What is the origin of the phrase "deus ex machina"?
Q: What is the origin of the phrase "deus ex machina"?
A: The phrase "deus ex machina" comes from the theatre of ancient Greece. It is a Latin version of an ancient Greek phrase ἀπὸ μηχανῆς θεός, which means "the god from the machine". This refers to a crane used for delivering gods onto the stage on wires.
Q: How did Aristotle view this plot device?
A: Aristotle criticized this plot device in his Poetics. He argued that the resolution of a plot should follow the logic of the play and not come from something outside that logic. He believed it was improbable and should be outside tragedy, such as in Sophocles' Oedipus.
Q: What is an example of deus ex machina in Euripides' play Alcestis?
A: In Euripides' play Alcestis, the heroine agrees to give up her own life in order to spare her husband Admetus's life. At the end Heracles shows up and seizes Alcestis from Death, restoring her to life and to Admetus. This is an example of deus ex machina being used as a seemingly impossible problem suddenly solved by means which do not follow normal logic.
Q: What other modern examples are there of this dramatic device?
A: There are many examples of this dramatic device in modern movies and novels. For example, in H.G Wells's War of The Worlds, aliens attacking Earth are suddenly killed by bacteria; or Monty Python and The Holy Grail makes fun when heroes barely escape an animated monster because its animator died before finishing its animation causing it to disappear completely from movie scenes.
Q: How does deus ex machina differ from other types of plot devices?
A: Deus ex machina differs from other types of plot devices because it involves a seemingly impossible problem being suddenly solved by means which do not follow normal logic or reasoning - usually involving some kind external force or intervention coming into play at just the right moment to resolve things quickly without having any real explanation for how it happened so quickly or easily (hence why Aristotle criticised it).
Q: What does Medea have to do with deus ex machina?
A: In Euripides' Medea, deus ex machina is used take Medea away (who has murdered people and babies) away from her husband Jason to safety and civilization at Athens - thus solving what seemed like an impossible problem with no logical explanation behind it occurring so quickly or easily .
