Hippolytus Themes

Does Hippolytus undergo peripeteia and anagnorisis?

No
He remains arrogant until the end; in this case this is a bad
thing. Pray that you find your legitimate sons of such a
stamp
He doesnt exhibit moderation- he goes from loving Artemis
and hating Aphrodite to hating all of them, he maintains an
extreme view point. Alas, the gods! If only the race of mortal
men could prove a curse to them!
His lack of anagnorisis is partially due to Artemis, as she
encourages his views, saying he deserves a reward for your
reverence and your virtuous mind
Hippolytus will never realize his flaws because he will go down
in history for having been virtuous and being honoured for his
correct deportment. However he is also being punished as he
will be remembered with Phaedra and he doesnt want to be
remembered for that.
Yes
Hippolytus shows maturity in his treatment of his father- he
forgives his father for his death (and this shows both an
understanding of his actions and of the power of the gods).
Hippolytus learns of how little the gods care for him (and
mortals in general) and this shows a realization.
His anagnorisis came too late for a peripeteia to happen- he
learns of the gods selfish nature on his death bed.
Linking point- The memory thing, the gods dont know anything
about him
How effective is Artemis appearance at the end of the play?
Effective
It frames the play with Aphrodites appearance at the
beginning- this reinforces to the audience that the gods are
entirely in control of the play, and echoes the framing of the
stage with the statues of the gods.
She shows the uncaring nature of the gods it is not proper for
my eyes to shed a tear How easily you take leave of our
long companionship!
She shows the vindictive nature of the gods with this hand I
shall take vengeance on another man
The truth is finally revealed- Hippolytus has his anagnorisis
and Theseus learns that he was wrong
Deus ex machina- it is a perfect ending (other than
Hippolytus lack of learning)

Euripides shows that the gods are all bad- Artemis and
Aphrodite are completely different gods and yet have the
same characteristics.
Not Effective
She does not make Hippolytus see that he was wrong- saying
he has a virtuous mind
It is very anticlimactic- there is no catharsis, there is no
peripeteia (no one falls because Theseus is forgiven)- the
audience would have wanted to have seen punishment?
Her relationship with Hippolytus is unremarkable- she is not
seen to be overly upset/attached (they are definitely not as
close as Hippolytus thinks they are).
Who is the tragic hero of the play?
Theseus
Theseus is not a convincing tragic hero- he has tragic
elements.
His tragic flaw is his rashness and his hot temper
He falls, but he regains his honour.
He does not lose the title of King
He fixes his relationship with Hippolytus
He loses his wife
Theseus is the most similar to the tragic hero- he is the one
left at the end
If he had not have been a womanizer, he would not have
Hippolytus
If he did not use his curse, Hippolytus would not die.
Phaedra
Phaedra does not have a tragic flaw
She started in higher respect and she gets shamed and dies.
Her reputation is regained (she gets a cult named after her)
Phaedra gets respect for killing herself
Accused Hippolytus- not noble action
Hippolytus
He believes he is pious, but he is not
Tragic flaw is hubris/arrogance
He falls/dies because of his tragic flaw
He dies and is worshipped/he is absolved by Artemis
Hippolytus did not fall anywhere
Gods
The audiences estimation of the gods falls very far (especially
Artemis)
The gods begin with the audiences sympathy but at the end
we see that they are doing nothing but causing suffering
Their pettiness and lack of concern for mortals is their tragic
flaw.

Aristotle thought that tragedy should make its audience feel pity
and fear. How effectively does Hippolytus do this?
Effective
We fear the power of the gods- the petty nature of the gods,
their ability to destroy the lives of mortals (tyranny is present
in the gods as well as mortals)
Pity for Phaedra, because she is completely innocent
Pity for Hippolytus, because no one tells him he is wrong- he is
ignorant
Pity for Theseus, made an understandable rash decision and
lost his son
Fear for the power of words and their link to reputation
This is linked to the fear of words/power in Oedipus (tyranny
etc)
Not Effective
Feel less fear because everyone is forgiven, their flaws are
caused by the gods and the gods forgive them. People may
feel less fear if they believe they can be forgiven
It takes away the responsibility for your actions.
The gods are shown as flawed, how can we expect to be
perfect??
Quite sophistic??