His version of electra s argument for her mothers wrongdoing is as moving as any ive read. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read electra. After youve bought this ebook, you can choose to download either the pdf version or the epub, or both. Kitto translator this volume contains three masterpieces by the greek playwright sophocles, widely regarded since antiquity as the greatest of all the tragic poets. Peasant o argos, ancient land, and streams of inachus, whence on a day king agamemnon sailed to the realm of troy, carrying his warriors aboard a thousand ships. It is based on the story of electra and her brother orestes, and the vengeance they take on their mother clytemnestra. The electra of sophocles, london, edinburgh, williams and norgate, 1873, ed. Sophocles 495406 bc sophocles play dramatizes the aftermath of agamemnons murder by his wife clytemnestra and her lover aegisthus. Electra enters from the hut, carrying a water pitcher on her head. Antigone an english version by dudley fitts and robert fitzgerald person represented antigone ismene eurydice creon haimon teiresias a sentry a messenger chorus scene. Electra ebook by sophocles 9781910833940 rakuten kobo. Full text of the electra of sophocles see other formats ii. Electra mistakes orestes and pylades for friends of her brother. Electra is one of seven plays by sophocles that have survived complete, out of the more than 120 that he wrote.
Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Antigone oedipus the king electra, sophocles, edith hall editor, h. A modern adaptation of elektra, performed 2125 march 2018 by cbs theatre at the house of international theatre in copenhagen directed by. Sophocles bilingual anthology studies sophocles in print. Yeats, ezra pound, and more recently seamus heaney and tony harrison. The internet classics archive electra by sophocles. Electra by sophocles the 196th greatest fiction book of all. Electra kindle edition by sophocles, campbell, lewis. View sophocles electra research papers on academia. Translated in verse by robin bond 2014 university of canterbury, christchurch, new zealand.
From a general summary to chapter summaries to explanations of famous quotes, the sparknotes electra study guide has everything you need to ace quizzes, tests, and essays. Sophocles most famous plays are often grouped under the epithet the theban plays and include in the chronology of the myths themselves, oedipus at colonus and oedipus rex antigone. The characters, electra and orestes, must reunite to avenge their fathers murder. Dramatis personae orestes, son of agamemnon and clytemnestra electra, sister of orestes. According to the suda, a 10thcentury encyclopedia, sophocles wrote 123 plays during the course of his life, but only seven have survived in a complete form. It was in their footsteps that he was destined to follow. Paedagogus son of him who once commanded our forces at troy, son of agamemnon.
All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Paedagogus son of him who led our hosts at troy of old, son of agamemnon. Yo lo espero sin cesar, desventurada, no casada y sin hijos. Are you sure you want to remove electra from your list. The electra plays hackett classics kindle edition by sophocles, aeschylus, euripides, woodruff, paul, meineck, peter, luschnig, cecelia eaton, gregory, justina, meineck, peter, luschnig, cecelia eaton, woodruff, paul. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the electra plays hackett. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading electra.
Electra greek tragedy in new translations pdf free download. 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 elektra aka electra written circa 410bce. Persons orestes, son of agamemnon and clytemnestra electra, sister of orestes. Sophocles sure could turn a phrase, or at least he could through derek coltman.
Orestes arrives with his friend pylades, son of strophius, and a tutor. Essays and criticism on sophocles electra critical essays. Ajax translated by john moore the women of trachis translated by michael jameson electra translated by david grene philoctetes translated by. Building the human condition in agamemnon, electra, and the bacchae. 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 and the greek theater flipped lecture on the origin and background of greek dramas.
Elektra is a tragedy by the ancient greek playwright sophocles, probably dating from quite late in his career, around 410 bce or later. He sends his pedagogue pylades, as a spy, to learn about the situation in mycenae. There is the ancient argos of thy yearning, that hallowed scene whence the gadfly drove the daughter of inachus. To a father growing old nothing is dearer than a daughter by euripides. Despite her overwhelming passion for just revenge, electra admits that her own actions are shameful. It was written quite late in euripides career, some time in the 410s bce, although the. Storr, ba formerly scholar of trinity college, cambridge from the loeb library edition originally published by harvard university press, cambridge, ma and william heinemann ltd, london first published in 1912 argument oedipus, the blind and banished king of thebes, has come in his wanderings to. In this play, however, the main focus is on orestes.
Winningtoningram formerly professor of greek language and literature the in university of london kings college. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Pdf he aeschylean electra has been the subject of less inquiry into character than. Learn all about how the characters in electra such as electra and chrysothemis contribute to the story and how they fit into the plot. Set in the city of argos a few years after the trojan war, it 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.
Electra, who in sophocles and euripides will be a dominating figure, has the. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of electra written by sophocles. It was written quite late in euripides career, some time in the 410s bce, although the actual date is uncertain. Seven complete plays are extant, including oedipus tyrannus, ajax, antigone, and philoctetes. It is based on the story of electra and her brother orestes, and the vengeance they take on their mother clytemnestra and stepfather aegisthus for the murder of their father.
Your father agamemnon lorded troops at troy, orestes, once, but only now you see what you. Ajax, antigone, the women of trachis, oedipus the king, electra, philoctetes and oedipus at colonus. Literature study guides electra character analysis. While these plays appear to form a trilogy, each is the sole surviving play from three separate trilogies nine plays in. The internet classics archive electra by euripides. Antigone, aias, king oedipus, electra, trachiniae, philoctetes, and oedipus. The project gutenberg ebook of the seven plays in english verse, by sophocles. Thanks your visit fromeuripides electra a commentary librarydoc11 pdf ebook pdf file. Ajax, antigone, women of trachis, oedipus rex, electra, philoctetes and oedipus at colonus.
Electra s character is called into further question as the play progresses. A comparison of sophocles and euripides versions of electra. For years electra has mourned her father and openly spurned her mother and stepfather for murdering him. Euripides 480406 bc ranked with aeschylus and sophocles as one of the greatest greek dramatists, he enjoyed the least success of the three. When agamemnon, the resident king, returned from the trojan war, his wife clytemnestra and her lover aegisthus murdered him and usurped the throne. It is probably from toward the end of his career, from 420 bc or later.
She spends her time crying, wailing, and openly casting accusations at them. Sophocles 4976406 bce, considered one of the worlds greatest poets, forged tragedy from the heroic excess of myth and legend. In sophocles s version, the play opens with orestes learning his fate from the pythian oracle. Detailed analysis of characters in sophocles s electra. Elektra is a tragedy by the ancient greek playwright euripides. 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. Pdf trope and setting in sophocles electra francis dunn. As in aeschylus libation bearers, the action in electra greek elektra follows the return of orestes to kill his mother, clytemnestra, and her lover aegisthus in retribution for their murder of orestes father, agamemnon. The greek tragedy in new translations general editors peter burian and alan shapiro sophocles. Dramatis personae orestes, son of agamemnon and clytemnestra electra, sister of. Electra counters by arguing that justice cannot be achieved by answering a killing with another killing but this raises questions about the integrity of electra s character for electra herself longs to avenge her fathers death. Sophocles admirers and imitators, in the english speaking world alone, includes john milton, samuel johnson, percy shelley who translated oedipus the king and drowned with a text of sophocles in his pocket, matthew arnold, georg e eliot, virginia woolf, w. Her father, agamemnon, was murdered by electra s now stepfather, aegisthus, at the urging of her mother, clytemnestra. Both electra and antigone, in sophocles version of their stories, devote themselves to a cause to such an extent that they forego husband and children.
Read in english by expatriate electra or elektra is a greek tragedy by sophocles. Stief the long haired freaky dude feel free to contact me with any question or comments, negative or. Sophocles and euripides versions of electra carry, among many similarities, a central theme of revenge. Sophocles wrote over 120 plays during the course of his life, but only seven have survived in a complete form. There is the ancient argos of your yearning, 5 that consecrated land from which the gadfly drove the daughter of inachus. Dramatis personae orestes, son of agamemnon and clytemnestra electra, sister. Misfortunately, in both versions the just solution leads the siblings to destroying their own mother. Persons orestes, son of agamemnon and clytemnestra electra, sister of orestes chrysothemis, sister of orestes an old man, formerly the paedagogus or attendant of orestes. She tells them her story and speaks of her wish that orestes will avenge the death of agamemnon and the ill treatment of his children. This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned b. Librivox recording of electra storr translation by sophocles. Sophocles focused on orestes, and euripides focused more on the life of electra. Read electra by sophocles available from rakuten kobo.
It tells the tale of electra and her brother, orestes, as they take their revenge on their mother, clytemnestra, for her murder of their father, agamemnon. Electra literature essays are academic essays for citation. Before we can delve into this story, we need a bit of back story. The electra plays hackett classics kindle edition by. The vivid translations, which combine elegance and modernity, are remarkable for their lucidity and accuracy, and are equally suitable for reading for. Known even by the ancients as the philosopher of the stage, he is admired today for his belief in the individual and his keen insight into the human psyche. The electra of sophoclesa study in social values by. His daughter electra is hungry for revenge and longs for the return of her brother orestes to help her achieve her ends. Sophocles, the most successful of the ancient greek playwrights, garnered between eighteen and twentyfour victories in yearly.