Medea Compare And Contrast Essay

From altering the beautiful language of Euripides’s to a far more powerful Medea, the Jeffers version of Medea is vastly different than the Norton version. The Jeffers version, while beautifully written and adapted is far from as well-written as the Norton version of Medea. While both versions share the fact that the heroin is strong, intelligent, and courageous, the Norton version gives a different spin to the age old tragedy that is more accurate to the word of Euripides. The original essay may not have changed much in this case, but this essay does present what has changed slightly because Norton brings a different perspective of Medea’s true power and intellect. In the Jeffers version, Medea is very intelligent and courageous, but it is not nearly as cunning. As we discussed in class, Jeffers’s Medea was very animalistic and did not quite think through all of her actions, but rather acted on rather animalistic urges. She was as a lioness trying to seek revenge for a lost lion cub in a moment of distress and despair. As a lioness is involved in a pride, Medea had a pride of her own. This group that surrounded Medea was the three chorus women and the nurse. The nurse was a mother and caretaker for Medea, one might even say a family member. This is one of the major discrepancies between the two versions. …show more content…
Antigone and Medea are women that could have been the role models for lots of women, if only they were allowed to see the plays. What the Norton version brings to literature is an accurate translation that is beautifully worded while staying very close to Euripides’s word; the Jeffers version is a 20th century adaptation that incorporates many ideas that would never have been in the time of Euripides. Although the two works are closely related with the same plot, the Norton version brings to the table a stronger female character that is more like the words of