Types of Tragic Drama

SOPHOCLES is the last representative of the purely classical spirit in Greek tragedy. With Euripides new elements force their way into prominence, the character of Greek tragedy is profoundly changed, and the classical mould is strained to the point of breaking. The genius of Euripides was full of originality; his temper was naturally restless; and, cast in a time when the traditional beliefs of the Greek world were rudely shaken and the established forms of Greek polity showed clear signs of decay, he eagerly welcomed the spirit of innovation which was at work on every side of him, and applied it with feverish activity in the field of tragedy. All this was as it should be. The drama, like all other things, must change with its surroundings. And the Greek drama, just because it was bound up so closely with the whole fabric of Greek life and thought, just because it was a pre-eminently indigenous growth,

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