Theme in Prometheus Bound Play - Essay Example

# Philosophy # 27th Feb. Prometheus Bound Theme The outstanding theme in the play Prometheus Bound is the helplessness and the frustrations of right reason and justice in face of absolute power. In this play, the powerful ruling god, Zeus, punishes one of the titan gods, Prometheus, cruelly for rebelling against him. As a deity who loved human beings and always sought to help human beings, Prometheus had decided to give human beings a gift that the human beings had been denied by the ruling god, Zeus; this gift was the gift of fire. Fire was deemed sacred to the gods, and the ruling god Zeus therefore had commanded that fire must not be given to the human beings. As a punishment for this rebellion, the powerful Zeus commanded Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the gods, to bind Prometheus deep in a gorge, in a mountain. Accompanying Hephaestus in this god-given mandate were Kratos and Bia, representing Power and force respectively. After Prometheus is chained in the gorge, he laments about the excessive punishment that Zeus has commanded for him. The Oceanids, the daughters of the Oceanus, the sea God, arrives and start consoling Prometheus. Shortly, Oceanus arrives and offers to go to Zeus to plead with him so as to forgive Prometheus for the rebellion. But Prometheus warned Oceanus that such an action would make Zeus wrath to turn to him, Oceanus. Towards the end of the play, Zeus strikes Prometheus with terrible sufferings, organ devouring eagle that perpetually devours his regenerating liver. In this play, Prometheus is the personification of reason and justice/truth; Prometheus defies the unjust mistreatment of human beings and fights for the common good of human beings. In the process he is cruelly punished by the cruel and tyrannical Zeus. In the face of the power of Zeus, Prometheus is utterly powerless. This fact shows that in the face of tyrannical power, reason is helpless. But despite the cruel punishment, Prometheus did not give up, but continued fighting for the good of human beings. Language In this play, language is used skilfully to develop the theme of the play. To begin with, in asking Hephaestus to execute his god given mandate to bind Prometheus, Kratos describes Prometheus as a malefactor. As a faithful servant of Zeus, Kratos used this strong term to show the seriousness of Prometheus crime; according to Zeus, Prometheus crime was a very serious crime. Kratos also describes Prometheus as a traitor, this also emphasises the seriousness of Prometheus crime according to the god Zeus. In describing his sufferings after he was bound to the gorge, Prometheus describes his sufferings as a, “cruel wrong that racks my flame”. This phrase clearly shows the inhuman nature of Prometheus punishment, the punishment was indeed excessive and unbearable. And in explaining his innocence and his love for the human beings to the oceanids, Prometheus says that his crime is that he saved human beings from” total destruction and the road to hell.” This phrase shows that the purported crime of Prometheus was fighting for the common good of human beings. Prometheus also says that he gave human beings, “sense”. By this Prometheus means that he gave human beings reason and the ability to be creative, Prometheus therefore means that his intention is to help the mortal human beings. In describing the character of the Zeus, Prometheus says that Zeus has a “self-willed pride’’. By this Prometheus means that Zeus decision to cruelly punish him was motivated by selfishness. It is this selfishness that made Zeus not to care about the interest of the mortal human beings. In resisting Hermes pleas for him to change his minds and conform to the will and wishes of the ruling god Zeus, Prometheus says that he is “rockfast” in his resolve to fight for the human beings. By this Prometheus means that he is not ready to change his mind under any circumstances; and true to his words, Prometheus fought for the good of human beings to the end. Characterization Prometheus was courageous and fearless. This is shown by the fact that despite the fact that the ruling god Zeus was feared by other titans because of punishing his dissents severely, Prometheus dared to oppose him by stealing fire and giving it to the mortal human beings. Prometheus also is a hero; despite the cruel punishment that he went through as the result of rebelling against Zeus, he fought for the good of human beings gallantly, and he bore the cruel sufferings to the end. Zeus on the other hand is a tyrant. This fact is demonstrated by the fact that Zeus dealt cruelly with whoever dared to oppose him; Zeus punished Prometheus cruelly for going against his wishes. Zeus also was merciless. This is shown by the inhuman punishments that he meted out against Prometheus. Just like his master, Kratos also was merciless; while Hephaestus was hesitant in chaining Prometheus to the gorge, Kratos kept pestering him to quickly, and mercilessly bind Hephaestus. Hermes also was merciless for he taunted Prometheus as he suffered, bound in the gorge. The character trait of Hephaestus, however, was a complete opposite of Zeus and his faithful servant Kratos. Hephaestus was merciful, and although he ultimately executed the mandate given by Zeus, he did it hesitantly and grudgingly. Hephaestus confesses that if it were for his wish, he could not have bound Prometheus to the gorge. Oceanus also was merciful for he offers to plead to the Zeus, for the acquittal of Prometheus, but Prometheus declines the offer. The god Lo also is merciful for he describes Prometheus as a “poor, distressful creature”. Bia on the other hand is violent. Although throughout the play Bia does not utter a single word, he however is the Zeus’ representation of violence. For this reason his presence in the play is the presence of violence itself, Bia is Zeus’ violence personified. Symbolism This play is full of symbolism. To begin with, the ruling god Zeus is a symbol of a tyrannical ruler, who deals with his dissents brutally. In the symbol of a god, Zeus is presented as a brutal ruler with unlimited power. As a tyrant, Zeus is opposed to reason and rightness personified by Prometheus, who is used in the play as the symbol of reason and rightness. Zeus uses his absolute power to brutally fight reason, i.e. Prometheus. Mortal human beings are used as the symbol of the helpless subjects of a tyrannical ruler, Zeus. Kratos and Bia also are symbols used in the play. Kratos is used as symbol representing the unlimited power of the tyrant Zeus. As the symbol of Zeus’ power, Kratos uses his power to prod and to ask Hephaestus to quickly bind Prometheus to the gorge. Bia on the other hand, remains silent and does not utter any word; as the symbol and the representation of force or violence, Bia does not need to speak, his very presence accomplishes his mission, i.e. cruel and violent punishment of Prometheus. As the sympathizer of Prometheus’ course, Hephaestus is used in the play as a symbol of reason in face of tyrannical power. Although it is clear in the minds of Hephaestus that Prometheus has committed no crime, Hephaestus has to execute the command of Zeus lest he, himself, faces the wrath of Zeus. Ultimately Hephaestus had to yield to Zeus’ irrationality. Other symbols used in the play include the gods, Oceanis, Oceanus, Lo, and Hermes. As the sympathizers of Prometheus cause, the gods Oceanids, Oceanus and Lo, are symbols of the part of the part of the members of the ruling class, who do not agree with the tyrannical ruler, although they are afraid to openly oppose him. Hermes on the other hand is the symbol of the right-hand man of a tyrant, who helps the tyrant to execute his evil plots. Mystery The mystery in this play is evident when we look at the theme, the language, the characterization, and the symbols in this play together, as having one common aim: the four elements of this play reveal the mystery of the play. The mystery of this play therefore is the inevitable conflict between reason and irrational tyrannical power. In this play, the tyrannical ruler Zeus is opposed to reason, for he selfishly wants to maintain his power. To achieve this end, Zeus is opposed to any empowerment of his subject for the empowerment of his subject would be a big threat to his survival as a ruler. Prometheus, as the champion of reason and rightness and as part of the ruling class, the titan gods, takes upon himself the responsibility of empowering the subjects; Prometheus steals and gives fire to the mortal man. The action of Prometheus made the tyrant ruler, Zeus, to swiftly take action: Prometheus is brutally punished. This fact shows that reason and truth cannot coexist with tyrannical power. When the two meet, conflict is bound to arise. And in such an instance, reason is bound to suffer a great deal. That is why Prometheus suffered so much when he opposed Zeus, the tyrannical ruler. But although Prometheus was punished brutally by Zeus, he nevertheless did not surrender. This fact shows that no matter how hard power may try to suppress reason, reason cannot be overcome. Reason fights to the end. Work Cited Aeschylus. Prometheus Bound. 430. B.C.E. Web. Retrieved on, 27/02/2014. From: http://ri.s earch.yahoo.com/ylt=A0SO8yhq5A1TFlEAw0NXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzMTNwc25 wBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDNQRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1NNRTMyMV8x/RV=1/RE=139 Read More