The Chorus
From the very beginning of the story, it is made clear that the Chorus is not in a position of total control, seeing as how they are unaware of the bonfire system that is in place. Clytemnestra had to explain to the Chorus exactly how she knew that Troy was taken, after the confusion of the Chorus was made clear. It is interesting that the group of people who are seen as advisers are unaware of the notification system in place. You would thing the advisers of the current ruler would be more up to date about things like this, but I think this is an early indication of the weak state of the Chorus.
I thought of the chorus of more of a convention within the storytelling-- that they were meant to represent the everyman, or be a way for the audience to place themselves inside the story. This would then make sense to me to for them to be raising questions and finding a way through the confusion.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really good way of looking at it, and I think you're right. Without having the whole situation spelled out, it might be confusing for a lot of people to understand what's going on. By having the Chorus explain everything clearly, there leaves no room for confusion in the story.
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