Abstract:
In this paper by focusing on Xerxes’ appearance on stage and the language which the hero and the other Aeschylean characters in the Persians use to describe his desperate feelings I shall attempt to approach the notion of crisis in terms of the crucial bend in the plot and the character’s decision. My study will address a variety of fundamental questions. Is crisisgender-related? Do men and women, e.g., Xerxes and his mother, Atossa, react in the same way in a crucial moment of the play? Do they use the same language to express themselves? What is the relation between poet and audience? I shall do this by narrowing my scope and focusing on a selection of crucial passages in the Persians.
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