Orestes seeming maturation as the revenge unfolds compensates, in a sense, for electras increasing irrationality, but his initial immaturity and the cold source of his motivation make the audience shudder at the plays final outcome, wondering if what has happened is right. Dramatis personae orestes, son of agamemnon and clytemnestra electra, sister. The greatest divergence of opinion concerns the poets attitude towards the matricidal vengeance. It details how electra and orestes avenge their father agamemnons murder by clytemnestra and aegisthus. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read electra. Electra, a woman of many temperaments the literary rapport. Similar to aeschylus libation bearers, electra focuses on the return of electras brother orestes from exile and the plot to murder their mother. Sophocles version is presented from the viewpoint of electra, orestes sister, who laments her father, bears witness to her mothers crime, and for years endures her mothers scorn. Sophocles play dramatizes the aftermath of agamemnons murder by his wife clytemnestra and her lover aegisthus. Electra is a play written by the 5thcentury bce greek tragedian sophocles. Paperback authored by sophocles released at 2010 filesize. Electra paperback sophocles oxford university press.
Both sophocles and euripides composed plays about acrisius and danae. While electra is emotionally motivated to revenge by an intense desire for justice, orestes has not shared her experiences, nor has he. They have come to exact revenge for the murder of agamemnon, orestes s father, as instructed by an oracle of apollo. I think sophocles gave electra and orestes more enjoyable personalities, and the ending was much more satisfactory. As a psychoanalytic term for daughtermother psychosexual conflict, the electra complex derives from the greek mythologic character electra, who plotted matricidal revenge with orestes, her brother, against clytemnestra, their mother, and aegisthus, their stepfather, for their murder of agamemnon, their father cf. If you dont remember, electra is the sister of orestes, whose father agamemnon was killed by his wife clytemnestra and her lover aegisthus in aeschylus play agamemnon in revenge for having sacrificed their daughter iphigenia. To prevent her from conceiving he therefore imprisoned her in a room built for the purpose within his palace.
Orestes, mistaking electra for one of the domestics, and desirous of keeping his arrival a secret till the hour of vengeance should arrive, produces the urn in which his ashes are supposed to rest. Orestes arrives with his friend pylades, son of strophius, and a pedagogue, i. Her characteristic can be stated as a vengeful soul in the libation bearers, the second play of aeschylus oresteia. Electra is a greek tragedy written by the playwright euripides c. Orestes was the son of agamemnon and clytemnestra in greek mythology, who was hunted by the erinyes after he killed his mother. After a choral ode orestes arrives, carrying the urn supposedly. Electra was the daughter of king agamemnon and queen clytemnestra of mycenae in greek mythology. He received an oracle from delphi informing him that he would be killed by a son of hers. The story of orestes is the main topic of various ancient greek plays. Based on the conviction that only translators who write poetry themselves can properly recreate the celebrated and timeless tragedies of aeschylus, sophocles, and euripides, the greek tragedy in new translations series offers new translations that go beyond the literal meaning of the greek in order to evoke the poetry of the originals. When electra is told of the death of orestes her grief is doubled, but is to be shortlived.
Schegals remark that it is nothing more than a play of good spirits and matricide is perhaps the most widely quoted, but there are many others just as trenchant. Having finished reading all of the aeschylus plays in gbww volume 4, i decided to proceed with the two electra plays by sophocles and euripedes. Nevertheless, electra drives him to it, even though, at the crucial moment, she herself is unable to deliver the killing stroke. Pylades, orestes, and the old man, orestes s keeper, arrive at mycenae at daybreak. It was the fifth century athenian tragedians who recognised the brutal power of the electra story. But, her brother orestes will rescue her by killing their own mother, clytemnestra, and her lover, aegisthus, with the help of some clever word play. Daylight pure, bright sky, earths coverlet, you are longstanding nightfade witnesses to my laments, rent from my chest, so bloodied now with selfstruck blows, while, hated bed, you overhear my nightlong 90 dirge, within this wretched house, for my poor father. Sophocles was inspired by human nature and its welfare as we can see from his line in antigone. Electra sophocles play project gutenberg selfpublishing. Electra literature essays are academic essays for citation. Although the oracle is received before the events of the play begin, it plays a crucial role in terms of both plot and thematic development. Before we can delve into this story, we need a bit of back story. Sophocles version is presented from the viewpoint of electra, orestes sister, who laments her father, bears witness to her. Similar to aeschylus libation bearers, electra focuses on the return of electra s brother orestes from exile and the plot to murder their mother.
Years earlier, their mother clytemnestra and her lover aegisthus killed their father agamemnon upon his return from the trojan war. Despite being little more than a footnote to homer, this torrid tale of a sister and brother orestes taking revenge their mother clytemnestra for the murder of their father agamemnon is rich in d. Aug 07, 2018 it is said that sophocless electra is the best example of the oresteian story that homer would have known. The internet classics archive electra by sophocles. She is also the central figure in plays by aeschylus, alfieri, voltaire, hofmannsthal, and eugene oneill. In an oresteia, the classicist anne carson combines three different versions of the tragedy of the house of atreus a iskhylos agamemnon, sophokles elektra and euripides orestes. The internet classics archive electra by euripides. Published september 1st 2004 by nick hern books first published 410. Learning that orestes is actually alive fills her with joy, but she hides her happiness so that she and orestes can fulfill their plot for revenge.
The electra of sophocles charles paul segal i despite the parthenonlike solidity and monolithic unity often attributed to the work of sophocles, his electra is a play of inversions and reversals. The electras of sophocles and euripedes daniel ang. Towards that end sophocles creates a character, chrysothemis, another sister to both orestes and electra. Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. Electra recounts the murders of clytemnestra and aegisthus by clytemnestras son orestes, to avenge their murder of his father agamemnon. After the trojan war, orestes father, agamemnon, returned to mycenae or argos, along with his prize, the trojan princess cassandra. Orestes seeming maturation as the revenge unfolds compensates, in a sense, for electra s increasing irrationality, but his initial immaturity and the cold source of his motivation make the audience shudder at the plays final outcome, wondering if what has happened is right. Building the human condition in agamemnon, electra, and the bacchae. But electra, who is dominated by her passion for revenge, is determined to do her duty to her father and exact justice. It differs, however, in sophocles agonized depiction of human grief. Electra recounts the tale of electra and the vengeance that she and her brother orestes take on their mother clytemnestra and step father aegisthus for the murder of their father, agamemnon.
Sophocles version is presented from the viewpoint of electra, orestes sister, who laments her father, bears witness to her mothers crime, and for. Classicists are unsure which of the two plays was written first. It retells the classic myth concerning the plotting of electra and her brother orestes to kill their mother and her lover. Online books resources in your library resources in other libraries. The story of orestes was the subject of the oresteia of aeschylus agamemnon, choephori, eumenides, of the electra of sophocles, and of the electra, iphigeneia in tauris, iphigenia at aulis in which he appears as an infant carried by clytemnestra and orestes, all of euripides. Electra by sophocles you can read sophocles spin on. The mythical story of orestess and electras act of vengeance against their mother, clytemnestra, was developed by sophocles as well as aeschylus and. When agamemnon, the resident king, returned from the trojan war, his wife clytemnestra and her lover aegisthus murdered him and usurped the throne. The libation bearers check out the full text of aeschylus version here. Under the general editorship of peter burian and alan. Sophocles 495406 bc sophocles play dramatizes the aftermath of agamemnons murder by his wife clytemnestra and her lover aegisthus. This edition also includes an afterlife essay that discusses adaptations of the play, as well as.
Each takes up some aspect of the house of atreus, whose members, relations and dependents included not only agamemnon and clytemnestra and helen, but orestes, electra, menelaus, cassandra. Electra ebook by sophocles 9780199878833 rakuten kobo. Electra finally recognizes him and they plan the death of aegisthus and of their mother, clytemnestra. This version of the story should not be confused with the play of the same name by his fellow playwright, electra by sophocles. In aeschyluss eumenides, orestes goes mad after the deed and is pursued by the erinyes, whose duty it. Currently comparing this play to euripides version in a college lit class, and i must say, i love this one so much more. Orestes look at this signet, once our fathers, and judge if i speak truth. Now as for those whom he left in his halls, when he sailed to troy, his son orestes and his tender daughter electra,the boy orestes, as he was like to be slain by aegisthus, his sires old fosterfather secretly removed to the land of phocis and gave to strophius to bring up, but the maid electra abode in her fathers house, and soon as she.
On reaching manhood, orestes avenged his father by killing. The ground shifts under our feet from one scene to the next. Electra recounts the murders of clytemnestra and aegisthus by clytemnestras son orestes, to avenge their murder of his father agamemnon, commander of the greeks at troy, upon his return home. We personally assess every books quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. Oresteia agamemnon by aiskhylos elektra by sophokles orestes. In electra by euripides the title character has to persuade orestes to go. Electra is trapped, living with her mother and her mothers lover, she is in serious danger, and cannot marry and bear any children.
Electra corresponds roughly to the plot of aeschylus libation bearers. Electra s character is called into further question as the play progresses. The aeschylean oresteia cycle became the more enduring tragedy. While carson renders the book in her signature free verse, her major innovation is. The electra of sophocles might be thought to prove the impossibility of objective literary criticism. When orestes arrives at last, her mood shifts from grief to joy as orestes carries out the bloody vengeance. It is based on the story of electra and her brother orestes, and the vengeance they take on their mother clytemnestra and stepfather aegisthus. The interactions between electra, her sister, clytemnestra, orestes, as well as all of electras speech i have to say that i liked sophocles depiction far more, though, particularly the emotional complexity that he gives to electras character, and the way he portrayed the myth as more or less a family drama. We can ask of orestes the same basic question we asked of electra. Many are the wonders of the world, says sophocles, but none is more wonderful than man.
In view of the multitude of translations, commentaries and monographs not to mention individual articles or chapters in books on sophocles play electra that have appeared since the beginning of the new millennium, 1 one might ask what original contribution can still be made to the existing scholarship without simply repeating what others have already said. In 1880, the normally gentile mahaffy had to complain that, its poetic qualities notwithstanding, the play represented a great. Mar 12, 2020 rather, the book consists of plays by three different authors. Electra is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies. The interactions between electra, her sister, clytemnestra, orestes, as well as all of electra s speech i have to say that i liked sophocles depiction far more, though, particularly the emotional complexity that he gives to electra s character, and the way he portrayed the myth as more or less a family drama. Jun 12, 2019 electra is a play written by the 5thcentury bce greek tragedian sophocles. I the problem of orestes sophocles electra has taken more than its fair share of abuse over the years. Mar 15, 2018 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Aug 25, 2019 it was the fifth century athenian tragedians who recognised the brutal power of the electra story. The tragedy is told, mainly, through the eyes and sufferings of orestess sister, electra. Aeschylus had electra meet orestes at the tomb of agamemnon in the libation bearers. His daughter electra is hungry for revenge and longs for the return of her brother orestes to help her achieve her ends.
Aeschylus agamemnon, sophocles electra and euripides orestes. The story of orestes was the subject of the oresteia of aeschylus agamemnon, choephori, eumenides, of the electra of sophocles, and of the electra, iphigeneia in tauris, iphigenia at aulis in which he appears as an infant carried by clytemnestra and orestes, all of euripides aeschylus. She is the main character in two greek tragedies, electra by sophocles and electra by euripides. In the sophocles version of electra the emphasis is on the psychological dimensions of the situation. In sophocles version, our heart agonizes and weeps for electra. Electra, orestes s sister, is heard sobbing within the house outside of which the three stand discussing how to execute their plan. Unlike his sister, orestes is driven in large part by the command of the god, apollo.
She was the sister of iphigenia and chrysothemis, as well as orestes, with whom they planned the murder of their mother and her lover aegisthus, seeking revenge for the murder of their father. List of books and articles about electra sophocles online. Orestes, in greek mythology, son of agamemnon, king of mycenae or argos, and his wife, clytemnestra. Rather, the book consists of plays by three different authors. Its date is not known, but various stylistic similarities with the philoctetes 409 bc and the oedipus at colonus 401 bc lead scholars to suppose that it was written towards the end of sophocles career.
After the murder of her daughter iphigeneia by her husband, agamemnon, klytaimestra exacts a mothers revenge, murdering agamemnon and his mistress, kassandra. I think this interpretation is supported by two key points. Its date is not known, but various stylistic similarities with the philoctetes 409 bc and the oedipus at colonus 401 bc lead scholars to suppose that it was written towards the end of sophocles career set in the city of argos a few years after the trojan war, it recounts the tale of electra and. Jan 30, 2016 having finished reading all of the aeschylus plays in gbww volume 4, i decided to proceed with the two electra plays by sophocles and euripedes. Electra ebook by sophocles official publisher page. Orestes, electra, and clytemnestra resources movie or tv productions.
Danae was an argive princess, daughter of king acrisius. Discover librarianselected research resources on electra sophocles from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic journals. Their plan is to have the tutor announce that orestes has died in a chariot accident, and that two men really orestes and pylades are arriving shortly to deliver an urn with his remains. An excellent read for anyone interested in mythology. In the first scene, he even ignores his sisters cries of woe because hes so concerned with doing what apollo told him to do. According to homer, orestes was away when his father returned from troy to meet his death at the hands of aegisthus, his wifes lover. Antigone oedipus the king electrapage 26 ebook online read.
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