Aeschylus Influence Essay

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The Influence of Aeschylus on Three of the World’s Greatest Writers One person who is not recognized by many is a Greek playwright named Aeschylus. He is known as the “Father of Tragedy,” but he should be credited with so much more than just a three word title. What he actually did was bring the concept of revenge into literature, which has become the main motif of many characters throughout stories. The obvious example of Aeschylus’ influence would be Shakespeare. Also, Thomas Jefferson read many of Aeschylus’ plays and was intrigued by his concept of vengeance. A lesser known example of Aeschylus’ inspiration is J.K. Rowling. Payback has become so popular to read about because so many people wish they could retaliate the way that characters in books do. The play that first developed a horrific tragedy was entitled Cheophori or The Libation Bearers. The main story line follows: A girl named Electra was sent by an evil woman named Clytemnestra to pour a libation on Agamemnon’s, Clytemnestra’s husband’s, tomb. Clytemnestra sent the poor girl to do this because of a dream she had where she was murdered by a snake that she had raised. She was asking the gods to forgive her. At the tomb, Electra prays for her brother Orestes to return home and for his banishment to end. She wanted him to come back and avenge Agamemnon’s death. However, Orestes is already there. He reveals his presence by leaving locks of his hair and footprints by the tomb. When Orestes finds that his own mother, Clytemnestra, murdered his father Agamemnon, he is inspired to get revenge. Shakespeare probably did not read any plays directly written by Aeschylus, but he definitely read plays by Latins who had learned how to write tragedy. Some of Shakespeare’s play which included tragedy are Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet. Shakespeare’s story of Hamlet correlates very well with

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