at least 350 words).
 Medea Holiday Lesson Plan

Lesson 3: Medea, Part III

Medea: Part Three

[74] Medea gloats and informs the audience of the ghastly details of her plan. But she takes
care to emphasise that her enemies will be punished as they deserve, which may seem
convincing if not for her duplicity and thirst for blood.

[75-77] Now the audience learns the true nature of her plans: I will kill my sons. No one
shall take my children from me. The deliberate act of filicide, or child slaughter, is
unthinkable for most mothers, let alone doable. Why, then, does Medea resort to it?
Perhaps Euripides wishes to remind his audience that the lines between civilisation and
barbarism are not as clear as they think, and that nature does not necessarily stand on the
side of man.

Yes, I can endure guilt, however horrible; the laughter of my enemies I will not endure.
We are used to thinking that Medeas tragic flaw is her excess of passion, but here we
recognise that pride is also a prime motivator of evil. And yet she determinedly portrays
herself as heroic, breaking the traditional mould of the feminine: I am of a different kind:
dangerous to my enemies, loyal to my friends.

Then the Chorus asks if she can steel her heart to commit murder. This is the way to deal
Jason the deepest wound, she replies, even though it will bring her deepest misery. So we
see that the ideals of justice are now perverted to suit Medeas lust for revenge. She no
longer wants fairness in her dealings its about making a point.

[78] In their conception of the world the gods have set the loves to be enthroned beside
knowledge, i.e. passion and reason are equals, as are the goddesses Aphrodite and Athena.
Now this balance is upset. How can any people welcome a child-killer, whose presence is
pollution? Any blow struck against an innocent child, remarks the Chorus, is an
unforgivable one.

[79-80] Medea pretends to reconcile with Jason. A moment of dramatic irony when she says:
we women I wont say we are bad by nature, but we are what we are. She (and we)
knows more than Jason here, exposing his ignorance and high-handedness. Her words may
be more truthful than they appear.

[83] Compare the above quote with her next line: but women are women; tears come
naturally to us. Is it fair for Medea to speak of what is natural to a woman? Does she really
come to represent the nature of all women? Surely not; and yet there is a lesson in store
[84] Medea persuades her children to deliver her gifts, the killing device. Naturally, no one
suspects anything.

[85] The technique of prolepsis, or foreshadowing: now I have no more hope that the
children can live. We suspect from the beginning that this might be the case, but now we
know for sure that the climax of the play coincides with the murder of her children, which is
what distinguishes Euripides version from the others.

[86] Euripides now skilfully redirects our sympathies towards Jason, for this imminent
ruining of his life is more than he justly deserves: and you, unhappy Jason, ill-starred in
marriage, you, son-in-law of kings: little you know that the favour you ask will seal your
sons destruction. This astrological metaphor is famously repeated by Shakespeare many
years later: Romeo and Juliet are star-crossed lovers.

[90] Another important monologue from Medea, this time involving the two conflicting
impulses in her head: why should I hurt them, to make their father sufferwhat is the
matter with me? Are my enemies to laugh at me? This invisible struggle between morality
and the ego is something that lends Medeas character complexity.

[92] A key scene. First, she tries to allay her sense of guilt by persuading herself that all
blessing here your father has destroyed, but this, obviously, is hardly convincing to us. Then
she finally admits her wicked intentions: I understand the horror of what I am going to do,
but anger, the spring of all lifes horror, masters my resolve. Instead of being consumed
by a single moment of passion, she plots murder deliberate murder, thus completing her
descent into villainy. The enormity of this confession cannot be understated.

Questions:

1. What role does the Chorus occupy in the play? Who do they speak for?

2. Compare and contrast these characters and themes (homework 350 words):

Jason and Medea

Nurse and Creon
Passion and Reason
 Medea Holiday Lesson Plan

Lesson 4: Medea, Part IV

Medea: Part Four

[94] The messenger brings news of the Princess and Creons deaths. Youll give me double
pleasure if their death was horrible, answers Medea. This reveals a wicked side to hair that
delights in the pain of others we call this sadism.

[95-96] The messenger narrates how the Princess died first, and how Creon rushed to hold
her and fell under the evil spell too. A bloody, violent, shocking narration, but we dont
actually get to see them die.

[97] Those who are intelligent, the propounders of wise theories their folly is of all
mens the most culpable. The messenger states that men who hold themselves to be very
smart and learned, and believe that they are never wrong they are the ones who make the
worst mistakes, just like Jason. They will learn that happiness is not theirs to take.

Chorus: Today we see the will of heaven, blow after blow, bring down on Jason justice
and calamity. We might want to ask ourselves if justice is actually served, as the Princess
dies for Jasons errors. But again this is the judgment of the gods, and Medea is one of their
half-children.

[98] Where kindred blood pollutes the ground, a curse hangs over human lives. The
Chorus emphasises that to kill ones children is unnatural, and brings bad luck to the
humans involved in such a crime.

[99] Medea proceeds to kill her children, and Jason calls her a vile murderess for her
actions.

[100] A chariot appears to help Medea escape. She mocks Jason: Touch us you cannot, in
this chariot the sun has sent to save us from the hands of enemies. Her father Apollo has
given her divine help, and the gods will not tolerate an insult to one of their kind.

Out of mere sexual jealousy, you murder them! Here Jason seems to miss the point, and
thinks that Medeas wrath is merely due to his infidelity. He does not understand the
feminist undertones of her message; is unable to comprehend his own personal failings.

[101] My pains a fair price, to take away your smile. Medea wants to cause Jason the
greatest suffering possible, even if it causes her pain. Therefore she takes no delight in
killing her own children and weeps for them afterwards, but she does it because she
believes Jason deserves worse.
[102] What god will hear your imprecation, oath-breaker, guest-deceiver, liar? The gods
do not support Jason because he broke his promises and spoke half-truths to justify his
mistakes, Medea explains. He will grow old and die by an accident.

[103] The Chorus concludes: Many matters the gods bring to surprising ends. The things
we thought would happen do not happen Essentially, Euripides highlights how the world
is a troubling one; the forces of heaven rule it over without giving men an explanation of
their intentions. Human reason has its limits, and divine justice is beyond our understanding.
The tragedy that happened here was ordained by Zeus. Perhaps it is his way of saying that
Greek men must reassess their position in society, and treat their female counterparts with
a little more respect.

Questions:

1. Examine these characters:

Jason
Medea
The children
King Creon
Princess Glauce

Who do you think are victims? Who are villains? Justify your answers.

2. Do you find the conclusion of the play satisfying? What do you think Euripides is trying to
tell us?

3. How are men and women portrayed differently in the play? Discuss in two paragraphs
(homework 350 words).
 Medea Holiday Lesson Plan

Lesson 5: Thematic Summary and Essay Writing

Now that youve covered the entire play, it is essential that we look at its themes a little
more closely. Generally, most essay questions in the VCE will address one to two themes;
rarely, three. You must examine these themes from two angles and explain why each
character has chosen to act in a particular way.

First, we should divide all the important quotes weve learned so far into four categories,
corresponding to each theme then analyse what they mean:

PASSION VERSUS REASON:

QUOTES (Pg. number) SIGNIFICANCE
JUSTICE VERSUS REVENGE:
QUOTES SIGNIFICANCE

VILLAIN VS VICTIM:
QUOTES SIGNIFICANCE
MEN VS WOMEN:
QUOTES SIGNIFICANCE

Sample Essay Question:

It is Jason, not Medea, who gains the audiences sympathy? Do you agree?

This is an open question that allows students to bring in as many themes as they feel
comfortable to explore. However, students should ensure that they understand and clearly
explain the key word in the question: sympathy. You need to show how each scene and
argument you make leads the audience to feel for Jason, Medea or both of them.
Remember, neither is completely innocent and so you need to provide an even-handed
assessment of their good and bad points.

We can talk about:

Justice and revenge, justice being an ideal (a good thing), and revenge a vice (nearly
always harmful for both parties).
Villain and victim they are both. Look closely at how each character changes and
develops throughout the play.
Men and women: do women deserve more sympathy for their powerlessness in
ancient Greek society?