"The Oresteia"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the topic of rage in Aeschylus' "The Oresteia", a triad of plays that chronicle the downfall of the royal house of Argos. The paper focuses on the role that rage, as a psychological phenomenon, plays in facilitating the dramatic and tragic action and consequences that characterize this play. Specifically, the author focuses on the character of Clytemnestra."

From the Paper:

"Psychologically, we can think of rage as being a kind of all-consuming anger that facilitates and encourages irrational behavior. A person enraged is likely to do things that are not in his or her own best interests and which can have far-reaching consequences beyond the immediate, visceral pleasure of satisfying the rage. This is evident in Aeschylus' The Oresteia, specifically in the character of Clytemnestra, whose enraged actions in the play Agamemnon create significant ripples that fuel the drama and tragedy of that play as well as the following two of the triad. Rage is the basis of Clytemnestra's actions; her rage is the catalyst for the death and carnage that follows."

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