Klytaimestra What is it? 250. Agamemnon Neither. It is a horrible thing for one to lose a child! And you, dear wife, daughter of Leda, I ask forgiveness from you, too, for all my tears. Agamemnon I wish I could, my child! And you can see how I, a woman, have come here to the camp of soldiers, tough men, brave and ready for war and violence. On thy knees I hang, A suppliant wreath, this body, which she bore CLYTEMNESTRA Now hear me, for my thoughts will I unfold In no obscure and coloured mode of speech. Agamemnon Odysseus has a shifty mind and hes a rabble-rouser. Old Man Yes, dear lady! Gather the baskets for the sacrifices, place wreaths on your head. Give her your arms and bring her down safely. Then Agamemnon came to me and ordered me to come here and tell you what Fate the gods have granted to your daughter. Achilles Yes. "Iphigenia" marks Steele and Lorca's fourth collaboration on a Greek tragedy. Agamemnon You? So, tell me, my brother: What is all this violent fury? See that there are no wheel marks on the road. I can talk no more. iphigenia in aulis monologue mother listen to me You already know your fathers intentions, poor love. Agamemnon dares to commit a most dreadful deed! Agamemnon Asopus, the river god, had a daughter,Aegina. Klytaimestra No, what hes done to you will cost him a great deal of trouble! What pain should I mention first or second, or last? From now on I will live there in that other world. Death is a dreadful thing! He sounds frightened. Let hers be the last one to do so! (A father's conduct here I blame), A joyless victim bred; When o'er the strand of Aulis, in the pride. But listen to me, Iphigeneia. Whos done you wrong and what is it that you want? I would have given it to serve the greater good of our soldiers. You just cant imagine Calchas joy, madam! Klytaimestra I know well that you are an old servant of my house. But then, suddenly a miracle happened, my lady! Your fathers holy water is waiting for you! Im angry because King Agamemnon has insulted me so gravely. Dont force me to become evil! Can I not mourn my daughters loss? Agamemnon And if she has already left the safety of her home and if you chance to meet her retinue on the road, send them back again take the reins from their hands and hasten the horses towards the shrines of the Cyclopes. 411, Menelaos Enjoy the glory of your sceptre then! Weve never met before. Shelley Dean Milman. How I wish he never lived near the gurgling white waters of those springs, the springs where nymphs gathered. Come, go into my tent now. 1340. Well, old man, Menelaos was outraged by this! Cacoyannis achieved the impossible. Chorus Let Agamemnon place a crown upon the head of Greece and let him be crowned in turn! Old Man Menelaos! But let me try and persuade you and let her stay inside the tent. 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. 1050. Those two had hair the colour of fire and were spotted from below the ankles of their great hooves. First Chorus And I saw Gerenian Nestor who came from Pylos. It is our custom to bury sacrificial offerings. Klytaimestra But Achilles, think again! I saw you trying to write it by the light of that lamp there. My mother! You write down some words, then you scratch them out and write other words in their place. He is writing a letter (on a scroll) an exercise which, it seems, is difficult for him. I dont have to do anything he says and I didnt. Chorus That is the city of Perseus, youre calling to! Help us! Pleasure, my old friend, is a dubious thing, an unstable thing; and as for all the trappings of office, all the power that goes with it, sure they might look sweet from the distance but once you get them, they become unbearable pains! Shelley Dean Milman. Is it a good wife youre after? What star could that be, that one, gliding across the sky up there? Why has their marriage brought about my death, father? First Chorus Diomedes, too, was there amusing himself, throwing a discus. [1375] I shall do as you say. Achilles Not if Ill have anything to say about it! No, its not me whos gone mad, brother but you. Chorus And the weeping and wailing of Priams daughters and of his wife will be bitter and piercing. Horrible Fate, what a dreadful yoke youve locked me into! Come, folks come and take down from the carriage the wedding gifts Ive brought and carefully carry them into the tent. Protect us in our terrible misfortune. First Chorus I sped through Artemis woods, a place rich with sacrifices, my youthful shyness blushing my cheeks, anxious to see the armys might, the tents of the Greeks and their countless horses. What can I possibly say now? Klytaimestra Answer me honestly, my husband! Old Man And, my lord, if I say all these things youve just told me, will your daughter and your wife believe me? First Chorus And there I saw the two Ajaxes sitting together: Oeleus son and the son of Telemon, the crown ofSalamisand Protisilaos and Palamides, whose father is Poseidons son. The returned soldier has been a central figure in the first wave of Canadian plays to deal with the War in Afghanistan. You had come with me to Argos and stayed with me as my servant. Would you like her to plead at your knees? Thats what theyll be saying; and all this because of you, Helen! The plain truth. Soon youll wake up a happy young man, my son. To stop me from coming here or to urge me to do so? Yet it is right that she should come with her sweet daughter to give her away as a bride. Lets think through this together, my lady. Gluck: Overture to "Iphigenia in Aulis" / Mori - YouTube How I cry for you! By the gods, Agamemnon! But why girl? Why do I not call her a woman? Will she not be made Hades bride soon? It is, in fact, at that time when his friends should be able to rely on him because it is at that time, the time when things are going well with him, that he can help them the most. Are these amazing words the words of a delirious woman? Thus, like a significant number of Euripidean lyrics,' the third stasimon of the Iphigenia in Aulis stands out in contrast to the dramatic What a terrible shame! I was a very good house keeper for you. Tell me what it is you want, now. Difficult. And so, the Greeks ordered you to let them board their ships and go back home and to stop wasting their efforts here. Which of your children will dare even look at you? Klytaimestra May joy be with you for ever, Achilles. Euripides, Iphigenia in Aulis, line 1338 - Perseus Project It is Hellas I must obey, darling, not Menelaos. Klytaimestra But why? CLYTEMNESTRA: Now hear me, for my thoughts will I unfold In no obscure and coloured mode of speech. How full of torment is life for us ephemeral creatures! First Chorus Words worthy of Tantalus, Zeus son. Image from Vermeule and Chapman (1971) Plate 71. Tell me, Agamemnon: Tell me what will you say to someone who asks you why youve killed your daughter? Of beauty kindling flames of love, High on my splendid car I move, Betrothed to Thetis' son a bride: Ah hapless bride, to all the train. A Monologue from the play Iphigenia in Aulis by Euripides - Actorama Dear women of Argos, this death, my death, this sacrifice to Artemis, will speed the Greeks to Troy and bring honour to the Greeks. Still, its not proper for me to be talking with a woman. My father, my own father has left me! You may accept or manage cookie usage at any time. Klytaimestra Go ahead then, speak. Iphigeneia Hands Orestes back to her mother. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License. The whole place glitters with the bronze armour of the warriors. If the oracle has given me some say into your daughters fate then I pass that say over to you. Iphigeneia Make your worries go away, daddy. Its not Menelaos whos in control here, Iphigeneia. How can I insult them all -insult their efforts, by trying to save myself I, one, single life? You have betrayed your own brother! No, Id rather see the death of a thousand women than that of a single man! 680. Returned soldiers emerge as protagonists in Pierre-Michel Tremblay's Au Champ de Mars, Hannah Moscovitch's This Is War, and George F. Walker's Dead Metaphor while Evan Webber and Frank Cox-O'Connell Little Iliad deals with a soldier about to be dispatched to Afghanistan. How to pronounce iphigenia in aulis | HowToPronounce.com That! How can I endure your death? Buy used: $6.99. Iphigenia in Aulis is the last extant work of the playwright Euripides. The sparkling water of your ancestral streams is waiting for you! One goddess, Aphrodite, was proud of her insatiable love. In front of the tent is a small table at which sits Agamemnon. Have no fear, the pain will soften with custom and with the passage of time. Agamemnon Of course you do so long as you dont try to ruin them! Iphigeneia Dont leave home, daddy. Soldiers who have been gathered together, away from the chores of their homes and are idle have malice and gossip ready at their tongue. As for the other sort, the bad ones, they are everywhere! Chorus Even though you were not raised among the sounds of the shepherds flute, even though you were raised, instead, by your mothers side, raised to be adorned one day as a bride to one of Iachus descendants, you, my young girl, will be dragged down like a spotted deer, or like a young heifer is dragged down from some rocky mountains cave, dragged down there to the goddess altar. A Short Analysis of Euripides' Iphigenia at Aulis LibriVox Iphigeneia Are you sending me to live with another family, daddy? Theyre bound to serve someone well, sometime. Oh! Iphigeneia Father! Im very pleased that you, too, honour the goddess Modesty, Achilles! Clytemnestra Character Analysis in Iphigenia at Aulis | LitCharts Klytaimestra The whole of the Greek army? She has accepted this offering gladly and has granted us a safe journey for our expedition against Troy. Klytaimestra No, I wont. 583. That I could never do! If he doesn't go through with the sacrifice, the army will rise up, sacrifice her, and kill their entire family. Checking out the situation carefully. My lady your daughter her father he is about to kill her! You shouldnt go against them! The true leader of a city and of an army is not merely brave but intelligent. It is what a mother must do! Only fools would pray to go down there. To Dardanos house, in Troy, to bring back Menelaos wife, Helen. The play was set in the small amphitheater at the Getty Villa. Now call her out here so she can follow me to the altar. Spare my young life, father. First Chorus Helen was given as a gift toParis, by Aphrodite, one day when, near the cool springs, she won the beauty contest from her rivals, Hera and Palas Athena. Why should I, a faithful wife, endure the misery of having my daughter killed while she, a slut, gets to rejoice by having her daughter kept safely at home, in Sparta? Euripides. I want my love for others to be moderate and my desires to be pure. What does your Iphigeneia have to do with my Helen? Chorus Then the Greeks shall tie a garland around your fair hair and stain your human throat with your own blood. Old Man To stop you By then he had come back to his senses. Chorus And so, the blessed couple were wed by the gods: The nobly born oldest daughter of Nereas and Peleas. Well! Where is the leader of the Greek army? Your own father has slaughtered you with his own hand! If youre wise youll heed them; if not then, have no fear, I know how to settle my own affairs well. Iphigenia (1977) - Plot - IMDb Still, if I fail? 1040. Make sure this golden hair god stays far away from my bed chamber! How I wish this herdsman, this boy who was brought up to care for cows, had never lived! Then you scratch away the seal and then you throw its pine frame onto the ground and then you begin to cry profusely! Daddy, do you want to kill me? Current location in this text. Anger and impatience which I must control. It would be shameful if Agamemnon saw me touching whats not rightfully mine! IPHIGENIA Had I, my father, the persuasive voice Of Orpheus, and his skill to charm the rocks His baby sounds will make no sense but theyll be full of meaning. London. All of us? Agamemnon My old friend, Thestius daughter, Leda, had three daughters: Phoebe, Klytaimestra (my wife) and Helen. Agamemnon No, the wedding was held in the sacred valleys of Pelion, where Cheiron lives. Pause. 1300. Summary. If I must then I shall wash away her oracle with my blood, with my sacrifice upon her altar. Towards this now, mother turn your thoughts, and with me weigh how well I speak; to me the whole of mighty Hellas looks; on me the passage over the sea depends; on me the sack of Troy; [1380] and in my power it lies to check henceforth barbarian raids on happy Hellas, if ever in the days to come they seek to seize her women, when once they have Enter Menelaos and the OldMan. For a mere woman? Dire to me because it brought about my death. London: J.M. Thats true, Ive changed and Ive changed because I love you, brother. Should I exchange the good for bad? As Iphigeneia approaches her, Agamemnon enters. 660. 1000. Finally, he picks up the scroll and gets up and moves away from the table. Ah! Which one will it be? 231. After all, what is it exactly that I want? Chorus Alas! What is it that I need to hear alone, out here? What demon has taken possession of his mind? Agamemnon Curse Calchas and his whole horde of glory-loving prophets! First Chorus This is the naval force I saw with my own eyes and about which I had heard earlier. Klytaimestra May they be happy there! When Agamemnon tries to avoid sacrificing Iphigenia, Menelaus calls Agamemnon a traitor to both Greece and his own brother. I always have! Now let go of my letter! Stay here. 691. Ive changed because of my love for my mothers son. What should I call them? Chorus Agamemnon, son of Atreas, begin now your journey to Troy and may it be a happy one! Chorus Where has the strength of your face gone? 1318. Achilles No, my lady, dont call your daughter out to see me. Iphigenia hoped for but now lacks, and which the chorus explicitly offers as a measure of Iphigenia's cruel fate: she should not be a sacrificial animal but a bride for kings (1085 ff.). Darling, darling little brother! 1010. Klytaimestra Have you made the pre-natal offerings to the goddess yet? Agamemnon The entire Greek army, Menelaos! Up there is my final argument. Let her keep her dignity intact. Agamemnon The words I have written here, old man, are these: 119, Ledas daughter, Klytaimestra, Im sending you a second letter to replace the first. Iphigeneia Then I shall be stupid and make you laugh! Is being a General the only thing in your head? 101. Iphignie en Aulide (Gluck) - The Opera Scribe 670. It makes the mother love her child most deeply and she will defend it with her life. Agamemnon And when you come across some fork in the road, check it carefully. My Mycenae! They first worked. Iphigeneia Im not afraid to say this in front of everyone: Helen, Tyndareus daughter, has caused wars and the endless spilling of blood because of her body. Klytaimestra I hear you, I hear you! No! Now the strength rests with Irreverence and Virtue is now scorned by the mortals. Hes gone out a while ago and Iphigeneia, in the meantime, has heard how her father is planning to kill her. It is unjust that your children should die while mine still enjoy the sunlight. Help us, Achilles! An XML version of this text is available for download, Come on, Orestes, even babies know when theres trouble around! Then Achilles, Peleas son, took the golden basket and the holy water in his hands and ran around the goddess altar, chanting 1570. Cry! Now come out of Agamemnons tent. CineMan-8 20 April 1999. Agamemnon Sisyphus son, Odysseus, knows our whole story. Come, darling Iphigeneia, come down from the carriage now. Exit Achilles. I shall serve Greece! CLYTEMNESTRA: Now hear me, for my thoughts will I unfold In no obscure and coloured mode of speech. Husband, I know the prospective grooms name but I know little about his family or his country. Our friend here should certainly be thanked for his efforts but we should be careful not to put his life in jeopardy against the army with no advance in our predicament. She is in there, crying and falling from one abyss of misery into another. I swear by my mother, the goddess Thetis, that I shall fight the Greeks to save you! Chorus And so the Greek ships will sail. Women, help her. The play was produced in a trilogy that also included The Bacchae and was presented by Euripides' son or nephew. People will talk about how Ive saved Greece. 919. The sacrifice of Iphigenia would be covered by Euripides in 'Iphigenia at Aulis' and in this version Agamemnon has second thoughts.