She swings him, sadly, gently back and forth and leans over him as she speaks to him. Now go! IPHIGENIA IN AULIS - Monologue (Clytemnestra) A monologue from the play by Euripides NOTE: This monologue is reprinted from The Plays of Euripides in English, vol. Ask me, what is it? Your Fate and mine and hers, too! Whatever do you mean? Agamemnon You are much happier than me for knowing less than I do. And, no, I will not murder my children and certainly wont do it so that you can wrongfully enjoy some sort of vengeance exacted from a disgraceful wife, while I waste away in tears day and night because I had committed such a godless crime against them, against my own flesh and blood. 970. 27. Messenger Agamemnon, leader of all the Greeks! I shall go to the priest. Agamemnon Holy Fate and Fortune! When Agamemnon tries to avoid sacrificing Iphigenia, Menelaus calls Agamemnon a traitor to both Greece and his own brother. Iphigeneia Father! I know about your plans. Agamemnon! I cannot defy the goddess demands, my darling. My Mycenae! The Greek army is getting ready to sail. First Chorus We have come to watch the army of the divine Greeks and their thousand ships. Orestes is begging you, too! If I could use such a voice and have everyone charmed, have them convinced to agree with me and follow me, then I would use that voice. I have left Pharsalia and Peleas, my father, to come here. You ask me what theyve done to me? Agamemnon Alone, darling. CLYTEMNESTRA: Now hear me, for my thoughts will I unfold In no obscure and coloured mode of speech. Open Document. This sword will have blood on it even before I leave for Troy! Chorus They tell me that Cassandra, Apollos priestess is there. Download Pleiades ancient places geospacial dataset for this text. Ah, but the common folk have it easy. The true leader of a city and of an army is not merely brave but intelligent. Menelaos Yes, you may well suffer now because I did break your seal and yes, I do know the secret trickery you were concocting! Achilles I do, my lady and I can see its a horrible thing for you to endure. I I am shocked, my lady! No mother, no father. What do they want to do with you? I was the first to play on your knees, the first one of your children to enjoy your love and the first one to give you a childs love. You were only too glad to take up that offer! This is the letter which you saw me writing in the dark, opening it and shutting it, labouring over it. The girl is with the gods! I am forced to do it! Agamemnon Here, at the harbour, near our beautiful Greek ships. Fate gave me nothing to be proud of. Klytaimestra Did they? This last one, Helen, had received the most famous, the greatest sons of the whole ofHellasas her suitors ferocious threats of murder were uttered by those who had missed out on her. Klytaimestra Darling, no! Before the play begins: The background of Iphigeneia at Aulis is the Trojan War. Agamemnon Youll be able to see the sacrifice. 1010. The news spread quickly and so the whole army already knows that your daughter has arrived. Agamemnon A king, darling, a General is always worried. Klytaimestra turns away angrily and enters the tent. Iphigenia in Aulis or Iphigenia at Aulis (Ancient Greek: , romanized: phigneia en Auldi; variously translated, including the Latin Iphigenia in Aulide) is the last of the extant works by the playwright Euripides. And this, my lady, this is no lie, believe me! Old Man Both of you have pitiable fates, my lady! Look at him for the last time. He gains control of the scroll. Klytaimestra May they be happy there! with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. This got me so angry that the very next moment I ordered Talthybius to use his powerful voice and call the army to disband. She looks around the stage anxiously for a minute. His head falls into his arms and he begins sobbing. Promise me that you wont cut even a strand of your hair in mourning nor wear black! Hell be the man wholl take his army of spear-loving Myrmidons and turn Priams city into rubble. If youre wise youll heed them; if not then, have no fear, I know how to settle my own affairs well. Come, give me your right hand and lets make this the beginning of a blessed marriage! Agamemnon You? A dreadful sickness! Agamemnon Sisyphus son, Odysseus, knows our whole story. The Greeks were then enabled to set sail. Here, take it now and carry it over toArgos. Second Chorus Look there: our Lords daughter, Iphigeneia, our princess; and there, his wife and Tyndareus daughter, our Lady, Klytaimestra! Come, friends, sing with me in praise of the goddess whose temple faces Chalkis, the place where the spears of war are waiting for me in anger! 751. Click anywhere in the My daughters life hangs on your will. One of the most performed Greek tragedies, the play explores the breakdown of social norms in times of war and how war breeds inhuman habits in the most human of men. A safe return? I wonder who her groom is. 430. Here, friends, take this baby to his father, Agamemnon. Thats what theyll be saying; and all this because of you, Helen! The Watchman, whose . Iphigeneia is crying. Klytaimestra No, I wont. Shelley Dean Milman. Its covered with a cloak. Dent & Sons, 1920. I know too well that this awful plight is mine and mine alone you have nothing to do with it 980. Chorus Awesome is the power of giving birth! Dont bother making a long speech about it, husband! Clytemnestra It is the goddess' son you see, child, for whom you came here. I want no one to lose tears over my grave. If you cannot persuade him then come back to me. It makes the mother love her child most deeply and she will defend it with her life. Enter Second Messenger running excitedly. Well then, tell me: what will your prayer, your plea to the gods be? A sensible man usually speaks to others with respect. Old Man anxiously takes Klytaimestras hand and kisses it. These ships, too, were adorned with emblems at their high sterns, this time of Cadmus, holding a golden serpent in his hands. But go! He, too, loves glory. Ill obey your every command. One of his servants go and tell him that Achilles, Peleas son is here, waiting for him, at the entrance of his tent! Im very pleased that you, too, honour the goddess Modesty, Achilles! Menelaos I was waiting to see if your daughter would leaveArgosto come to the army camp. Paris! Clytemnestra and Iphigenia try to Am I not allowed to manage the affairs of my own home, in my own way, now? Old Man Psssst! Chorus Go, young girl! Agamemnon Menelaos! Menelaos Not if he dies first. Someone has exposed my plans! With blessings or with force? I always have! And it was with this lie, about the girls mock-marriage, that I tried to persuade my wife to bring her here. Where shall I go to find your hand, to ask you to help me in my hour of despair? Achilles No, Iphigeneia! Iphigenia's mother Clytemnestra is also determined to save her. It seems that the generals do as they please with me. Tell me Agamemnon! I am too ashamed to tell you this pitiful story of mine. 370. Figure 2.2: Black-figure lekythos showing Iphigenia 89 led to the altar, c. 470 BCE. Agamemnon We are brothers when we are doing what is reasonable, not when we do what is madness. All of them, here inAulis. Ha, ha, ha! Achilles Yes, madam and I too, am furious at your husband. There, my lady, there, upon the ground, lay a large animal, a beautiful stag, letting out its last breaths. In it I spoke of Achilles high rank, his bravery, his honour and told her that the man refused to sail with us unless one of our daughters became his wife and went to live at his house, in Phthia. Theyre bound to serve someone well, sometime. We are doomed now! Klytaimestra No, what hes done to you will cost him a great deal of trouble! Agamemnon Asopus, the river god, had a daughter,Aegina. Out of my senses! Agamemnon Here, Menelaos. He came all the way fromTroy, dressed in all his colourful garb, and, typical of the barbarians love for splendour, his whole body was sparkling with gold jewels! Klytaimestra Hes an evil man, my husband. The whole place glitters with the bronze armour of the warriors. Come, disband the army and leaveAulismy brother and stop your tears and mine! Old Man Yes, dear lady! He is the very reason you are here! Chorus Let Agamemnon place a crown upon the head of Greece and let him be crowned in turn! Dying for a marriage about which her lunatic suitors swore Tyndareus oaths. Youve come to your death you and me also! So angry were my twin brothers, the Dioscuri, that they came charging down from Zeus side on their glistening horses to fight you but you went begging to my old father, Tyndareus and he, not only saved you but made me your wife! Accept the pure blood from this girls lovely neck! The whole thing is a game played by the heavens! Agamemnon Wife, we should consider ourselves very much blessed. I would have given it to serve the greater good of our soldiers. Come, son of a goddess! First Chorus I, too, feel pity for you if it is at all proper for a foreigner to feel pity for the plight of kings. Greece is lucky to have you as one of her daughters I envy her and I envy you because you are lucky to have Greece as your mother. Where shall I begin? Agamemnon My old friend, Thestius daughter, Leda, had three daughters: Phoebe, Klytaimestra (my wife) and Helen. 880. No one was ever born to a life free of misery. Youll soon hear it all. What a dreadful thought to have in your mind! Spare my young life, father. 1891. I ask only for a modest share of Aphrodites love; let it be not excessive! They want me to. I will never permit your husband to perform such treacherous deeds! Ah! I envy the man with the quiet life, the safe life. To the lowly and weak mortals, the fortunate always appear like gods. The play was produced in a trilogy that also included The Bacchae and was presented by Euripides' son or nephew. Klytaimestra You, alone? How I wish he never lived near the gurgling white waters of those springs, the springs where nymphs gathered. Otherwise why should we bother being just? Iphigeneia No, mother! Give me your hand, my dear child. What was the point of bringing us up here for a marriage that. Now go inside, my good man and everything will happen according to the will of Fate. Chorus And so the Greek ships will sail. He kept pace with the rail and with the wheels of the chariot. I shall look elsewhere for friends and help. After that, Paris, the man who, according to the legend, judged the three goddesses, Hera, Aphrodite and Athena, for their beauty, arrived atSparta. Iphigeneia Shall we set up choruses around it, daddy? Klytaimestra And the feast for us women? Your daughter, my lady, has today seen both death and life! It seems Im eagerly preparing for an imaginary wedding! Second Messenger Klytaimestra! Klytaimestra Stop your shouting. Vile trickery, unworthy of his father, Atreas! Be thankful to her because it is she who was looking after you and brought about all this for you, because, the truth is, neither you nor all of your power had anything to do with it. My armed comrades will be there with me to save your life, to stop your execution. Stay! And tell me another thing, Agamemnon: when you return home, when you come back to Argos, will you have the gall to put your arms around any of your children? Checking out the situation carefully. If only this town, if only Aulis, had refused to let all these Troy-destined ships enter her harbour! Iphigeneia Youre going off on a long journey daddy and youre living me behind! First Chorus The right wing of this naval force was taken up by the fifty swift ships of the war-loving Myrmidons from Phthia. Achilles They want to stone me to death, Klytaimestra! Sweet daughter! Chorus Let Agamemnons name live for ever in glory! First Chorus Atreas son, Menelaos, brought with him fromMycenae, the city built by the Cyclopes, one hundred ships and all the sailors to man them. He sounds frightened. Iphigeneia Well then, get rid of this ugly frown from the face that I love so much! Old Man In all other things, no, my lady. You already had one and you couldnt control her. You will kill the one whos loved by all so as to save the one whos hated by all! The Aenians brought twelve ships, captained by their king, Gouneus; and beside them were moored the lords ofEliswhom everyone called Epeians. Copyright 2000-2023 A. S. Kline, All Rights Reserved. He, madam, hes the cause of all your torment, madam. Agamemnon What? Lift your head up for me, darling, smile for me. See that there are no wheel marks on the road. For a while, Iphigenia in Splott (a district of Cardiff about 20 minutes' walk from the the theatre) seems like a pretty normal contemporary monologue. Brothers fight because of lust and because of greed in their inheritance. Klytaimestra goes into the tent. ATTENDANT I come; what new schemes now, king Agamemnon? You are indeed a brave, noble person, Iphigeneia and for that reason I want you to be my wife. IPHIGENIA IN AULIS Essay Summary A monologue from the play by Euripides NOTE: This monologue is reprinted from The Plays of Euripides in English, vol. Agamemnon By the gods! Agamemnon dares to commit a most dreadful deed! Ive missed you so much. He goes to the tent and shouts through its door. How can I endure your death? Mother, I see a group of men coming towards us! Iphigenia At Aulis By Euripides Written 410 B.C.E Dramatis Personae Agamemnon Attendant, an old man Chorus of Women of Chalcis Menelaus Clytaemnestra Iphigenia Achilles Scene The sea-coast at Aulis.
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