Greek Tragedy: Fate and Fury Onstage

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

God, Country, Notre Dame. This legendary World War II motto gives one possible answer to the question: what is worth dying for? Put another way, we might ask: what is worth killing for? The ancient Greeks believed in catharsis, the idea that watching actors play out the extremes of humanity onstage can cleanse us of negative feelings without having to actually experience or inflict pain ourselves. In this class, we will look at how the characters of ancient Greek tragedies shed light on various aspects of the human condition: through Orestes, we will consider how cycles of violence are perpetuated and broken; through Philoctetes, whether we can expect a person to adhere to a moral code in dehumanizing conditions; through Antigone, whether it is justifiable to break the law if the law itself is unjust; through Medea, how oppression based on gender, ethnicity, and social standing can harm not only the oppressed but also the oppressor. In addition to reading the plays in translation, we will watch two modern adaptations unfold onstage through viewings of Antigone and Medea, produced and recorded by the Royal National Theatre. From fate to free will, family curses to divine intervention, hubris to human error, grief to fury, this class will explore the complexities of the human existence and the question at the heart of it all: what do we live for?