Exam question
You are to write on the following essay questions. Be sure to write coherently and specifically; all generalizations should be supported by example. Our texts: The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, you can use this book to quote, if not, you can use other materials to be supported by example. Each question you need to write 2 pages to answer it.
1. Discuss the character of Medea in Euripides’s tragedy. What attitude or rather an attitudes is the audience led to feel toward the main character? Remember, you are to judge her not only from the perspective of the present but from the point of view of an Athenian of ancient times, who would be sure to take into account Medea’s cultural background and her situation as both a foreigner and a woman. Is this play to be viewed as feminist, anti-feminist, or as neither? What is the role of the chorus in forming our attitude toward Medea? How is this character set off by such masculine figures as Jason, Creon, and King Aegeus? Is the ending – that is, the dragons- plausible?
2. In the midst of a spiritual crisis, you are about to receive a tour of the Inferno with Dante as your guide. The year is 2000, and the moral and geographical structure of Hell remains the same as when Dante made his famous descent. Since 1300 many infamous persons have been assigned their proper places among the circles of Hell. Who might you expect to see among the more recent arrivals (post 1300)? Where might you expect to find them, and why? You needn’t give an example for each particular sin, but I would like you to mention at least eight or nine prominent sinners and the same number of sins. Be sure that their punishments follow the contrapasso.
