Kent-Drury
English 206 Medea Study Questions
 

1. Why is Medea so angry with Jason?  Do you sympathize with her?  Not sympathize?  Or both?  Does this change as the play progresses?  What do you think an audience at the time would have thought?
2. What is it that people object to in her behavior?  What reasons do they give?
3. What role does suppliance (showing subservience) play in Medea?  Who is suppliant?
4. What evidence do you find in the play that Medea is an outsider?  How do the Corinthians feel about outsiders?
5. What do we learn about Medea's background?  Why is she so feared?
6. What kinds of metaphors and similes are used to describe Medea?  How are they similar?
7. Both Antigone and Medea challenge political authority.  Antigone is killed, whereas Medea escapes.  Compare the treatment of Antigone to that of Medea.  How does it differ?  How is it similar?
8. Go to http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/ and do a search on the word Medea.  Look at the links associated with her.  What do the various Greek historians say about Medea?  What do you learn about her history?