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126-025 Three Mythical Heroines: Iphigenia, Penthesilea, Medea | |
Note | Formerly available as 126-367/467. Students who have completed 126-367/467 are not eligible to enrol in this subject. This subject will only be run if there is a minimum of six participants. |
Availability | 3rd and 4th year |
Credit Points | 12.5 |
Coordinator | Prof A Stephens |
Semester | Not Offered (view timetable) |
Contact | A 2.5-hour seminar per week |
Subject Description | This subject compares classical and modern versions of Greek myths and drama in order to analyse important issues of female identity in post-Enlightenment European society. It focuses upon three mythical heroines with archetypal qualities which have proved to be of enduring fascination for modern writers. Goethe used his re-working of Euripides' version of the myth of Iphigenia as a vehicle to explore the situation of women subject to 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 from Franz Grillparzer and Hans Henny Jahnn. Penthesilea, the Amazon queen who kills her beloved Achilles on the field of battle is reworked by Kleist into one of the most memorable and enigmatic figures in modern German literature. |
Assessment | An assignment or classpaper of 1000 words, and written work totalling 4000 words. |
Prescribed Texts |
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Search : Index : Faculty of Arts : German
Prev 126-024 Introduction to Reading Nietzsche
Next 126-026 Heinrich von Kleist's Prose Fiction
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