Questions and Discussion Topics: Aeschylus’ Agamemnon

The Agamemnon establishes the basic patterns of imagery and themes for the Oresteia trilogy:

Patterns of Imagery: How do these advance the plot and contribute to the meaning of all the plays in the trilogy? What happens to these imagistic patterns in the final play of the trilogy?

• Light and Darkness: How are these images introduced in the prologue? How are they developed throughout the play?
• The House and its Curse: How does the physical house symbolize the family and its curse? How does the curse operate through different generations of the family? Does the presence of the curse exclude all possibility of personal guilt on the part of individual family members?
• Animal Imagery: What are the most prominent animal images in the play? With what characters are they connected? Why does animal imagery play such a prominent part in the Agamemnon?
• Imagery of Entanglement (yoke, bit, net, etc.): What function do these images perform in the play and how are they related to the operation of the curse?
• Sickness and Healing: Which of these two images is more prominent in the Agamemnon? Why?

II. Themes: How are these developed throughout the trilogy; how are they resolved in the final play? How are they related to the patterns of imagery?

• Grace and Wisdom through Suffering: How is this theme presented in the Agamemnon?
• Masculine versus Feminine: How does Aeschylus present the major conflicts in the play in terms of the opposition between the masculine and feminine spheres? How is this opposition developed through the characterization and actions of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra? Which sphere triumphs in the Agamemnon?
• Hubris (excessive pride): Which character/s in the play manifest this quality? How? What does the chorus say about this quality?
• Dilemma: What are the major dilemmas faced by Agamemnon and Clytemnestra? How are they related to the masculine/feminine opposition? to the curse?

What is the function of the chorus in the Agamemnon? Why is it so prominent? What is the primary function of Cassandra and how is her role similar to that of the chorus?