Questions for Hippolytus (222-234)
Aphrodite
and Hippolytus
1. What is Aphrodite explaining at the beginning of the play? How does Hippolytus show us that her complaints are valid?
2. What advice does the Attendant give Hippolytus? How does Hippolytus react to this advice?
Chorus,
Nurse and Phaedra
3. On page 227, what is the Chorus worried about, concerning Phaedra?
4. What is Phaedra like, when we finally get to see her?
5. On page 232, we find out what her problem is, after much coaxing from the Nurse. What is her problem? What clues did she give us on pages 230-232?
6.
How does the Chorus react to her dilemma?
7. What has Phaedra decided to do? (pp. 233). What are her reasons?
8. How does the Nurse react to this decision on p. 234?
Questions for Hippolytus (235-246)
Chorus,
Nurse and Phaedra
1. How do the Leader of the Chorus and Phaedra respond to the Nurse's speech? What is the Nurse's solution to Phaedra's problem? On p. 236, what is Phaedra's big fear?
2. What is the topic of the Chorus on p. 236?
Chorus,
Nurse, Phaedra and Hippolytus
3. On p. 237, what does Phaedra overhear? How does Hippolytus react to what the Nurse tells him? What does the Nurse make him promise?
4. What are Hippolytus' complaints about women? (p. 238)
5. On page 239, what does Phaedra fear, now that Hippolytus knows? What is her biggest fear, on the top of p. 240?
6.
What is the topic of the Chorus on p. 240?
7. How does Phaedra "solve" her problem? Who returns home, moments later? What does Theseus see clutched in Phaedra's hand? What does it say?
8. How does Theseus react to Phaedra's accusation? What does the Chorus warn him of?
9. What is ironic about the conversation between Theseus and Hippolytus? What does Theseus accuse Hippolytus of? How does Hippolytus react? Why doesn't he tell the whole truth?
Questions for Hippolytus (247-255)
Hippolytus ,
Theseus and Chorus
1. How does Theseus punish Hippolytus?
2. How do the Choruses react to Hippolytus' punishment?
Chorus,
Theseus and Messenger
3. What news does the Messenger bring of Hippolytus? What caused his accident?
4. On page 251, after Theseus agrees to have Hippolytus brought to him, what does the Chorus sing of?
Chorus,
Theseus, Artemis and Hippolytus
5. On page 252, Artemis appears to Theseus. What does she tell him? Whom does she blame for Hippolytus' mortal wound? Why did she allow this to happen?
6.
On page 254-5,
what do you notice about Artemis' attitude toward Hippolytus?
7. How do Hippolytus and Theseus feel about each other by the time Hippolytus dies?