xlii
Exit Pentheus into the Palace.
DIONYSUS
He's in the net now, women. He'll get to see
his Bacchae. He'll get what he deserves...to die.
Dionysus, you are near now; your task,
too, is near: your revenge, our vengeance.
Make him insane. Give him ecstasy, and madness.
In his right mind, he'd never wear that women's dress,
but drive from his sense, he'll slide right into it.
I want him to be the laughingstock of Thebes,
led through the streets, consumed as a woman,
after all the bragging that made him seem so fearsome.
I'll go in now, I'll put him in his dress:
He'll take it to Hades with him
when his mother slaughters him.
Then, at last,
he'll know. Dionysus is a god.
Dionysus is the son of Zeus.
Dionysus is, for humans, fiercest and most sweet.
Exit Dionysus into the Palace.
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