38 pages • 1-hour read
Cyclops
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Essay Topics
Compare and contrast the three main characters of the play (Odysseus, Polyphemus, and Silenus). How are they similar to each other? How are they different?
Why does Silenus betray Odysseus when Polyphemus arrives? What does his fabricated story reveal about his character and motivations?
Why is it significant that Odysseus decides to blind Polyphemus rather than simply escape?
What is the role of wine in the play? How does it connect with the Dionysian themes of the play and its performance at a Dionysus-sponsored festival?
Compare and contrast the way the different characters of the play view the gods of the Greek pantheon, especially Dionysus, Zeus, and Athena. What do the characters reveal about themselves through the way they view the gods?
What role, if any, does fate have in the play? Consider, for instance, the prophecy that the Cyclops recollects in the final scene.
Consider humor in the play. How does Euripides inject comedy into his ostensibly epic subject?
Why are the satyrs are so happy to serve Dionysus but so unhappy to serve the Cyclops?
Discuss the different ways in which the characters and the Chorus interact with the natural world. What do these interactions reveal about the characters and the differences between them?
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