WEEK 12 西概筆記(Western Literature)

1. Stories

a. Deus ex machina 

Deus ex machina means "god from the machine". The term has evolved to mean a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved by the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability or object. Depending on how it is done, it can be intended to move the story forward when the writer has "painted himself into a corner" and sees no other way out, to surprise the audience, to bring the tale to a happy ending, or as a comedic device. A frequently cited example is Euripides' Medea, in which the deus ex machina, a dragon-drawn chariot sent by the sun god, is used to convey his granddaughter Medea, who has just committed murder and infanticide, away from her husband Jason to the safety and civilization of Athens.

b. Jason

Jason was an ancient Greek mythological hero who was famous for his role as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. Because he belongs to mythology, he may have existed before the Greek Dark Ages (1100–800 BC.) The people who wrote about Jason lived around 300 BC.

c. Medea

In Greek mythology, Medea is a sorceress who was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children, Mermeros and Pheres. In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea when Creon, king of Corinth, offers him his daughter, Glauce. The play tells of Medea avenging her husband's betrayal by killing their children. 

d. Medea 故事衝突點
Jason decided to divorce with Medea and married a native Corinthian princess instead.
→ Here the action of Medea begins.

 
e. Oedipus the king

Oedipus the King, also known by its Latin title Oedipus Rex, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed about 429 BC. Of his three Theban Plays that deal with Oedipus, Oedipus the King was the second to be written. However, in terms of the chronology of events that the plays describe, it comes first, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone.
Oedipus the King tells the story of Oedipus, a man who becomes the king of Thebes, while unwittingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would kill his father, Laius, and marry his mother, Jocasta.

f. Euripides

Euripides was a tragedian of classical Athens. He is one of the few whose plays have survived, with the others being Aeschylus, Sophocles, and potentially Euphorion.
Euripides was seen as a cynical realist about human nature. 

2.  prefix, root and suffix

fid : trust                                        eg. confidential, fidelity, Fido Dido
confidential (adj.) confidential documents or information must be kept secret

fidelity (n.) loyalty to a person, organization, or principle

Fido Dido means trust for friends, Fido Dido is a cartoon character by Joanna Ferrone and Sue Rose. Rose first developed the character in 1985, on a napkin in a restaurant.They later stenciled Fido on T-shirts with the credo: "Fido is for Fido, Fido is against no one". These T-shirts became very popular in New York