Monday, June 22, 2009

Greek Play Analysis - Russ L

WRITTEN ANALYSIS
by Russell L

WHO ARE YOU?
In this monologue, I am Zeus, king of the gods. I am speaking to Eros, the god of lust, love and desire. Eros, a deceitful god, has been playing tricks on me, and I am angry about it, giving him a neurotic rant.
WHERE? WHEN?
This takes place in ancient Greece, on Mount Olympus. This is where most of the gods gather, and a private argument is occurring between Zeus and Eros.
INCITING SCENE
The scene that preempted this one is one in which Zeus is having a conversation with Prometheus, discussing his plans in life, and his intention to seduce some more mortals. Prometheus then “spills the beans” about a prophecy in which a mortal woman would lead to Zeus' doom. This prophecy incriminates Eros, as he is in charge of all matters of love and lust in the lives of the Greeks.
IMPENDING SCENE
I, Zeus, am about to punish Eros severely, or find someone to punish who is responsible for the bleak prophecy. I'm already annoyed at Eros, as he has made it difficult for me to have a good time with mortals in the past. I am on a witch-hunt, looking for the person responsible for my planned demise.
OBJECTIVE
My objective is to obtain a confession and/or apology from Eros about my current state of affairs. I want to find out the truth behind the prophecy of my doom and put an end to it!
OBSTACLE
The obstacle in this piece is to convince Eros to tell me what he knows and to scold him for his deceitfulness. I want Eros to let me be myself with women and also to stop his tricks. I need him to stop my impending doom as well.
TACTICS
Venting, debating, convincing, scolding and whining are the tactics that Zeus is using.
CLIMAX
The climax of this monologue is the line “Why can't these women ever be in love with me?” Earlier lines in the piece seem dramatic and climactic, but this line denotes a shift in the way in which Zeus is talking. In the first part of the piece, Zeus is angry and scolding Eros. At about the middle, in this line, Zeus starts to rant about himself and becomes very neurotic and whiny, rather than angry directly at Eros.
EMOTIONAL ARC
Zeus begins at his most angry, then becomes more of a logical debater, then at the end is in a humorous neurotic and frustrated rant. So he basically becomes less angry and more frustrated and whiny as the piece progresses.
AUTHOR'S OBJECTIVE
The author's objective in this selection, and in the entire play, is to satirize the ideas of Greek mythology. At the time when this was written, people were struggling between a new school of philosophical thought and the old ideas of polytheistic mythology. By writing this piece, Lucian ridicules the idea of Greek gods by presenting them as flawed, average people who are overly arrogant and petty.

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