Variation on a Greek String: Medea according to Robinson Jeffers and Marina Carr

Abstract

This diploma thesis deals with the Greek myth of Medea and its depiction in modern tragedy, namely in the dramas Medea by Robinson Jeffers and By the Bog of Cats by Marina Carr. The thesis is structured into four chapters. The first chapter is devoted to tragedy and myth. The primary focus is on the theoretical framework related to tragedy, the theories of Aristotle, Hegel, Nietzsche and Steiner are discussed. The next section introduces Greek mythology and the following section offers an overview of the development of tragedy as a literary genre. The second chapter is dedicated to the myth of Medea and it offers an overview of its gradual development from Ancient Greece to the brink of the 21st century. The two remaining chapters contain the practical analysis. The aim of the thesis is to compare the two different approaches to the myth of Medea and also to determine the role and viability of tragedy and myth in modern society through the analysis of the selected plays.