Euripides and Alcestis: Speculations, Simulations, and Stories of Love in the Athenian CultureUniversity Press of America, 1998 - 113 pages Euripides and Alcestis demonstrates the inherent presence of indeterminacy in Euripides' play, Alcestis. The author uses about eighty of the scholarly attempts to establish a determinate meaning of the play to exhibit the difficulty and lack of success in previous attempts at interpretation. She recognizes that the meaning of the play is surrounded by ambiguity and indeterminacy and provides an interpretation based on this knowledge. As an interpretation, the author focuses on Admetus' desire in relation to Alcestis' statue and his nature as a fifth century Athenian man while exposing Alcestis as a nonidentity. She also analyzes the issues of representation and spectatorship, showing that the theatrical performance is constructed in order to function as vehicles for the satisfaction of a dominant position-that of Admetus and the spectator of the performance. |
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Page 2
... Heracles masters the situation and resolves to go to Hades to bring Alcestis back . The final scene , which brings together Heracles , the veiled woman ( Alcestis ) , and Admetus , prepares for the happy ending , though . . . the urging ...
... Heracles masters the situation and resolves to go to Hades to bring Alcestis back . The final scene , which brings together Heracles , the veiled woman ( Alcestis ) , and Admetus , prepares for the happy ending , though . . . the urging ...
Page 30
... Heracles : Surely you have not lost your wife , Alcestis . Admetus : Yes and no . There are two ways that I could answer that . Heracles : Did you say that she is dead or that she is still alive ? Admetus : She is , but she is gone away ...
... Heracles : Surely you have not lost your wife , Alcestis . Admetus : Yes and no . There are two ways that I could answer that . Heracles : Did you say that she is dead or that she is still alive ? Admetus : She is , but she is gone away ...
Page 44
... Heracles is exceptionally paradigmatic ; it is as admirable as his friendly treatment of Apollo when the god comes to work for him . In fact , Heracles appears as another Apollo ; there is a parallel established in the play between the ...
... Heracles is exceptionally paradigmatic ; it is as admirable as his friendly treatment of Apollo when the god comes to work for him . In fact , Heracles appears as another Apollo ; there is a parallel established in the play between the ...
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absence accepts According action actor Admetus Aeschylus Alcestis analysis Ancient Apollo appears ariste Aristotle Athenian Bacchae becomes believes brings called Cambridge Century characters Charles Segal Chorus Classical Collected Criticism dead death describe desire deus Dionysus Drama Duke University elements Essays Euripidean Euripides fact father female Feminine figure final finds function gives Gorgias Greek Tragedy hand Heracles hospitality human husband identity illusion imitation important interpretation keep language live London look male marriage mask meaning mirror Mortals Myth nature object offered origin Oxford Paris person Plato play pleasure Poetics present Princeton promise reality refers reflection relationship representation returns rhetorical role sacrifice scene spectators speech stage statue story Stranger structural Studies substitute suggests theatre thing tragic trans translated truth University Press values veil Vernant wife woman women York young Zeitlin