7 Dramatic Monologues by Greek Playwright Sophocles

7 Dramatic Monologues by Greek Playwright Sophocles Here is a collection of ancient yet profound dramatic speeches from The Oedipus Plays by Greek playwright Sophocles. Each dramatic monologue is ideal as a classical audition piece. Also, English students can use them as study resources for analyzing the characters. Antigone’s Defiant Monologue: This scene is a favorite from Antigone and is an excellent exercise for a young female performer. Antigone delivers this commanding speech, defying the laws of the king in order to follow her conscience. Shes a stubborn young woman, intent on civil disobedience in order to fulfill her family obligations and what she believes is a higher law of the gods. She will risk punishment rather than settle for a noble life without honoring her dead brother.Creon from Antigone:  At the beginning of the  play,  Creon sets up the conflict that will lead to Antigones defiance. His two nephews, Antigones brothers, died in a duel over the throne. Creon inherits the throne by default and gives one a hero’s funeral while determining the other was a traitor whose body should rot unburied. Antigone rebels against this and buries her brother, resulting in her punishment. Besides this monologue, there is another at the end of the play  that is also worth y. In the play’s finale, the antagonistic Creon realizes that his stubbornness has led to his family’s demise. That is an  intense, gut-wrenching monologue. The Chorus from Oedipus at Colonus: Greek Drama isn’t always dark and depressing. The Chorus monologue is a peaceful and poetic monologue describing the mythic beauty of Athens.Jocasta from Oedipus the King: Here, the mother/wife of Oedipus Rex offers some psychiatric advice. She tries to allay his anxiety over the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother, unaware that both have already occurred. Freud must have loved this speech.Antigone’s End: Towards the end of her young life, Antigone contemplates her actions and her fate. She is sentenced to be walled up in a cave and die a slow death for her defiance of the kings edict. She maintains that she made the correct choice, yet she wonders why the gods have not yet intervened to bring justice in her situation.Ismene from Antigone: Antigone’s sister, Ismene, is often overlooked in student essays, which makes her a terrific topic to analyze. This dramatic monologue reveals the duplicitous nature o f her character. She is the beautiful, dutiful, outwardly obedient and diplomatic counter to her stubborn and defiant sister. Yet, they have lost both of their parents and their two brothers to suicide and duels. She counsels a safer course of obedience to the law, to live another day. Oedipus the King: This monologue is a classic cathartic moment. Here, Oedipus realizes the wretched truth about himself, his parents, and the terrible power of fate. He has not escaped what fate foretold, he has killed his father and married his mother. Now, his wife/mother has committed suicide and has blinded himself, determined to become an outcast until he dies.

Roman Family and the Exposure of Infants

Roman Family and the Exposure of Infants One aspect of Roman society that tends to horrify modern people, an aspect that isnt limited to the Romans, but was practiced by many others, excluding the ancient Jews* and Etruscans, is the practice of abandoning their infants. This is generally known as exposure because the infants were exposed to the elements. Not all infants so exposed died. Some Roman infants were picked up by families in need of a slave. In contrast, the most famous case of exposure of a Roman child ended not with slavery, but the crown. The Most Famous Roman Exposure of Infants The most famous exposure occurred when the Vestal Virgin Rhea gave birth to twins whom we know as Romulus and Remus; however, the babies did not then have those names: the father of the family (paterfamilias) formally had to accept a child as his and give it a name, which wasnt the case when an infant was tossed aside shortly after birth. A Vestal Virgin had to remain chaste. Giving birth was proof of her failure. That the god Mars was the father of Rheas children made little difference, so the boys were exposed, but they were lucky. A wolf suckled, a woodpecker fed, and a rustic family took them in. When the twins grew up, they got back what was rightfully theirs and one of them became the first king of Rome. Practical Reasons for Exposure of Infants in Rome If infant exposure was suitable for their legendary founders, who were the Roman people to say it was wrong for their offspring? Exposure allowed poor people to get rid of extra mouths to feed, especially the mouths of baby girls who were also a dowry liability.Children who were imperfect in some way were also exposed, supposedly, according to the dictates of the Twelve Tablets.Exposure was also used to get rid of children whose paternity was unclear or undesirable, but the exposure wasnt the only method that was available. Roman women employed contraceptives and received abortions, as well.The paterfamilias technically had the right to get rid of any infant under his power. Christianity Helps End Exposure of Infants Around the time Christianity was taking hold, attitudes towards this method of destroying unwanted life were changing. The poor had to get rid of their unwanted children because they couldnt afford them, but they had not been allowed to sell them formally, so instead, they were leaving them to die or to be used to economic advantage by other families. The first Christian emperor, Constantine, in A.D. 313, authorized the sale of the infants [Child-Exposure in the Roman Empire, by W. V. Harris. The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 84. (1994), pp. 1-22.]. While selling ones children seems horrible to us, the alternative had been death or slavery: in the one case, worse, and in the other, the same, so the sale of infants offered some hope, especially since in Roman society some slaves could hope to buy their freedom. Even with legal permission to sell ones offspring, exposure didnt end overnight, but by about 374, it had been legally forbidden. See: Child-Exposure in the Roman Empire, by W. V. Harris. The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 84. (1994). Did the Ancients Care When Their Children Died?, by Mark Golden Greece Rome 1988. The Exposure of Infants in Roman Law and Practice, by Max Radin The Classical Journal, Vol. 20, No. 6. (Mar., 1925). Exposure comes up in Greek and Roman mythology in a slightly different context. When Perseus rescues Andromeda and Hercules Hermione, the princesses, both of an age to marry, had been left or exposed to avert local disaster. Presumably the sea monster was going to eat the young women. In the Roman story of Cupid and Psyche, Psyche is also exposed to avert local disaster. *

Introduction to law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Introduction to law - Essay Example The provided case could be determined as the conduct of fraudulent activity. In relation to the aforementioned case, it can be affirmed that fraud is defined as an act of dishonesty, which is generally undertaken for acquiring certain personal benefits. Under the Fraud Act 2006, a person who founds to be guilty in performing any fraudulent activity is treated under subsection (2). This section of the law defines fraud under three situations i.e. ‘fraud by false representation’, ‘fraud by failing to disclose information’ and ‘fraud by abuse of position’ (Crown, 2006). With this concern, the provided case can be categorised falling into the situation of ‘fraud by false representation.’ It was the private individual i.e. Clark who made a false representation in terms of not disclosing the actual details of the clock and claiming it to be an antique of the 17th century. It can be obviously stated that the dishonest act of Clark dishonesty was intended not to disclose the truth for reaping personal benefits. Thu s, Section 2(3) of the Fraud Act 2006 can be applied in this provided case (Crown, 2006). After acquiring a preliminary understanding about the case provided, it can be affirmed that this case could be placed before the county court. Stewart can file a case in opposition to the fraudulent activity performed by Clark, as he intentionally did not disclosed the details of the good for his own personal gain. Stewart before filling the case must collect all the relevant documents against the defendant i.e. Clark, so that the defendant does not get a scope to strike out the case. The parties could even opt for pre-action claims through settling out the dispute without the intervention of the court. Sanctions regarding the settlement of the dispute could be gained through obtaining a monetary compensation from the party charged with the conduct of fraudulent