The Bacchae
"All work for no play makes one a dull boy/girl" - this timely phrase has been ingrained in modern minds across the western world. Spawns of today's society often believe in going out and seizing the day - "carpe diem." In much of the western world, people are taught to go out and experience life, to fulfill their passions and devotions, and to enjoy their short time they have on earth. This tradition reigns most fervently in highly-developed countries such as the United States, Japan, France, Britain, Australia, etc. The young celebrate a long week's work with a Friday night of intoxicating fun at a party. A family ventures into the realm of extreme sports by taking a weekend ski trip. People put themselves through the excruciating pains of punches and bloody noses when they enter boxing matches. People dive off from a moving plane hundreds of feet above the ground. People blow their eardrums away at concerts, jumping up and down screaming like there is no tomorrow. There is a general belief within much of the western world that to be a truly successful and fulfilled person, one must incorporate outrageous activities that allow one to really "experience" the wild side of life into one's ordered, structured life. This tho
Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, prophecy, religious ecstasy and fertility, begins the play already having driven a great number of women to madness. Pentheus, intrigued under the spell of Dionysus, assents to dress himself like a woman. Much of the ancient world was filled with peasants who worked day and night to bring food to their tables. Irrationality in society must be allowed for that society to exist and blossom. Cithaeron to worship Dionysus and perform his rites on the mountainside since the worship of Dionysus was outlawed in Thebes. Through the constant struggle between Dionysus, the embodiment of passion and discharge, and Pentheus, the embodiment of regulation and order, the work depicts how a person's life must mediate between these two extremes. The Bacchae presents the twin struggle between restraint and release. This cruel and painful death for Pentheus conveys the need for irrationality in life, although to a degree. Dionysus takes advantage of this spark of interest and proposes to Pentheus that if he disguises himself as a woman, he will be able to catch a glimpse of these frenzied women. Thus, he, on the opposite end, is the essence of the city's chaos and irrationality. Among the hectic work schedules in this ordered world, people find time to relax in their spare time by partying, rafting, mountain biking, rock climbing, bungee jumping, etc. When the disguised Dionysus, whose reality is known by the audience of the play, is arrested, Pentheus orders the prisoner to be chained, bound and tortured. ught come in large part from the New Age thought and economic prosperity, but its roots can ultimately be traced back to the ancient Greek tradition, stemming in part from Euripides' The Bacchae. In the second exchange between Dionysus and Pentheus, Dionysus tries to convince Pentheus to forsake his destructive path, but Pentheus does not give in.
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Acceptance Essays
