examine critically the dramatic structure and relevance of the Cassandra scene in the Agamemnon
Examine critically the dramatic structure and relevance of the Cassandra scene in the Agamemnon.Cassandra, was a daughter of Hecuba and King Priam, the rulers of Troy during the Trojan War according to Homer's Iliad. Cassandra was a beautiful young woman, blessed with the gift of prophecy by Apollo, who was infatuated with her. Unfortunately, she shunned Apollo at the last minute and he added a twist to her gift; Cassandra was doomed to tell the truth, but never to be believed. "I promised consent to Apollo but broke my word... and ever since that fault I could persuade no one." [Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1208ff.]"Have I missed the mark, or, like true archer, do I strike my quarry? Or am I prophet of lies, a babbler from door to door?" [Cassandra. Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1194]For this reason Cassandra was not believed when, near the end of the Trojan War, she said that there was an armed force hidden in the wooden horse that the Achaeans had abandoned.King Priam did not know what to do with her, so he tried to keep Cassandra locked up and out of the way of the warriors of Troy. When Troy finally fell to the Greek invaders, Cassandra was attacked and supposedly raped by the
Three visual images represent three stages in his downfall: the parade, thepurple cloths, and the tableau exhibiting the dead bodies. She is a Trojan woman, enslaved after the defeat, brought to Argos as slave and concubine. The Cassandra scene induces pathos and sympathy for Cassandra, who cannot escape her fate. During the dialogue between Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, Cassandra is present and silent. She is telling of hidden things; the chorus does not understand her. " [Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1080]It is interesting to note that during much of her ecstatic state there is practically no contact between Cassandra and the chorus. As Beckerman writes: 'What is a visual signal to the spectator. Aeschylus's Agamemnon tells the story of the Greek hero Agamemnon's fateful return home to Myceneae, where his wife Clytaemnestra waits to kill him. Her silence reinforces the power of her role as witness to the double meanings and irony in the encounter. Cassandra knows what awaits her, yet enter she must. The parade is important to visualise the transformation in Agamemnon's fortune.
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Acceptance Essays
