To discuss how “sight” within the Bacchae functions, what “sight’ means must first be defined. This paper seeks to explore the motif of “seeing” in the Bacchae, using analysis of the theatrical conventions evoked, the metanarrative established through the motif, and a close reading of the text. So why do we watch? And why does the play encourage us to question this? Motifs on sight and seeing reappear through the text, running like a great connecting line through the various tragic acts of violence and shame. It is a play of great horror and violence, unsettling even thousands of years removed from its cultural milieu. Why is he in Thebes? What is the story of his parentage? Why are we watching? And that is the chief question of the Bacchae. The frankness of these statements lets the undertone of each piece of information pulse with questions. The audience is being addressed by Dionysus. “Here: I am come to Thebes: I, Dionysus, son of Zeus and son of Cadmus’ daughter:” thus opens the Bacchae, with, perhaps, the clearest declaration within the play.1 In a text so wrapped up in deception, disguise, and willful misunderstanding, the upfrontness of these opening lines is striking.
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