Politics of Consumption and Generosity in the Carpet Scene of the "Agamemnon"

Abstract

W HEN ARISTOPHANES POKED FUN Aeschylus in Frogs, he remarked that Aeschylus used to place characters such grieving Achilles or Niobe on stage, entirely muffled up, sitting silently for long stretches of time without so much grunting (911-13). The silence was powerful dramatic tool,' which Aeschylus skillfully exploited to combine dignity and tension. In Agamemnon, however, Aeschylus goes beyond silence. Agamemnon's unfortunate arrival from Troy and rapid departure for Hades is central event of play, to which returning hero lends his name. He does not, however, appear on stage until line 783 or speak until line 810, almost exactly halfway through play (1673 lines total). Once on stage, his presence is brief. Less than 180 lines later, he vanishes from stage and enters palace, to complete his performance few lines later bloody corpse rolled out before audience ghastly spectacle. Yet, Agamemnon's brief appearance, though just over 10 percent of play, is pivot around which all action turns. This scene dramatizes both visually and verbally transition from victor to victim, using gesture and action to foreshadow and, in some measure, explain fate that awaits returning hero. While some have argued against placing too much emphasis on this part of play, Agamemnon's rapid trip across stage is one of most controversial and complexly signifying events in Aeschylus' most heavily studied play. Students of Aeschylus quickly learn how complex and problematic text can be. Long before modern critics had begun to question whether determinate, normative interpretations were appropriate goal for literary analysis, Aeschylean scholarship had provided ample evidence that consensus on closely studied literary text was not realistic goal. Virtually every sentence in Aeschylean corpus has provoked dispute of one kind or another, and figure of Agamemnon is no exception. To Eduard Fraenkel, Agamemnon presents himself an dvinp ci5oCjh, a pious man. He is lawful monarch who is at pains to emphasize constitutional checks to his authority. Above all, he ap2pears, just before leaving stage, as true gentleman he always is. Lloyd-Jones once even alluded to the