“Wholeness and Fragmentation in Euripides’ Bacchae”
In his discussion of Euripides’ Bacchae, Bennett Simon suggests that madness is, at least in part, a result of characters’ unwillingness to accept parts of themselves, or inability to appropriately balance key parts of the human experience.
- Discuss at least two ways in which two different characters (excluding Dionysus) in the Bacchae could be said to be rejecting or denying a part of themselves or failing to balance parts of the human experience and what the repercussion are or what the rejection or denial mean for the characters in each instance.
- Compare or contrast one situation in Homer’s Iliad in which a character appears to reject or deny some part of himself or to fail to balance parts of the human experience . Are the outcomes for such rejection different in Homer than in Euripides? In what ways is Euripides’ portrayal of human mental and emotional processes similar to or different from Homer’s?
Your paper should be double-spaced in 12-point font, with your name and the date at the upper left or right corner of the first page and the title centered immediately above the start of your introduction (no separate title page, please).(3 full pages)
For works cited use the MLA format (as relevant):