play Helen by Euripides review

play Helen by Euripides review

In the play Helen by Euripides, the author has used mythology to explain what the play is all that revolves around some main characters. The author has used some of the most salient literary styles to deflate one of the famous legends of Greek Mythology. The myth in this play is that the main character Helen ran away in an adulterous manner with Paris to seek refuge in Troy. However, in the version presented by Euripides, it is only a phantasm Helen runs away with Paris adulterously. The real woman is believed to pine faithfully in Egypt.

Further, when Menelaus is said to have been shipwrecked in Egypt as he was voyaging from Troy, he is perplexed to see a duplicate Helen. It is until the Phantasm Helen disappears and allows his reunion with his real spouse. This unbelievable act is used by the author to illustrate and emphasize the details of the myth. The pair then plans and successfully escapes from Egypt. Their reason for escaping is that king Theoclymenus wanted to lure Helen and marry her by fooling him into accepting that Menelaus is a mariner who was shipwrecked escaped death when the truth is that he died. From the myth, the king allows Helen and the disguised husband to bury her spouse at sea by giving them all the necessary items needed. He gives them a fast-moving ship and all equipment necessary for a sea burial. After Helen and her disguised husband escape, the king realizes that he had been deceived and accepts that he had lost philosophically.

Provisionally, in this adaptation, I will use various motion pictures but clear ideas to present a reworked form of the play. This may include altering the ages of the characters, changing the setting of the events, and slightly altering the tone.

I would adapt this mythology into a film by twisting the events to look like real-time events. This would be done by reconsidering the play budget, the cast size, and productive efficiency. By adapting a film from a pray, it will mean that the budget will be expounded. A play is created from a micro-budget. When using a small budget, there will be limitations with regard to scenes and locations. Adapting a film out of a play will require additional scenes and locations. That is why it is necessary to use a supplementary budget. Adapting a film from a play also means breaking the creative restraints. With a high budget, the creativity in the play could be enhanced to that of a movie. For instance, using a substantive budget could be instrumental in breaking the one or two locations in a play into several scenes. For example, in the play Helena, breaking a location like the sea into several scenes would entail illustrating the exact place of the shipwreck and even where Helen’s mother born. This may also be challenging because adapting a film would undermine the strength of the play. Lastly, I would adapt a film from this play by utilizing creative efficiency. This would be done using the same cast in an expanded manner and assigning them different roles in the adapted film. This can be achieved in a differentiated manner.

While adopting this mythology into a film, it would be important to have great expectations. This is critical because the budget guide would guide throughout the adaptations. For instance, when creating the film, and we start thinking of higher budgets, it can be considered that you anticipate coming up with a more advanced film that exceeds the contents of the play slightly. It is not wrong to exceed the contents of the play, but the strengths should not be undermined. This means that having higher expectations might mislead the adaptation plot. Also, while adapting to the film, an objective must be set. For instance, I may adapt this play for entertainment or education purposes. Depending on the objective, the path and way of adaptation should always be put into consideration. For instance, I would choose to adapt it for educational purposes. I would alter a variety of aspects of the play. For instance, the time and place setting would be altered to suit educational themes. However, my adaptation will be for entertainment purposes so that it fits in the drama genre. This will bring out most of the themes portrayed in the play.

My adaptation would fit into the drama genre. This is as a result of how the events of the play present a storyline with a serious setting and life events. In my adaptation, I would make life situations portray lifelike characters with either internal or external conflicts. From the play, several characters are seen at their best, their worst, and all other predicaments in between. This would also translate to what my film would be because the storyline would remain the same.

This film will be set before the tenth century and within Egypt and across the sea to Rome and Greek. Expansion of location would be realistic to make the adaptation of the play into a film look unique. This setting will depict the aspects of burial at sea and how Helen escaped deceptively with her disguised lover after realizing that the king wanted to marry her. Also, from the time setting, the audience would be able to resonate with events of the ancient past. Some of these events include burial at sea, kingship or kingdoms, and phantasms. For instance, burial at sea is a norm that was practiced in the past during such eras. It is also during this period that there existed famous kingdoms whose leaders were known of snatching other people’s women by luring them with their power. The setting will also enhance creative restraints and make the film more appealing as compared to the play.

My adaptation will resonate with the hypertexts of the play in a non-linear manner of the play in presenting its scenes. I would relatively alter the irregular storyline and bring close scenes together when adapting my film. For example, all the scenes with recurring characters would be joined to create a linear storyline in the film. However, the themes of the play would not be lost while doing this. I would maintain the themes by emphasizing the traits of the main characters. For example, the theme of adultery would be maintained by emphasizing the scenes around Helen, her husband, and the disguised lover who helped her escape from Egypt. This would mean that the resonation would focus on retelling the myth in the play by using the non-linear scenes to come up with a linear storyline in the film. For instance, in the play, the author has shown how Helen’s husband was perplexed in seeing a duplicate of her wife until the phantom version of her vanished in the air. My adaptation would use creative scenes of retelling this act in a creative manner.

In conclusion, I would make it clear that my work is an adaptation rather than an echo of a play by showing the copyrights in relation to the author of the play. I would also not alter the designation of the film but retain the original play title.