Rationale:
I chose the poem "Helen" by Hilda Doolittle because it revolves around the central theme of hate, which the main character receives from her society as a whole. The poem relates to Medea 's excerpt because both depict how the main characters are despised by their societies. As well, both emphasize the critical role that gender plays in directing this hate. As a result, they both identify the same stereotype of women trending in society: women are dangerous. The theme, content, and tone of the poem and Medea 's excerpt make them relatively comparable.
Although both the excerpt and the poem are similar, yet they are distinct from one another. To be able to indicate to what extent they are similar or contrasting, all elements in …show more content…
However, Helen is accused of leaving her homeland, Greece, fleeing to Troy with her lover Paris, and disgracing her husband Menelaus. She is blamed of starting a ten-year war between Greece and Troy (Trojan War); she is even called "the face that launched a thousand ships". Despite the fact that there is no evidence that indicates that Helen went with Paris on her own will, her society judged her. Likewise, Medea is disliked by her society for killing her brother and leaving her homeland for the sake of Jason. Both main characters share a similar background and are instantly judged by their societies who do not contemplate the motives behind their actions. In addition, the societies solely judge Helen and Medea without judging Paris and Jason. This displays the male-dominated, biased societies in which the main characters lived.
Sarcastically, both Helen and Medea have gained a dreadful reputation in their societies that instead should have been positive. Greeks hated Helen because of her past actions (causing the Trojan War) as said by the speaker: "remembering past enchantments and past ills" and as a result could not admire her exceptional beauty. In like manner, Medea describes how her past actions (killing, manipulating, personal revenge, etc.) gained her the society 's contempt "my reputation has badly damaged me". As a consequence of her misdeed, …show more content…
Although Helen is immortal, the speaker describes Helen in a sequence from life to death. He starts by describing her pale, white face and her hateful smile "the wan face when she smiles" and ends up by describing his wish that he would love to see her ashes laid among the trees "could love indeed the maid, only if she were laid, white ash amid funeral cypresses." Medea is actually an extremist in her crimes and this cannot be denied. Unlike the author of "Helen", Euripides is unwilling to let Medea progress to death. Throughout Medea 's excerpt she is presented as a powerful, calm woman trying to derive the sympathy of Creon and the audience, she never attempted to express a will of death. On the contrary, she expressed her evident will to stay "Although I 've suffered an injustice, I 'll obey the rulers and stay
I chose the poem "Helen" by Hilda Doolittle because it revolves around the central theme of hate, which the main character receives from her society as a whole. The poem relates to Medea 's excerpt because both depict how the main characters are despised by their societies. As well, both emphasize the critical role that gender plays in directing this hate. As a result, they both identify the same stereotype of women trending in society: women are dangerous. The theme, content, and tone of the poem and Medea 's excerpt make them relatively comparable.
Although both the excerpt and the poem are similar, yet they are distinct from one another. To be able to indicate to what extent they are similar or contrasting, all elements in …show more content…
However, Helen is accused of leaving her homeland, Greece, fleeing to Troy with her lover Paris, and disgracing her husband Menelaus. She is blamed of starting a ten-year war between Greece and Troy (Trojan War); she is even called "the face that launched a thousand ships". Despite the fact that there is no evidence that indicates that Helen went with Paris on her own will, her society judged her. Likewise, Medea is disliked by her society for killing her brother and leaving her homeland for the sake of Jason. Both main characters share a similar background and are instantly judged by their societies who do not contemplate the motives behind their actions. In addition, the societies solely judge Helen and Medea without judging Paris and Jason. This displays the male-dominated, biased societies in which the main characters lived.
Sarcastically, both Helen and Medea have gained a dreadful reputation in their societies that instead should have been positive. Greeks hated Helen because of her past actions (causing the Trojan War) as said by the speaker: "remembering past enchantments and past ills" and as a result could not admire her exceptional beauty. In like manner, Medea describes how her past actions (killing, manipulating, personal revenge, etc.) gained her the society 's contempt "my reputation has badly damaged me". As a consequence of her misdeed, …show more content…
Although Helen is immortal, the speaker describes Helen in a sequence from life to death. He starts by describing her pale, white face and her hateful smile "the wan face when she smiles" and ends up by describing his wish that he would love to see her ashes laid among the trees "could love indeed the maid, only if she were laid, white ash amid funeral cypresses." Medea is actually an extremist in her crimes and this cannot be denied. Unlike the author of "Helen", Euripides is unwilling to let Medea progress to death. Throughout Medea 's excerpt she is presented as a powerful, calm woman trying to derive the sympathy of Creon and the audience, she never attempted to express a will of death. On the contrary, she expressed her evident will to stay "Although I 've suffered an injustice, I 'll obey the rulers and stay