Meditation 4
Meditation 4
It seems weird to me that there would be different plays telling the same overall story, but in completely different ways. Why is this? The only thing I can think to compare it to would be a current day written book which has a movie come out after it about the same thing. The storylines aren’t exactly the same though. In the end, however, the same result happens. To start off with the plays by Sophocles and Euripides have different characters from the very beginning. Differences in these characters include Electra’s relationships. In Euripides’ play she is married and very poor while there is no mention of a husband in Sophocles play. Also in Sophocles play, she has a sister named Chrysothemis who is not mentioned in Euripides’ version. Another difference between the two is the storyline with Orestes. In Sophocles’ play he is said to have died in the beginning in a chariot race to cover up him coming and taking his revenge, while in Euripides’ play he is said to be alive from the very beginning. The killing is also done differently. In Sophocles’ version the children kill their mother first and then her lover, but in Euripides’ version the lover is killed first and then followed by their mother. What makes all of this even crazier is they both end in the same way. The children get their revenge of their father’s killing, but in two very different ways. While I liked both versions of the play, I do not understand why there would be a re-make of the same thing.
posted by Kyle @ 11:43 AM
4 Comments:
I really like how you compared the three different adaptations to a movie coming out after a book. I would definitely have been in outrage to see a show I knew and loved, like Sophocles Electra if I saw it preformed from Euripides interpretation. About as upset as I was after watching Harry Potter 4. That is a really good analogy though, it shows that it was still a big deal to change the story back then, we just need a way to relate to it changing. That example really shed some light on questions I had about the continuity of the story from adaptation to adaptation.
Ann
I agree with you that it would seem confusing to have multiple versions of the same story. Infact I wrote my meditation on this same idea. However, I think that each author envisioned the story in a different way. Perhaps Euripides was interested in portraying the story in a way that would really develop Electra's character. That would explain the background information that is provided about her familial situation. That is just one example, but I think the plays are different because each playwright wanted to focus the script on different things. Maybe unravel the train of events in a different way for the audience.
Why is it confusing seeing the same story being told in different plays? You would think that we would be used to it by now. There are plenty of stories out today that are just remakes of previous ones.
I agree with what chris said its not that confusing when you really think about it. Look at how many Batman and Superman movies there has been made.
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