The Agamemnon opens with a Prologue spoken before the chorus enters singing their first ode, the parados, or entrance song, as they sing and dance their way to the orchestra.
Both the first choral ode and the Prologue serve as exposition, informing the audience of what has happened in the past and explaining the situation of the play. We learn from these speakers that the play is set just as Agamemnon is about to return home from the Trojan War. We learn that Agamemnon has been away from home for ten years and that his return is eagerly awaited, with a watchman having spent every night of those years on a watch tower waiting for a sight of the beacon that will announce Agamemnon's arrival.
While the chorus addresses this wait in more general terms, and focuses on the narrative of the events, the Prologue is more individual and emotional, evoking the long sleepless nights at watch and a sense of joy at the sight of the beacon, which the Watchman sees as a resolution to his worries. The chorus, of course, not being so isolated, knows that the return will not mark an end to suffering, but itself cause problems.
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