Read complete books and articles on: Sophocles

Sophocles - sŏfˈəklēz, c.496 b.c.–406 b.c., Greek tragic dramatist, younger contemporary of Aeschylus and older contemporary of Euripides, b. Colonus, near Athens. A man of wealth, charm, and genius, Sophocles was given posts of responsibility in peace and in war by the Athenians. He was a general and a priest; after his death he was worshiped as a hero. At the age of 16 he led the chorus in a paean on the victory of Salamis. He won his first dramatic triumph in 468, over Aeschylus, and thenceforth wrote copiously (he composed about 123 dramas), winning first place about 20 times and never falling lower than second. A definitive innovator in the drama, he added a third actor—thereby tremendously increasing the dramatic possibilities of the medium—increased the size of the chorus, abandoned the trilogy of plays for the self-contained tragedy, and introduced scene painting. Seven complete tragedies (difficult to date), part of a satyr play, and over 1,000 fragments survive. Ajax is perhaps the earliest tragedy; three actors are used but the form is handled imperfectly. In his other plays, whether with two or three actors, the dialogue is polished and smooth. Antigone (c.441) contains extraordinarily fine characterization. The most famous of his tragedies (cited by Aristotle as a perfect example of tragedy) is Oedipus Rex or Oedipus Tyrannus (c.429), in which Greek dramatic irony reaches an apex. The plot is based on the Oedipus legend. Electra (date uncertain), the Trachiniae (date uncertain; on the death of Hercules by the blood of Nessus), and Philoctetes (409) followed. Oedipus at Colonus was written shortly before Sophocles' death and was produced in 401. A sequel to Oedipus Rex, it tells of the last days and death of Oedipus; it is a quiet, simple play of great beauty and power. There is also extant about half of a satyr play (Ichneutae or The Trackers, written perhaps c.460) on Hermes' theft of Apollo's cattle. The characters in Sophocles are governed in their fate more by their own faults than by the actions of the gods as in the tragedies of Aeschylus. Sophocles is supposed to have said that Aeschylus composed correctly without knowing it; Euripides portrayed people as they were; and he painted people as they ought to be. The translation by Richmond Lattimore and David Grene, The Complete Greek Tragedies (1959) is one of the many English translations of Sophocles.

See studies by C. H. Whitman (1951), A. J. A. Waldock (1966), R. P. Winnington-Ingram (1980), and C. Segal (1981).

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13 of the Best Books and Articles on: Sophocles

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

A Commentary on the Plays of Sophocles » Read Now
by James C. Hogan. 390 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

...A Commentary on the Plays of Sophocles James C. Hogan Southern Illinois...James C. A commentary on the plays of Sophocles / James C. Hogan. p. cm. Includes bibliographical...
2.

Antigone; Oedipus the King; Electra » Read Now
by Sophocles, H. D. F. Kitto, Edith Hall. 178 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

This volume contains three masterpieces by the Greek playwright Sophocles, widely regarded since antiquity as the greatest of all the tragic poets. The vivid translations, which combine elegance and modernity, are remarkable for their lucidity and accuracy, and are equally suitable for reading for...
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This volume contains three masterpieces by the Greek playwright Sophocles, widely regarded since antiquity as the greatest of all the tragic poets. The vivid translations, which combine elegance and modernity, are remarkable for their lucidity and accuracy, and are equally suitable for reading for pleasure, study, or theatrical performance. The selection of Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Electra not only offers the reader the most influential and famous of Sophocles' works, it also presents in one volume the two plays dominated by a female heroic figure, and the experience of the two great dynasties featured in Greek tragedy--the houses of Oedipus and Agamemnon.
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3.

Philoctetes » Read Now
by Sophocles, Diskin Clay, Carl Phillips. 118 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

Based on the conviction that only translators who write poetry themselves can properly re-create 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...
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Based on the conviction that only translators who write poetry themselves can properly re-create 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. Under the general editorship of Peter Burian and Alan Shapiro, each volume includes a critical introduction, commentary on the text, full stage directions, and a glossary of the mythical and geographical references in the play. En route to fight the Trojan War, the Greek army has abandoned Philoctetes, after the smell of his festering wound, mysteriously received from a snakebite at a shrine on a small island off Lemnos, makes it unbearable to keep him on ship. Ten years later, an oracle makes it clear that the war cannot be won without the assistance of Philoctetes and his famous bow, inherited from Hercules himself. Philoctetes focuses on the attempt of Neoptolemus and the hero Odysseus to persuade the bowman to sail with them to Troy. First, though, they must assuage his bitterness over having been abandoned, and then win his trust. But how should they do this--through trickery, or with the truth? To what extent do the ends justify the means? To what degree should personal integrity be compromised for the sake of public duty? These are among the questions that Sophocles puts forward in this, one of his most morally complex and penetrating plays.
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4.

Aias: Ajax » Read Now
by Sophocles, Herbert Golder, Richard Pevear. 102 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

Based on the conviction that only translators who write poetry themselves can properly recreate the celebrated Greek tragedies, the Greek Tragedy in New Translation series offers new translations that go beyond the literal meaning of the Greek in order to evoke the poetry of the originals. Under the...
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Based on the conviction that only translators who write poetry themselves can properly recreate the celebrated Greek tragedies, the Greek Tragedy in New Translation series offers new translations that go beyond the literal meaning of the Greek in order to evoke the poetry of the originals. Under the general editorship of Peter Burian and Alan Shapiro, each volume includes a critical introduction, commentary on the text, full stage directions, and a glossary of the mythical and geographical references in the plays. Brought boldly to life by Herbert Golder and Richard Pevear's translation and contextualized by Herbert Golder's eloquent introduction, this early Sophoclean tragedy tells the story of the Homeric hero better known as Ajax, who was second only to Achilles among the Greek warriors. In Greek tradition, Aias figures as the archaic warrior who dies in shame after his betrayal by the Greeks. Sophocles turns tradition inside out, portraying Aias' suicide not as a disgrace but as heroism. He endows Aias suicide with a meaning radically different from previous versions of the Aias myth--Aias is not the hero whom time has passed by, but rather the man who steps beyond time. Most previous versions and interpretations have equivocated over Sophocles' bold vision. This edition of Aias translates precisely that transformation of the hero from the bygone figure to the man who transcends time.
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5.

Sophocles Revisited: Essays Presented to Sir Hugh Lloyd-Jones » Read Now
by Jasper Griffin, Hugh Lloyd-Jones. 343 pgs.

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Sir Hugh Lloyd-Jones was Regius Professor of Greek at Oxford University from 1960 to 1989. A scholar of commanding intelligence and learning, he has made important contributions to our knowledge of ancient Greece across the full range from textual analysis to Greek religion and the classical...
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Sir Hugh Lloyd-Jones was Regius Professor of Greek at Oxford University from 1960 to 1989. A scholar of commanding intelligence and learning, he has made important contributions to our knowledge of ancient Greece across the full range from textual analysis to Greek religion and the classical tradition. In September 1997 a group of his friends, mostly former pupils and established scholars themselves, gathered to celebrate his seventy-fifth birthday and to offer him a set of papers on Sophocles, an author especially close to his heart. This volume collects those papers, which give very varied approaches to the poet, his work, and his influence. Professor Bernard Knox contributes a portrait of Sir Hugh as a scholar and a man as an introduction to the volume.
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6.

Electra and the Empty URN: Metatheater and Role Playing in Sophocles » Read Now
by Mark Ringer. 256 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

Metatheater, or "theater within theater", is a critical approach often used in studies of Shakespearian or modern drama. Breaking new ground in the study of ancient Greek tragedy, Mark Ringer applies the concept of metatheatricality to the work of Sophocles. His innovative analysis sheds light on...
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Metatheater, or "theater within theater", is a critical approach often used in studies of Shakespearian or modern drama. Breaking new ground in the study of ancient Greek tragedy, Mark Ringer applies the concept of metatheatricality to the work of Sophocles. His innovative analysis sheds light on Sophocles' technical ingenuity and reveals previously unrecognized facets of fifth-century performative irony.
Ringer analyzes the layers of theatrical self-awareness in all seven Sophoclean tragedies, giving special attention to Electra, the playwright's most metatheatrical work. He focuses on plays within plays, characters who appear to be in rivalry with their playwright in "scripting" their dramas, and the various roles that characters assume in their attempts to deceive other characters or even themselves. Ringer also examines instances of literal role playing, exploring the implications of the Greek convention of sharing multiple roles among only three actors.
Sophocles has long been praised asone of the,masters of dramatic irony. Awareness of Sophoclean metatheater, Ringer shows, deepens our appreciation of that irony and reveals the playwright's keen awareness of his art.
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7.

The Seal of Orestes: Self-Reference and Authority in Sophocles' Electra » Read Now
by Ann G. Batchelder. 163 pgs.

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In this groundbreaking inquiry into the poetics of authenticity and authority in Sophocles' 'Electra', Ann G. Batchelder looks at Aegisthus and Orestes as rival dramatists, who each use the illusions of the theater in a struggle for control of the kingdom of Mycenae.
8.

Tragedy and the Tragic: Greek Theatre and Beyond (Chap. 1 "Vision, Blindness and Mask: The Radicalization of the Emotions in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex") » Read Now
by M. S. Silk. 566 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

This important book of thirty new essays focuses on the crucial question: what makes tragedy, especially Greek tragedy, tragic? The contributors include many of the world's foremost scholars in the field of Greek drama. The book is accessible to readers with no knowledge of Greek and will be...
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This important book of thirty new essays focuses on the crucial question: what makes tragedy, especially Greek tragedy, tragic? The contributors include many of the world's foremost scholars in the field of Greek drama. The book is accessible to readers with no knowledge of Greek and will be essential reading for anyone interested in tragedy, especially students and specialists in classics, drama, and English literature.
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9.

Gender and Politics in Greek Tragedy (Chap. Six "A Woman's Place Is in the Tomb: Sophocles' Antigone") » Read Now
by August W. Staub, Michael X. Zelenak. 158 pgs.

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Theatrical tragedy, like all other major civic institutions of the fifth-century B.C. Athenian democratic patriarchy, was exclusively male. The course of western drama changed when women characters (played by transvestite male performers) were introduced. Gender and Politics in Greek Tragedy...
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Theatrical tragedy, like all other major civic institutions of the fifth-century B.C. Athenian democratic patriarchy, was exclusively male. The course of western drama changed when women characters (played by transvestite male performers) were introduced. Gender and Politics in Greek Tragedy explores themes and issues of gender identity and political ideology in plays by Aeschylus (Suppliant Maidens, Oresteia), Sophocles (Antigone, Philoctetes), and Euripides (Alcestis, Medea, Orestes, Helen, Iphigeneia in Aulis, Bakkhai). This is the first book-length treatment of the themes of gender and politics in ancient Greek tragedy.
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10.

Sounding the Classics: From Sophocles to Thomas Mann (Chap. 2 "The Trouble with Oedipus Sophocles' Oedipus the King") » Read Now
by Rudolph Binion. 166 pgs.

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This book is a comparative study of twelve works of fiction broadly representative of the Western canon. Its aim is to discover what gives these 12 works their lasting appeal and vitality over and beyond their formal qualities. It focuses on the interplay of "text" and "subtext" within each work...
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This book is a comparative study of twelve works of fiction broadly representative of the Western canon. Its aim is to discover what gives these 12 works their lasting appeal and vitality over and beyond their formal qualities. It focuses on the interplay of "text" and "subtext" within each work after defining these terms at the outset. It then compares its twelve sample classics systematically in a conclusion that argues from the works themselves to classics in general.
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11.

Intimate Commerce: Exchange, Gender, and Subjectivity in Greek Tragedy (Part One "Sovereign Father and Female Subject in Sophocles' Trachiniae") » Read Now
by Victoria Wohl. 296 pgs.

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Wohl offers an illuminating analysis of the exchange of women in Sophocles'Trachiniae, Aeschylus' Agamemnon, and Euripides' Alcestis. She asserts that while the tragedies present an affirmation of Athens' reigning ideologies (including its gender hierarchy), they also offer the possibility of resistance to them.
12.

Ancient Tragedy and the Origins of Modern Science (Chap. 2 "Ancient Tragedy: Sophocles' Ajax") » Read Now
by Michael Davis. 184 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, History, Entire Library

...History. 2. Science--Philosophy. 3. Sophocles. Ajax. 4. Descartes, Rene, 1596-1650...1 2 Ancient Tragedy: Sophocles Ajax 14 3 The Origin...tragedy will carry one but part...
13.

Symbol and Myth in Ancient Poetry (Chap. V "Tragic Wisdom: Aeschylus, Sophocles") » Read Now
by Herbert Musurillo. 222 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

...version of my article "Sunken Imagery in Sophocles Oedipus," AJP 78 1957 36ff...V TRAGIC WISDOM: AESCHYLUS AND SOPHOCLES 61 VI SYMBOLISM IN THE ROMAN...poets and artists...