The Human Nature of Medea

Euripides' contemporaries and classical scholars alike point out the non-Aristotelean elements in Medea, this might intimidate today's reader. Euripides, instead of following the guidelines established by Aristotle in his Poetics, has a stirring psychological truth of human nature. This is clear when we examine the monologues given by Medea during the play. Each speech develops the character and creates a certain audience empathy. Medea is not a tragedy of a good person with a flaw. …showed first 75 words of 2041 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2041 total…The Poetics, in The Rhetoric and The Poetics of Aristotle, trans. W. Rhys Roberts and Ingram Bwater. New York: 1954. Bates, W.N. Euripides: A Study of Human Nature, New York: 1961. Conacher, D.J. Euripidean Drama, Toronto: 1967. Euripides. Medea, in The Norton Anthology World Masterpieces, trans. Rex Warner. New York: 1992. Kitto. Greek Tragedy, New York: 1952. Norwood, Gilbert. Greek Tragedy, New York: 1960. Conacher, D.J. Euripidean Drama, Toronto: 1967. Snodgrass, Mary Ellen, Cliffs Notes on Greek Classics, Lincoln: 1988.