Medea by Euripides
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Part of BBC’s “The 100 stories that shaped the world” list, I thought it would be fun to keep track of all the works I have read that are listed.
I have been feeling kind of down and blue since finishing my term paper (go figure) and thought a Greek tragedy would afford me some perspective. It didn’t fail. It has been a while since I last read a play, let alone a Greek play, but I am still surprised how much I enjoyed it; I even smiled a few times.
Euripides’ writing and the dialogue he creates for Medea with respect to women and their struggle in society is very forward and even modern. Obviously, as a tragedy, the main character’s actions and words are somewhat heightened (for some reason I don’t want to label them exaggerated) and provide so much richness to this short play.
Some of the phrases were quite humorous and seemed rather modern, which was interesting to observe.
Overall, a quite entertaining and short play that will have the reader forget their problems for a while. I highly recommend it.
