Examined Life: Works About Morals And Religious Issues By Aeschylus

Name: Course: Professor: Date: Aeschylus The Athenian Greek tragedies dated back between 525 –456 B.C. Aeschylus is among the three great Greek writers of tragedy and a predecessor of Sophocles and Euripides. His unique transformation of religious and ethical concerns into the inspirational language through drama earned him the name “Father of Tragedy”. Many of Aeschylus tragedy revolved around humanity and divine authority, he used ingeniously elaborate language to present important issues that affected the Greeks. Although little is known about Aeschylus life, ancient biography indicates that he was born around 525 –456 B.C in Eleusis, he fought during the Marathon and the Salamis war before going to Sicily living in the court of Hiero and later died at Gela(Aeschylus 16). Aeschylus wrote more than 90 plays with some of his exemplary plays, including the Suppliant, the Persians, Prometheus Bound and the ancient trilogy Oresteia (Aeschylus 18). Oresteia is a story that recounts the murder of Agamemnon after he returned home from the Trojan War, he murdered his own mother and her lover but Orestes had to face justice (Aeschylus 71). Before Aeschylus, tragedies were limited dialogues, but Aeschylus invented better ways to attract the audience by modifying costumes, stage decoration, and even appeared in his own plays to portray specific dramatic conflict (Aeschylus 73). Aeschylus incorporated chorus as part of the storyline instead of the usual exchange dialogue between actors in a non-threatening way, when addressing the complex religious problem in the society (Aeschylus 77). Aeschylus work focused on morals and religious issues and morality as seen in the Oresteia trilogy and three other plays, including Agamemnon, The Choephoroe, and The Eumenides. Aeschylus borrowed from Sophocles to present complex themes of human suffering and true justice (Aeschylus 79). His additions of the choruses were important because chorus created a deeper and more meaningful connection between the characters and the audience. The modern translation of Greek tragedy by authors like Ted Hughes, The Oresteia of Aeschylus is the many English translations of Aeschylus plays. In Sartre's play No Exit, three characters are condemned and are required to stay together eternally (Sartre 115). The character Garcin cannot understand why Inez deserted the army to be condemned. Estelle killed her new baby and pushed her lover to commit suicide, Estelle looks for affection but fails. Inez seduces Estelle but fails to succeed. In Sartre's translations, these characters seek for redemption, but only get condemnation (Sartre 117). Sartre displays strong characterization to convey his theme, he humanizes each character, giving them varied motives to make the play interesting, unlike the original Greek tragedy. Given the fact that the stories were written during a time when world leaders exerted control over the people under their rule, Sartre's work exposed the implication of control and the need for freedom that attracted contemporary audiences. The postmodern adaptation of Greek tragedy by Ted Hughes translation of Aeschylus ‘Oresteia trilogy has been widely been reviewed. The most interesting ways Hughes presents his st...