A Short Analysis of Aeschylus' Agamemnon
Aeschylus- Agamemnon
Characters- The Watchman Clytaemnestra The Herald Agamemnon Cassandra Aegisthus The Chorus
1). The Watchman:
The watchman sets the time and place for the play (Agamemnon's palace in Argos, the house of Atreus); he describes the many miserable nights he has spent on the rooftop of the palace watching for the signal fires that will herald the fall of Troy.
The watchman is one Aeschylus's small characters, but like the herald he serves an important role as he not only sets the scene but also perhaps portrays the mood of Argos awaiting their king and soldiers return.
"That woman She manoeuvres like a man" is the important first reference to Clytaemnestra, it ominously refers to her doing a man's job and her "male" qualities e.g. intelligence and pride etc (unnatural). He hints at fear of Clytaemnestra and seems to miss Agamemnon the king but for what reason it is clearly not his place to say as demonstrated by the "The Ox is on my tongue" on the next page. In this way the watchman ominously points to the events of the play but cleverly reveals no detail at this early stage.
Even when the watchman notices the signal fires "You dawn of the darkness, you turn night to day- I see the light at last" his initial joy is undermined by a sinister anxiousness as he expresses his wishes that Agamemnon return home.
The fire that the watchman sees is compared to dawn, but it is perhaps a false dawn as it is of mortals not the gods, also it brings no joy to Argos only more misery and sorrow when the king is murdered upon his homecoming.
The watchman leaves to tell Clytaemnestra the news of her husband's imminent return.
2). 1st Choral Ode: the purpose of the chorus is to direct the audience, provide a time lapse and to praise the gods.
In the first choral ode the chorus establishes
Characters- The Watchman Clytaemnestra The Herald Agamemnon Cassandra Aegisthus The Chorus
1). The Watchman:
The watchman sets the time and place for the play (Agamemnon's palace in Argos, the house of Atreus); he describes the many miserable nights he has spent on the rooftop of the palace watching for the signal fires that will herald the fall of Troy.
The watchman is one Aeschylus's small characters, but like the herald he serves an important role as he not only sets the scene but also perhaps portrays the mood of Argos awaiting their king and soldiers return.
"That woman She manoeuvres like a man" is the important first reference to Clytaemnestra, it ominously refers to her doing a man's job and her "male" qualities e.g. intelligence and pride etc (unnatural). He hints at fear of Clytaemnestra and seems to miss Agamemnon the king but for what reason it is clearly not his place to say as demonstrated by the "The Ox is on my tongue" on the next page. In this way the watchman ominously points to the events of the play but cleverly reveals no detail at this early stage.
Even when the watchman notices the signal fires "You dawn of the darkness, you turn night to day- I see the light at last" his initial joy is undermined by a sinister anxiousness as he expresses his wishes that Agamemnon return home.
The fire that the watchman sees is compared to dawn, but it is perhaps a false dawn as it is of mortals not the gods, also it brings no joy to Argos only more misery and sorrow when the king is murdered upon his homecoming.
The watchman leaves to tell Clytaemnestra the news of her husband's imminent return.
2). 1st Choral Ode: the purpose of the chorus is to direct the audience, provide a time lapse and to praise the gods.
In the first choral ode the chorus establishes