Media Journal 1

Journal 1:

Sophocles evokes fear in the audience by allowing some things to be left open. He does not reveal everything at once which gives his plays some mystery and suspense. He uses the nurse in Media to foreshadow quite a lot of events in the story but only allows her to give a little bit of insight so that the audience in not sure what will happen in the story which brings about fear. "She hates her sons. Takes no pleasure in their sight. I dread to think of what is hatching in her mind" (Media 34). This quote foreshadows the wrath that will take place from Media to those she loves but does not reveal everything. The effect that Sophocles has in creating this suspense is that it gives the audience both excitement and fear. The fear is also evoked by the connection that the audience feels with the reality that the tragic events in Sophocles' plays can also occur in their own lives.

Sophocles evokes pity in the audience by stressing the amount of pain and suffering that falls upon the characters. He uses phrases and specific word choice to allow the audience to really feel the grief that the character feels in the play. When Media encounters the nurse, her words of anguish cry out to the audience. "Oh, what misery! Oh, what pain! Cursed sons, and a mother for cursin! Death take you all -- you and your father: The whole house wither" (Media 37). This quote depicts the amount of pain and suffering that Media feels now that Jason has deserted her. Husbands leaving their wives were common enough in those days that pity from maybe a first-hand experience could be felt from many members of the audience. This allows the readers to really get into the play and to relate to the characters.