Jason Cursed

1m, 2w
1m 30-80; 2w 30-50

Medea has slaughtered the children she bore to Jason and has also killed Jason's would-be wife. On Mount Olympus, the gods discuss this scandalous tragedy. Hera, queen of the Greek gods, believes the fault lies in Medea's irrational love; Helios, god of the sun and Medea's grandfather, asserts that the fault lies with Jason for rejecting Medea's love. Hera summons Aphrodite, goddess of love, who helps convince Hera that Jason is primarily at fault. Hera curses Jason to live an unhappy, friendless life.

This ten-minute verse play is written in alternating lines of iambic hexameter and iambic pentameter. Within each speech, pairs of pentameter lines initially rhyme at line's end, with subsequent pairs often moving the second rhyme internal to the line. The subtly rhyming, rhythmic structure gives a drive and force to the gods' pronouncements. The elevated, poetic language places the action above the human plane.

Jason Cursed is easily staged, with no props or specific setting required. A sound and/or lighting effect at the end can add to the impact of Hera's godly curse, but the language alone can carry the piece.