Medea Homework

I. A Mini-Lesson on Words in the Play:

When Medea first argues with Jason in Medea, she confronts her husband with his violation:

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In a pre-literate world, one's word society possible. Verbal contracts must be binding, and Jason breaks his word. The gods must care.

However, that Jason is smooth talker. It's just that Medea sees right through his words: "In my view, someone who is both unjust/and has a gift for speaking--such a man/incurs the greatest penalty."

That's one of the delicious ironies of the play's conclusion: all Jason has left are words. And those words have no effect. That Medea rides off on the chariot of a god (her grandfather, Helios) suggests that the gods have brought about justice for her. Children may be the future, but one's word was crucial to the present.

II. An Assignment Asking You to Help Jason Find Better Words

If you check out Jason’s story on Wikipedia (Links to an external site.), you'll see how it ends:

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We know from Euripides, however, that stories can develop or otherwise change. After all, he seems to have added the bit about Medea killing the sons she had with Jason. In the spirit of Euripides, then, let’s add something to the story. To make this addition, you’re going to pretend to be a speechwriter for Jason, writing an apology for him to deliver to the people of Corinth after the events of the play. Here’s what to do:

Here's an article David P. Boyd’s “Art and Artifice in Public Apologies.”

art_and_artifice_of_public_apologies.pdf Download art_and_artifice_of_public_apologies.pdf

Read the article and think about how, in the play, Jason violates Boyd’s sequence for a good apology. Next—and here’s your addition to the story—use Boyd’s model to write Jason’s apology to the people of Corinth. (You don't have to be rigid in following Boyd's model, but be sure to incorporate all the elements he lists.) The apology itself should reflect both your familiarity with the events of the play and your understanding of Boyd's article.

Your submitted essays should begin with the apology you have written. Then, referring to your apology, the play, and Boyd’s article, identify the main differences between your analyze how far Jason is in the play from satisfying Boyd's criteria and how close he holds to Boyd's model in your apology.

To state the (perhaps) obvious: your apology will need to be much more than “I’m sorry. My bad.” Length-wise, think in terms of a page or a little more (250-300 words). Your analysis, which does not include the apology you have written, should fall between 800-1000 words.