Ancient & Modern Drama

1.  Does this play strike you as an endorsement or a condemnation of Dionysiac cult?  Support your opinion with specific passages from the play.

 2. Consider the two main characters, Pentheus and Dionysus.  Are these characters sympathetic?  Why do they come into conflict with one another?  Compare that conflict with the myths about Lycurgus and the pirates that we talked about last week. 

3. A key scene in the play: Dionysus and Pentheus meet. What happens to encourage Dionysus/Stranger to make his final move here? What “buttons” does he push with Pentheus? Using examples from the text, what do we see in terms of actions (behavior) and character inner life?

4. Consider the small characters, the two witnesses to the Bacchic revelry, the herdsman from Mt. Cithaeron, the second messenger, and the two old men, Cadmus and Tiresias.  How does each character react to Dionysus and his cult?  

5. How does Cadmus encourage Agave to return to reality? Using examples from the text, what is inherently theatrical about this scene?

6. Is Cadmus right that Dionysus has been excessively cruel? Based on what we see in the text, what evidence might provide a rationale for both Dionysus and Cadmus?