THE WRITE WAY
After reading the classical Greek tragedy Antigone in Advanced Placement English for seniors, students were challenged by Mr. Dunlop to write their own mini tragedies. The assignment was designed to encourage creative writing and reinforce understanding of Greek dramatic structure. Following is the first two pages of Jonathan Betz's play, Goddess from the Sea . The continuation of the play will be published in the next issue of The Muse. The play will be entered in the Random House Creative Writing Contest. Good luck to Jonathan!
Goddess from the Sea
By Jonathan Betz
(Enter Aphrodite)
Aphrodite: My child, my brother, my father, my lover
For eons I have reigned as Goddess of the Sea.
I have crossed stars for some and stole hearts from others.
But none such as you have held me so captive.
And for this I chose you to serenade in slumber
The sweet sentry of your sleep.   You are held high above others
For there were mortal men who'd battle titans for my hand
And those who would weep for this porcelain skin,
But it is not blood nor tears that you have given me.
You simply smile so serene in all of your dreams,
And that fairest mortal, is all I need.
So let this goddess so mortally plead:
I beckon you to come to embrace all of me
And together we'll be one and merge with the sea
I will wait, winter to summer.
My child, my brother, my father, my lover
Chorus: By the coast off the sea there held sway a goddess
Who ensnared a man's mortal soul as he once ensnared hers.
But under soft touch and gentle smiles
Lay tragedy and ruin for this man so lost in love
And not one bit of him was spared by her wicked grace,
Not his life, his limb, his heart, or brood.
Driven by passion and the soft delusions of this sea-queen,
He delved deeper into the depths of love than ever any man before.
Until not even the soft bed of sand could cushion
The fall of his mortal body or his kin,
And not even the whitest pearls found at the shore
Could mask the blood that was spilt.
Tetracles: What visions I had last night, could they truly be begotten by such mortal eyes?
Seira: What is it you that you are speaking of?
Tetracles: Itis... nothing... and it is already noon. We mustn't waste time with such ponderous questions. Day may wait for answers, but it will not wait for work. Glosi and I will be heading for the sea, for there is much fishing and hunting to be done. (To the audience) And though the day can wait for such answers, I cannot... This lady of my dreams told me that she would be waiting by the water. Truly she is the Goddess of the Sea and truly I am the man for her. (To Seira) Good-bye my dearest, my sweet Aphrodite.
Seira: Ha! You speak with your tongue unhinged... Good-bye my husband.
(Enter Sokrates)
Sokrates: Father, where are you going?
Tetracles: Sokrates my son, always inquiring about the notions of man. It is fishing Glosi and I are head to.

Sokrates: But father, you have always told me that fishing was best at sunrise or sunset. You have never fished at this hour.
Seira: Yes, your son does have a point. Is that your honest venture?
Tetracles: Sokrates, your mind is as sharp as Aries' sword, but be careful with your words; intrusions on a 'wicked man' could be your demise. And Seira, I am your husband as you are my wife, and on that behalf I would never lie.
Seira: Alas, I am ashamed of my lack of trust. Sokrates you should trust your father, be glad he is not this 'wicked man' that he speaks of.
Sokrates: But something doesn't feel right. I noticed it in Hoppipola too... She has been crying at night for hours into the morning.
Seira: She is just sick. You see, it is your banter that keeps her up, and likewise she is crying again.
Tetracles: Say hello to my baby-daughter. The hour is growing late. Sokrates: Make sure you get a good catch, father. Tetracles: My son, I am quite sure that I will.
Chorus: There is Tetracles heading with his companion to the sea. He looks eager, impatient, awaiting something great. And we have seen the cycle of seasons change over lifetimes. We the farmers, who take pride in knowing this land and its ways, Know that it is not the season of fishing, nor the hour. But of late, peculiar behavior has been no stranger to this man As a sinister breath has come over this family. How, during the dark hours of the night, Haunting sobs rise from the fields by his home, Filling the darkness with a ghostly presence. What is it that this poor creature fears? The other creature too,
He fears the dark voices that whisper horrid tales That come to him at night, emerging from the darkened plateau of his mind.
But it is not the stories that frighten him, Not the blood, the screams, and terror, of his closest kin But the 'wicked man'. The man he sees every night when asleep And every morning when awake. But where is this 'wicked man'? He answers he comes from the sea. What is this wicked man?
He says he is just like us, composed of flesh and blood. Who is this wicked man?
He responds only in tongues and in tears, too frightened to say. And then he leaves, knowing that the rest of the world cannot help them.
Tetracles: Come Glosi, this is the spot she showed in my dreams
Glosi: Grrrr...
Tetracles: Quiet! Let fantasy unveil to reality...
(Enter Aphrodite)
By the gods... Such beauty... I fear to look ahead yet it would be of sin to look away...