If I’m being completely honest, I always have a hard time writing a blog post about a play. This play is no different. I do not really understand why it is so hard but it always is.
From a literary standpoint, it was very interesting how often the Furies would repeat an entire paragraph twice. At one point the Furies repeat three different paragraph in one go. (Aeschylus, 245-247). While the Furies repeating themselves could be tiring, I think that it is very intriguing why they are repeating. I do not know the correct reason that the Furies repeat themselves. However, I have a few ideas as to why.
The first reason that the Furies could have been repeating themselves is because it is some kind of chanting ritual or just a ritual in general. There could be some hidden meaning behind repeating themselves. The furies can be seen chanting or speaking as one through out the entire play.
Another reason could be that Aeschylus wanted the audience to completely understand what the Furies were saying. When the Furies said something important or something that needed to stand out, Aeschylus would have the Furies repeat it. On the other hand, the reoccurrence of a passage could have been for the characters inside the play instead of for the audience. The passage could have been so important that the Furies wanted the other characters in the play to understand. That could have been why they repeated themselves.
What do you think? What was the reason Aeschylus had the Furies repeat themselves? Can you think of another reason why Aeschylus would do that?
P.s. I commented on Hailey Morgan’s and Isabelle’s posts.
I noticed it as well and you are spot on. The Furies repeat themselves for the meaning in what they say and for the audience to hear it clearer. Another reason you may have glanced over is to make the actor's life easier. Homer did the same thing in the Iliad with sacrifices and many other metaphors so the actor can site the same few monologues 3 times rather than learn 28 different blocks of texts along with his dialogues.
ReplyDeleteI was always taught that if you heard something repeated, it was important and you ought to take note of it. I think that stands true here! I think Aeschylus is trying to bring special attention to those passages for the audience. I think there had to have been a message he was trying to get across through the repetition, otherwise it seems futile.
ReplyDeleteI know that in Scripture, many passages are repeated due to their importance. When the Furies repeated themselves, I think that they were emphasizing how important their message was, and just being the chaotic force that the Furies are. It kind of reminds me of the end of Honors classes, when everyone is saying "What's the blog post? What's the blog post?" If they would just listen, the mass force of everyone saying the same thing wouldn't be as chaotic.
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