Correct my Essay

This English Drama Essay, I got very low grade 60%, and the teacher gave me a chance for revising.

This is the teacher comments for the English Drama Essays: For Essay  i: 1- Support its claims with insightful citations and exceptional textual analysis.

For Essay ii:

1- Support its claims with insightful citations and exceptional textual analysis. 2- Add more details.

3- Essay B should be over 500 words.

QUESTION A

(Interpret the Dionysian procession on the Florence Cup)

In “Icarius and the wrath of Dionysus,” Dionysus is a god who uses a human messenger, Icarus, to get to both the people of Icaria and the Attic shepherds. Icarius, having done his part, is later convicted by the Attic shepherds for fear that he had poisoned them, such that some of them died. This was not true, since the wine had made them fall into a deep sleep, while the rest who were awake were thought to have gone mad. This was also a misjudgment, since they had instead passed into a drunken rage. The Florence Cup is a symbol of peace and total submission of the Attic people to Dionysus for having slayed an innocent man who acted out of kindness and shared his vine produce with the Attic shepherds. In the Florence cup on side A1, there is an image of a Supreme Being weighing down on a group of common human beings. On his back is another human acting as a rider to the Supreme Being. In this picture the Attic people are probably depicting their previous state of confusion and unawareness of what was going on around them at the time before Icarius was killed. Hence, bringing down the wrath of Dionysus. The picture shows a group of men baring the weight of the god with the rider on his back, but a couple of men are seen to be standing in the opposite direction, signifying confusion and uncooperativeness. This can serve as an apology from the people to the god for him to have mercy on them for they were not aware of the repercussions of their actions. So, to show complete submission the Attic people decide to paint the other side of the cup.

On this side of the cup, the rider of the Supreme Being is not present, but the Supreme Being is now standing on his feet. The subjects under him are aligned in an orderly and more organized manner than the previous image. In this case, the rider, which I presume is Icarius, is out of the picture but the being is now standing in an upright manner. This is to signify the wrath of the god for having lost his rider or, in this case, the death of Icarius. The god seems rather furious and vengeful, while the subjects are depicted as submissive and very cooperative. This could serve as a means of adoration and obedience to the god. Possibly because the people are trying to communicate submissiveness to the higher power. The exclusion of the two men that were at the front and back of the procession who were standing facing the opposite direction signifies obedience and cooperativeness. At the end of the source, the people are said to have made these ceramic forms in substitutes for themselves to stop their madness and misery. This also explains the peace portrayed in this second image of Florence Cup A1 B, meaning they would forever be indebted for this god.

(Comparing the two characterizations of Jocasta given by Sophocles and Al-Hakim)

According to Aristotle, character is a by-product of action. Action is also said to be mother of tragedy, but characterization can exist without necessarily being a result of a tragedy. Jocasta's character in the Sophocoles is the queen of Thebes, but before, that she was married to King Laius. In her previous life, she is portrayed with the characterization of heartlessness and a person who was easily persuaded. In other words, “an easy going” person. She helps her husband send off their son to the mountainside to die, simply because the prophecy said that the son would later murder his father King Laius. They pierce and bind their only child’s ankles and send him off.

Jocasta is criticized for her distrust in the prophecy and is not even aware that the prophecy came true since, she believes her son died and her husband to have been killed by a band of thieves. This disapproves what the prophecy said. In other words, she helped in the trials to sway the prophecy to their favor. Yet, deep down, she does not believe in the prophecy itself. Jocasta is also portrayed as critical to the prophecy. She goes out of her way and gives offering to the god Apollo for protection, while no other characters would go that far. Another character that stands out is the fact that Jocasta is doubtful towards the Gods and his servants, such as Teiresias, yet she still prays to them. Jocasta is seen to have a guilty conscience, because when she finds out that Oedipus is her son, she despairs and hangs herself. In Al Hakims versions, Jocasta is portrayed as rational as she calms her husband down when Teiresias refuses to disclose the name of the murderer. In this version Jocasta feels shame when the messenger from Corinth reveals that Oedipus was indeed not the son of Polybus. One similarity between this Jocasta and the Jocasta in Sophocles is that, in this case Jocasta also has a guilty conscience and hangs herself just before Oedipus pulling out his eyes in punishment for the death of King Laius. There is no too much difference between Jocasta in the Sophocles of Oedipus and the other in Al Hakims version of the Oedipus. The difference of characters only arises from the actions of the Oedipus Character, whose characters differ in both books. Otherwise, Jocasta’s character is seemingly constant.