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Prometheus Bound

Thesis statement: The title of the play Prometheus Bound is a boldly provocative poetic gesture indicating that the action is laden with multiple resonances, with multiple meanings for the word bound pointing toward converging and conflicting ideas about human experience.

The purpose of this research is to examine ways in which the word bound, which has several meanings, resonates thematically in the action of Aeschylus's Prometheus Bound. The plan of the research will be to set forth multiple meanings of bound and then to discuss ways in which various meanings can be applied to the play.

The OED provides seven discrete major headings for the word bound, only one of which refers to it as being the participial form of the verb bind. In brief, the word is defined as (1) some boundary, or limit, of a specific piece of land (noun); (2) a sudden spring or leap (noun); (3) destined or ready for some (participial verb); (4) as participle of bind, to confine or tie in some way, and this meaning includes such meanings as bowel constriction, obligation or servitude, and the bundling or covering of books (verb); (5) tangential with meanings 1 and 4, marking the boundary or limit of (verb); (6) tangential with meaning 2, to spring forward or leap suddenly (verb); and (7) an aphetic, or truncated, form of the verb abound (verb) (1022). The OED dates meaning 1 earliest (13th century) and identifies its origin as Anglo French. The other meanings begin to emerge in the 14th century. No two meanings of bound are directly contradictory, and each meaning seems fairly straightforward. However, application of the word to the dramatic action of Prometheus Bound uncovers thematic complexity and challenges its audience to consider thematic issues that may not be readily apparent given the power of the dominant image of the play, i.e., Prometheus tied to the rock, per meaning 4.

Empson describes his third type of poetic ambiguity as one in which "two ...

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Prometheus Bound. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 09:05, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1689361.html