126-467 Three mythical heroines: Iphigenia - Penthesilea - Medea

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This subject will only be run if there is a minimum of six participants.

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Subject Description

Each of the three mythical heroines studied in this subject has certain archetypical qualities which have proved to be of enduring fascination for modern writers. For Goethe, his re-working of Euripides' version of the myth of Iphigenia, became the vehicle for an exploration of the situation of women subject to various forms of patriarchal authority and searching for a measure of autonomy. The tragedy of Medea, who kills her own children as an act of vengeance on her husband, receives very different treatment in the versions of Franz Grillparzer and Hans Henny Jahnn. Penthesilea, the Amazon queen who kills her beloved Achilles on the field of battle is turned by Kleist into one of the most memorable and enigmatic figures in modern German literature. This course will compare the classical Greek material with the modern versions in order to explore important issues of female identity in post-Enlightenment European society. Students who complete this subject should: have a familiarity with the Ancient Greek myths and dramas which the German authors re-worked; have a critical understanding of the issues of female identity raised by the modern re-workings of ancient myths; have an appreciation of the creative processes involved when fictional material from one age is revamped so as to explore contemporary issues.

Prescribed Texts

• Euripides, Medea and other plays, trans. Philip Vellacott. Penguin Classics.
• Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, Iphigenie auf Tauris. Reclam.
• Grillparzer, Franz, Medea. Reclam.
• Kleist, Heinrich von, Penthesilea. Reclam.
• Jahnn, Hans Henny, Medea. Reclam.