Medea Rhetorical Analysis

"You frighten me - no point in cloaking what I mean. I fear you'll do some irreparable harm to my daugher." On line 270 we are given a clear insight into Creon's character here, an honest man who is scared and will put his family first. We are able to relate to this character, he is given mortal characteristics which makes us more likely to sympathise with him. Creon then admits that Medea is "clever, skilled in many evil arts." line 273, we are unable to relate to these arts, we do not poses the same abilities that Medea had and as a result, we are less sympathetic to her from the start, she is set apart from us.
"I hear reports that you are threatening violence on me and on the bridegroom and his bride" line 275, this is the first time that we are told that Medea intends to hurt more than just Jason with her revenge, we start to see that Medea may not be all that stable. Sympathy that we had for Medea when Jason left her, after she abandoned her country and possibly murdered her
Medea shows no boundaries when it comes to seeking revenge and our sympathies lie further with Creon and his daughter when we learn that Medea will use her own children to cause the deaths of innocent characters. Her concern for her own honour disolving any sense that she may have had, when we next hear her cry out "I shall kill my children." line 769. Medea seems to be in a downward spiral in seeking revenge, her own injustice at being rejected by Jason making her prefer to kill her own sons rather than accept his actions. This only adds to our feelings of sympathy for Creon and the princess as Medea builds up her case in which to kill them and a feeling of powerlessness as Creon stands by his decision to allow her time to build a new life for herself and her children whilst she puts into place her