Dulcitius Response Paper PDF

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Professor Matthew Korahais
Response essay to the play Dulcitius, buy Hirosvit...

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Cassandra Lebeau Professor Matthew Korahais Theatre History I 10 February 2020 The Intention of Dulcitius Dulicitius demands of us to reevaluate our morals and our religious allegiance. It calls upon us to reconsider our religious affiliation and instead convert to Christianity to be truly saved. The play does this in a few ways. One of which is by showing the insanity and humiliation of Dulcitius. Another way that this play demands of us to alter our religious views is by showing the undying support by Agape, Chionia, and Hirena and their rewards for it. One final way is the seemingly magic, godly sequence that happens in the mountains at the end of the play. In the earlier section of the play, Dulicitius acts in madness, thinking that pots and pans are actually Agape, Chionia, and Hirena. In doing so, he makes himself filthy and tears up his clothes. He is made to look like a fool and embarrassed. This humiliation is assumed to be the doing of God, in defense of his power and Dulicitius’ disbelief. Dulicitius’ wife says distraught and in shock of the manipulation of her husband that “the Christians have made a laughingstock of you” (Line 107). Dulicitius calls what happened witchcraft, but Agape, Chionia, and Hernia had nothing to do with the madness that overcame him, therefore putting it as the result of a godly being, in this case, the Christian God. Agape, Chionia, and Hirena show unwavering belief and trust in Christianity and God. They are willing to be tortured and die without fear because they so truly and wholly believe that they will be rewarded greatly in heaven. They preach virginity and the act of being a martyr for their faith. They do not fear torture, in fact, Hirena claims that “the more cruelly I am tortured , the more gloriusly I’ll be exhalted” (Line 167). Similarly, Agape and Chionia had no fear in the face of death. They called up to heaven and to the Lord to save their souls and reward them in heaven. This praise and safety of the afterlife contributes to the call to convert to Christianity. It says that if we too give our lives to Christianity and God’s name, we will be rewarded in the afterlife. At the end of the play, Sissinus is led continually around the mountain in confusion and in search of Hirena, but keeps going in circles. He claims that he is “bewildered by the witchcraft of these Chrisitans,” which means yet again that divine intervention is taking place (Line 222). Hirena comes out on top in the end of the play and it can all be attributed to God as she stands on the top of the mountain and claims that Dulcitius will be damned to hell, and that even though she may die, she will live out her afterlife in “honor and glory in all eternity” (Line 240). The divine intervention we witness, as well as her proclamation of glory promote the benefits and eternal reward of following Chrisitianity and being faithful to their God....