Cassandra's Lament | Teen Ink

Cassandra's Lament

June 7, 2013
By Helena.of.Karatha DIAMOND, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Helena.of.Karatha DIAMOND, Saint Paul, Minnesota
79 articles 0 photos 21 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You're a great wizard, Harry."
"Not as good as you."
"Me?! Books! And cleverness! There are more important things, Harry--friendship, and bravery, and--oh, Harry, just be careful."


I should have grown up
In privilege and luxury.
On the banks of the Scamander,
I was a child running free.
I was the Princess of Troy,
But not without a price.
The gods could have left me alone.
Wouldn’t that have been nice?

But Apollo saw me;
Claimed it was love at first sight.
He made me a prophet,
‘Cause he’s the god of light.
He wanted my body,
And, when I didn’t obey,
He gave me a curse;
Now no one trusts what I say!

Paris stole Helen a
And ran back to Troy.
I knew the Greeks were coming
And that they would destroy.
Agamemnon took me
And made me his sex slave,
And, what’s even worse,
His wife is digging my grave.

First Apollo saw me;
Claimed it was love at first sight.
He made me a prophet,
‘Cause he’s the god of light.
He wanted my body,
And, when I didn’t obey,
He gave me a curse;
Bet you don’t trust what I say!

Clytemnestra’s killing Agamemnon,
And I’m on her hit list too.
She’s a she-hound in disguise,
And there is nothing she won’t do.
She’s been making all these plots
While her husband’s been away.
She’s been cheating with Aegisthus,
And she always gets her way.

First Apollo saw me,
And he gave me my sight,
And, since I’m a prophet,
My death’s in the light.
Men want my body,
But Clytemnestra wants my blood.
Did you hear inside the house
Just now a corpse’s thud?


The author's comments:
This was for a school project. I wrote a song from the perspective of Cassandra, a doomed, prophetic character in the Greek drama Agamemnon. Basically, Helen of Sparta runs off with Paris. Agamemnon's brother is Helen's rightful husband, so he and Agamemnon and their armies go after Paris and follow him to Troy. To please the gods, Agamemnon has to kill his daughter before he can set sail. Agamemnon's wife, Clytemnestra, is really pissed about this. Therefore, Clytemnestra plots to kill Agamemnon when he gets back from the war. She gets together with an old enemy of Agamemnon's, Aegisthus, and they start a relationship during the war. Agamemnon returns from the war with the princess of vanquished Troy, Cassandra, in tow and Clytemnestra kills Agamemnon and Cassandra. Also, the Greek god Apollo made Cassandra a prophet, thinking that she would be grateful for this and would therefore become his mistress. She didn't want to be his mistress, so he gave her the curse of never being believed by anyone who heard her speak. This song is supposed to reflect Cassandra's perspective on all of that.

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This article has 2 comments.


on Jun. 25 2013 at 12:12 am
Helena.of.Karatha DIAMOND, Saint Paul, Minnesota
79 articles 0 photos 21 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You're a great wizard, Harry."
"Not as good as you."
"Me?! Books! And cleverness! There are more important things, Harry--friendship, and bravery, and--oh, Harry, just be careful."

Thanks! Glad you liked it!

midnightwoah said...
on Jun. 13 2013 at 11:42 pm
midnightwoah, Monett, Missouri
0 articles 0 photos 188 comments

Favorite Quote:
"We accept the love we think we deserve." -Stephen Chbosky

Congrats on being the 2nd favorite ballad for the day, nice project