One of the most blatant symbols in Euripides’ Medea is the poisoned diadem which Medea’s children deliver to Creon’s daughter in an act of rancorous spite. The malevolence of Medea’s words nearly seeps from the pages when she declares to the chorus exactly how she plans to enact her vengeance.
MEDEA. I will send the children with gifts […] and if she takes them and wears them upon her skin she and all who touch the girl will die in agony. Such poison I will lay upon the gifts. (page 26)
Notice that Medea takes care to specify that the princess will not only die, but die in agony, though she has not directly wronged Medea in any way (seeing as it’s doubtful she had any say in her marriage to Jason). The key to understanding this symbol is that …show more content…
It would have been simple for either of them to admit to their wrongdoing and attempt to veer from their course of self-destruction, but even if they had done this, Medea was already set on achieving her vengeance and could not have been persuaded otherwise: there was no going back. Because the crown is such a vital symbol, we have chosen to emphasize it in our production through our score. Whenever Jason or Creon has dialogue there will be a theme playing in minor key which is sure to create a foreboding atmosphere and stick out from the majority of the music which will be in a major key. Then, when the crown is shown on stage, that same theme will play to assist the audience in making the connection between the poisoned diadem and corrupt rulers. When the princess is dying, there will also be a vibrant white spotlight shining on her head so that it stands apart from her dress and also reflects a gold shimmer across the stage as a way of illuminating that the crown is about more than just the death of the princess. The light communicates that the polluted rulership and greed the diadem represents are all-encompassing and cause the tragedies which occur throughout the duration of the
MEDEA. I will send the children with gifts […] and if she takes them and wears them upon her skin she and all who touch the girl will die in agony. Such poison I will lay upon the gifts. (page 26)
Notice that Medea takes care to specify that the princess will not only die, but die in agony, though she has not directly wronged Medea in any way (seeing as it’s doubtful she had any say in her marriage to Jason). The key to understanding this symbol is that …show more content…
It would have been simple for either of them to admit to their wrongdoing and attempt to veer from their course of self-destruction, but even if they had done this, Medea was already set on achieving her vengeance and could not have been persuaded otherwise: there was no going back. Because the crown is such a vital symbol, we have chosen to emphasize it in our production through our score. Whenever Jason or Creon has dialogue there will be a theme playing in minor key which is sure to create a foreboding atmosphere and stick out from the majority of the music which will be in a major key. Then, when the crown is shown on stage, that same theme will play to assist the audience in making the connection between the poisoned diadem and corrupt rulers. When the princess is dying, there will also be a vibrant white spotlight shining on her head so that it stands apart from her dress and also reflects a gold shimmer across the stage as a way of illuminating that the crown is about more than just the death of the princess. The light communicates that the polluted rulership and greed the diadem represents are all-encompassing and cause the tragedies which occur throughout the duration of the