“O Savage Truth”
Of all the texts that we read in Literature Humanities last semester, Euripides' The Bacchae was my favorite. In addition to the beautiful language, it was the reliability of Euripides’ stories that I appreciated. I felt that the story depicted betrayal, shock, sorrow, and a variety of other human emotions in such a way that transcended time and culture; neither the dated language nor the fantastical nature of the tale prevented me from deeply empathizing with the character Queen Agave. My drawing "O Savage Truth" illustrates the scene in which Agave awakens from a god induced madness to realize that the "prize" she so proudly carried home is actually her son's severed head. The feeling of helplessness and angst that comes with realizing that you’ve made an irreversible mistake is universal. Even if the transgression was significantly lesser than murdering a family member, we have all wanted to take back something we’ve done or said. The connection I felt with Agave reminded me why texts are selected to be apart of the canon of classics we read in Literature Humanities. Euripides, Homer, Virgil, and all the rest were master story tellers who were able to birth characters that a modern day audience can relate with thousands of years later.
Jacquelyn Klein
Jacquelyn Klein is a member of the class of 2019 in Columbia College who plans to major in Visual Arts and concentrate in Business Management. She is an interim features editor for Hoot Magazine this semester, an editorial board member and the Social Media Manager for the new editorial photography magazine Ratrock, and a WBAR DJ.