The Tragedy Agamemnon by Aeschylus - Essay Example

AGAMEMNON Introduction The tragedy Agamemnon by Aeschylus was written sometime in the 5th century and was first staged in 458 B.C. It formed part of the trilogy Oresteia and was entered by Aeschylus for competition in the City Dionysia festival in the month of Elaphebolion in the year 458 B.C. He won the first prize for the trilogy, which also featured Libation Bearers and The Furies (Raeburn and Thomas p. xvi). The play centers on the return of Agamemnon, who ten years earlier sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to the gods to be able to successfully sail for Troy, to his wife Clytemnestra who had been plotting his death for years to avenge her daughter. Since the original play was written in the Greek language and within the context of the Greek culture and environment unique to the 5th century, subsequent staging of the playing, especially in contemporary times, have been problematic. The staging of the play by David Stuttard in 1999, for example, was controversial because of his adoption of several literary and symbolic devices to make the ancient play relatable to contemporary audience. On the other hand, Peter Hall’s production of the play in 2009 was a study in simplicity and eschewed most modern productions’ efforts of bringing the play to the audience by contemporising some of its aspects. A staging of the play Agamemnon that would bring the best of the production values of both, staying faithful to the original and at the same time subtly incorporating modern elements would be ideal. Staging the Classic Play Agamemnon A contemporary staging of Agamemnon must make the play within reach to today’s audience in form, style, language and context to be credible and persuasive. It would be, however, sacrilege to deviate from the original play. A modern stage production of Agamemnon of this type is the one done by David Stuttard in 1999. As shown in Fig. 1, Aeschylus is shown dressed in a long leather coat holding the end of a chain tied to Cassandra who is down on her knees also wearing some kind of a sleeveless leather dress. Clytemnestra, who is presumably the woman on the elevated round platform, is dressed in a long, strapless gown. As can be seen in this picture, Stuttard completely reworked Aeschylus’ into a modern tragedy by presenting characters that are evidently from a time and place other than from that of 5th century Greece. Greek history reveals that men and women wore handwoven tunics made either of wool or linen, and sometimes silk. Women’s dresses, known as the chiton, were large fabrics cut into a big square or rectangle and then belted at the waist or pinned at the shoulders. Ancient Greek men, on the other hand, also wore chitons although shorter with their legs bared usually with a mantle draped over one shoulder (Khurana 2005, pp. 1-2). In staging Agamemnon, it is important to be faithful to the basic elements of the play because the rationale of the tragedy can only be truly explained within the context of 5th century Greece. This was done by Peter Hall in his 2009 production of the Greek tragedy, which he based on the 1980s translation of the original script of Tony Harrison. In his attempt to make the play faithful to the original, nothing ostentatious can be seen on stage, which merely consisted of a big door centered on the stage atop a raised platform serving as the background for the all the actions occurring in the play. The characters all wore masks, which was also the practice in the staging of ancient Greek plays (OaklandLYM 2011). One review of the play noted that the masks had stunning effect and were able to project certain emotions of the characters when combined with certain body movements (Walker 2009). In staging Agamemnon, it would be wise to take heed and learn the lessons from both productions whose approaches were as opposite as yin and yang. While faithfulness to the original play is ideal, a production must also take into account commercial success to pay for the expenses of the staging. In this sense, relatability of the play to contemporary times must be incorporated or adopted so as not to completely alienate the audience. Without substantially diverging from the original play, some elements should be incorporated to make the staging of the play both classic and contemporary taking into account the audience, the relevance of the play, its contexts, genre and performance style and language. The Audience In presenting the play, it must be kept in mind that it is being presented to a modern audience vastly different from the one the play was written for. What would be credible and persuasive to a Greek audience in the year 458 B.C.E. will not have the same impact to today’s intelligent audience. The emphasis in presenting the play must be therefore, something that the audience can relate to without being unfaithful to the original play by Aeschylus. The play Agamemnon is about vengeance, familial vengeance to be precise, and sets the tone of the subsequent second and third parts of the trilogy. While the audience may not fathom the rationale of a father sacrificing the life of her daughter so he can sail for another land to avenge the honor of his brother, the audience can certainly understand the wrath that Clytemnestra feels for her husband Agamemnon and which she has nurtured for ten years. This is why the play must be able explain Agamemnon’s character well and the significance of the sacrifice to his character within the context of 5th century Greece. The play must also emphasize the dramatic character of Clytemnestra and the myriad of emotions she feels for her husband to justify her ultimate act of killing her husband. The Contemporary Relevance of the Play Since Agamemnon is but just the first of a trilogy, there would be a difficulty in bringing home the theme, which is also the relevance of the play to modern times, to the audience that vengeance or retribution does not at all pay. At the end of the trilogy in The Furies, the son of Clytemnestra was sentenced and punished for killing his mother to avenge his father’s death. Because this is not shown in Agamemnon, the contemporary relevance of the play will have to focus in on the idea that violence in any form breeds violence. Although Agamemnon’s goal is to seek justice for the dishonor of his brother, sacrificing the life of his daughter to seek favor from the gods and allow his safe travel to Troy is not justifiable. The contemporary relevance of Agamemnon must hover around the idea that the end does not justify the means and this must be made clear in the staging of the play. The Play’s Contexts Although the staging of the play must bring into it elements of the contemporary, it must stay faithful to the original as much as possible. This is to explain the unique perspectives inherent in the play, which can only be explained by the fact that the play took place in Greece in a time vastly different from today. It is therefore, important to retain the unique elements that can only be attributed to the ancient Greeks such as their unique dress style and appearance to distinguish it from contemporary times. For this reason, Hall’s approach is better than that of Stuttard because it immediately apprises and continuously reminds the audience of the contexts, social, political and cultural, in which the play arises. This is not so with Stuttard’s approach, whose wardrobe and other aspects of production can confuse audience as to the contexts in which the play is taking place. Genre and Performance Style Agamemnon is a Greek tragedy and therefore, an exaggerated type of dramatic performance is expected. In Peter Hall’s production the actors wore masks that had exaggerated expression, but the masks necessarily cover the face and the expressions therein no matter how good and appropriate the gestures are. The video version is helpful because it allows the camera to zoom into the face of the speaker, but in a wide stage where there are about 12 persons constituting the chorus, this can be alienating and confusing. Language The language must be one that does not necessarily alienate the audience and must therefore be understandable. The Tony Harrison translation used in the Hall production is understandable. Stuttard personally translated the play to ensure its ‘speakability’ as if it was written for the characters to play in a contemporary setting to the point that he incorporated Judeo-Christian expressions into the play (Macintosh 2005, p. 213). Although the intention was good, this seriously departed from the original play and as discussed before displaces the entire play from its original contexts. Conclusion In staging Agamemnon, the production must both be faithful to the original play written by Aeschylus, yet at the same time incorporate subtly contemporary elements. This is important so as to properly place the play in its appropriate contexts and let the audience understand that the events happened at a certain time and place different from the present. In addition, subtly contemporising the play makes it relevant and relatable to the audience ensuring its commercial success. References Khurana, P. (2007). Introduction to Fashion Technology. New Delhi: Firewall Media. Macintosh, F., Michelakis, P., Hall, E. and Taplin, O. (2005). Agamemnon in Performance 458 BC to AD 2004. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Raeburn, D. and Thomas, O. (2011). The Agamemnon of Aeschylus: A Commentary for Students. Oxford: Oxford University Press. OaklandLYM (2011). The Oresteia Agamemnon part 1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7sdZQ1BDs0 Walker, C. (2009). Review of the National Theatre's Filmed Production of "Agamemnon." http://voices.yahoo.com/review-national-theatres-filmed-production-5101315.html?cat=2 English version by Tony Harrison Designer Jocelyn Herbert Directed by Peter Hall Read More

In staging Agamemnon, it would be wise to take heed and learn the lessons from both productions whose approaches were as opposite as yin and yang. While faithfulness to the original play is ideal, a production must also take into account commercial success to pay for the expenses of the staging. In this sense, relatability of the play to contemporary times must be incorporated or adopted so as not to completely alienate the audience. Without substantially diverging from the original play, some elements should be incorporated to make the staging of the play both classic and contemporary taking into account the audience, the relevance of the play, its contexts, genre and performance style and language.

The Audience In presenting the play, it must be kept in mind that it is being presented to a modern audience vastly different from the one the play was written for. What would be credible and persuasive to a Greek audience in the year 458 B.C.E. will not have the same impact to today’s intelligent audience. The emphasis in presenting the play must be therefore, something that the audience can relate to without being unfaithful to the original play by Aeschylus. The play Agamemnon is about vengeance, familial vengeance to be precise, and sets the tone of the subsequent second and third parts of the trilogy.

While the audience may not fathom the rationale of a father sacrificing the life of her daughter so he can sail for another land to avenge the honor of his brother, the audience can certainly understand the wrath that Clytemnestra feels for her husband Agamemnon and which she has nurtured for ten years. This is why the play must be able explain Agamemnon’s character well and the significance of the sacrifice to his character within the context of 5th century Greece. The play must also emphasize the dramatic character of Clytemnestra and the myriad of emotions she feels for her husband to justify her ultimate act of killing her husband.

The Contemporary Relevance of the Play Since Agamemnon is but just the first of a trilogy, there would be a difficulty in bringing home the theme, which is also the relevance of the play to modern times, to the audience that vengeance or retribution does not at all pay. At the end of the trilogy in The Furies, the son of Clytemnestra was sentenced and punished for killing his mother to avenge his father’s death. Because this is not shown in Agamemnon, the contemporary relevance of the play will have to focus in on the idea that violence in any form breeds violence.

Although Agamemnon’s goal is to seek justice for the dishonor of his brother, sacrificing the life of his daughter to seek favor from the gods and allow his safe travel to Troy is not justifiable. The contemporary relevance of Agamemnon must hover around the idea that the end does not justify the means and this must be made clear in the staging of the play. The Play’s Contexts Although the staging of the play must bring into it elements of the contemporary, it must stay faithful to the original as much as possible.

This is to explain the unique perspectives inherent in the play, which can only be explained by the fact that the play took place in Greece in a time vastly different from today. It is therefore, important to retain the unique elements that can only be attributed to the ancient Greeks such as their unique dress style and appearance to distinguish it from contemporary times. For this reason, Hall’s approach is better than that of Stuttard because it immediately apprises and continuously reminds the audience of the contexts, social, political and cultural, in which the play arises.

This is not so with Stuttard’s approach, whose wardrobe and other aspects of production can confuse audience as to the contexts in which the play is taking place. Genre and Performance Style Agamemnon is a Greek tragedy and therefore, an exaggerated type of dramatic performance is expected. In Peter Hall’s production the actors wore masks that had exaggerated expression, but the masks necessarily cover the face and the expressions therein no matter how good and appropriate the gestures are.

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