1. Why does the chorus support Medea, and not Jason? 2. How has Medea mood changed throughout this speech?

Medea has a powerful effect on the Chorus; she has made them complicit to her plans, and as soon as she promises that she will have her revenge the Chorus responds with glee. Their Choral Ode is a reproach against men: the Chorus recognizes that the domination of women is inseparable from the very order of their culture. Medea's revenge is a chance to strike back, and the rareness of the event is like a miracle: "Flow backward to your sources, sacred rivers / and let the world's great order be reversed" (ll. 410-1). In this ode, they speak of the negative depiction of women in the popular imagination, in art and literature. The Chorus points out that if women were allowed to be poets, the stories would be quite different.

In her speech, Medea's mood changes from one of passion to rage. Her husband, who owes her everything, has cast her aside. She is constantly at the mercy of those less clever than she. And though in many ways righteousness is on her side, her arguments are brushed aside as womanly irrationality.