Discussion Questions for
Prometheus Bound
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Please read about these questions here.
Why did the gods consider it a sin to give fire to humans?
On page 2 it says, "harsh is every king whose power is new." What does this mean?
Why does Hephaestus feel pity for Prometheus?
What does Hephaestus mean when he says, "The tie of kin and comradeship is strange"?
On page 3 it says, "All things are troublesome, save to rule the gods . . ." What does this mean?
Why does Might feel no pity for Prometheus?
What does Prometheus mean when he says, "I must bear the will/Of Fate as lightly as I may, and learn/The invincible strength of Necessity"?
How would you answer the question of the Chorus on page 8: "What god is he so hard of heart that such a spectacle could delight?" In other words, what kind of god could be delighted by the suffering of Prometheus?
How does Prometheus plan to escape?(8-9)
How did Prometheus help Zeus?(10)
On page 10 it says, "For tyranny, it seems, is never free/From this distemper--faithlessness to friends." What does this mean?
Why did Prometheus take pity on humankind?
Should Prometheus have saved humankind or would it have been better to let Zeus destroy them?
On page 11 we learn that Prometheus kept humankind from seeing their fate, that is, death. When asked how he did this he answers, "I implanted in his heart blind hopes." What does this mean? Will this keep people from thinking about their fate?
What does Prometheus mean when he says, "Easy for him who keeps his foot outside/The miry clay to give advice to one/In trouble"?
Oceanus tells Prometheus that words can can sooth anger and Prometheus answers that that only will happen if someone is ready, not when their anger is new and raging(see the top of page 17). Is this true? Why or why not?
What was the state of humankind before Prometheus helped them(see the top-half of page 20)?
What else, besides fire, did Prometheus give to humankind(see the bottom-half of page 20, page 21 and the top of 22)?
On page 23 it says, "For Art is weaker than Necessity." Another translation that I have(remember, this play is translated into English from the Greek) puts it this way, "Cunning is feebleness beside Necessity." What does the first phrase mean? How about the second? Since I am not a Greek scholar and do not have this play in the original Greek I, like you, have to rely on the translation. Which one is correct? Which one is nearest to what the original author intended? I don't know. I kind of think the second one is probably more accurate--but that may not be true.
Why do you think Fate is more powerful than Zeus?
Why does Prometheus not want to reveal the future of Zeus?
On page 23 it says, "Happy is he who doth pass length of life in sureness of hope, and doth feed his/Heart on gladness from a conscience clear . . ." What does this mean?
Why does Prometheus tell Io that it would be better that she not know her future? Would you want to know your future? Why or why not?
On page 28 it says, "And to bemoan the bitterness of fortune/To listeners who are like to be moved/To weep with thee, is labour worth the pains." What does this mean?
What do the last five lines on page 38 mean?
What does Prometheus mean when he says, "But all is being taught by aging Time"?(43)
Hermes says to Prometheus, "Yet the conceit that gives thee strength is frail:/For obstinacy, sustained not by mind/Of healthy judgment, has no strength at all." What does this mean?
Is Prometheus conceited and obstinate? Why or why not?
Why does Prometheus's foreknowledge of all the suffering he will endure give him so much confidence? Or would you call it arrogance?
If you had to pick a side, whose would you pick: Zeus's or Prometheus's? Explain your answer.
©2005-2010 Glen Draeger (all rights reserved)
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