Irony And Foreshadowing In Medea

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In the ancient play Medea, Euripides uses such devices as irony, conflict, foreshadowing, and stereotype to develop the character of Medea. Various examples can be seen within each of the episodes of the book. Within the Prologue of Medea, there is a vivid image of Medea guarding her children like a lioness guarding her cubs. At this point in the play, this image shows that Medea is a compassionate and loving mother figure. The comparison of Medea to a lioness also shows that she has a strong and forceful personality much like that of a lioness. Medea also says, lightning from heaven would split my head open. Such an intense description is in response to all the pain that Jason has caused her by leaving her for another woman. By this image,…show more content…
Knowing that Creon wants her to leave immediately, Medea begs and pleads with Creon to allow her to stay one more night so that she can get her belongings ready. Creon knows that Medea is wicked and says I am afraid of you and You are a clever woman, versed in evil arts. Such knowledge foreshadows what is to occur. Yet Medea is still able to convince Creon to go against his own instincts and allow her to stay. She is able to cleverly play on his conscience by convincing him to pity her situation of having no husband and nowhere to go. Such an accomplishment shows now cunning and deceptive Medea s character is. There is also irony in that Medea convinces Creon to trust her, but instead she kills him and his family. This betrayal of others emotions and trust further shows Medea s deceptive character. Then, Medea goes on to describe images of how she will kill her husband and the royal family. She actually contemplates on whether she should set fire underneath their bridal mansion, or sharpen a sward and thrust it to the heart. Such bizarre thoughts show her wicked and revengeful nature. Then she realizes that if she were to break into the house she might get caught, and this shows that she is a methodical person. Also, the tone within this episode evolves from being pathetic at first to eventually sinister. This shift in tone and mood coincides with the transformation of the character Medea. At the beginning of this episode the audience still has pity for her situation and feels that she is a compassionate women, but by the end her evil side surfaces and she is consumed by hate and
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