Agamemnon as a tragedy character

 

How do you assess Agamemnon as a tragedy?

 

Ans. Agamemnon by Aeschylus is one of the greatest works of tragedy in the whole range of literature and have easily crossed all limitations of time and space. It may be termed as an excellent nest tragedy. Agamemnon was killed by Clytemnestra, his wife st in retaliation to the sacrifice of Iphigenia and secondly bringing with him Cassandra, the daughter of King Priam of Troy as his mistress.

 

Agamemnon as a tragedy, therefore remains in the domestic level. It may be called a tragedy of love and intrigue. Clytemnestra, in absence of her husband Agamemnon, has been involved in an extramarital relation with Aegisthus. It is true that she does not have real love for her paramour. But she has paired with him to satisfy her vengeance in case she needs a male assistance.

 

Agamemnon returns from Troy after a decade of absence from home, specially from his wife. Yet he fails miserably to show any trace of yearning for conjugal love. Rather he returns with Cassandra, the princess of Troy, as his mistress and a prize for victory.

 

Aegisthus also has good reason for taking revenge on Agamemnon as his father was forced to eat the flesh of his own children. All these happened a generation before the Trojan war. Atreus, the father of Agamemnon had committed this heinous crime on his brother Thyestes, father of Aegisthus. Naturally Aegisthus decides to settle the old scores by seducing Clytemnestra in absence of Agamemnon. The play may, therefore, be called a revenge tragedy.