[Redbook8:255][19910214:1610j]{Classical Greek Dramatists [continued (10)] [– Euripides [continued (6)]]}[14th February 1991]
19910214.1610
[continued]
‘“Orestes”.... This chaos of violence and attempted murder is only resolved by the deus ex machina Apollo, who appears and restores harmony at the end of the play.’
– ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 20]: 396
[continued]
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[Redbook8:255][19910214:1610i]{Classical Greek Dramatists [continued (9)] [– Euripides [continued (5)]]}[14th February 1991]
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[continued]
‘In “Hippolytus” (428BC; Greek “Hippolytos”) Aphrodite, the goddess of love and sexual desire, destroys Hippolytus, a lover of outdoor sports who is repelled by sexual passion and who is instead devoted to the virgin huntress Artemis.’
*{
}
**cf III? End? [] above)
***– ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 20: 395]
[continued]
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[Redbook8:255][19910214:1610h]{Classical Greek Dramatists [continued (8)] [– Euripides [continued (4)]]}[14th February 1991]
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[continued]
‘During the last decade of his career, Euripides began to write “tragedies” that might actually be called romantic dramas,* or tragicomedies with happy endings. These plays have a highly organised structure leading to a recognition scene in which the discovery ** of a character’s true identity produces a complete change in the situation, and in general a happy one. Extant plays in this style include “Ion”, “Iphegenia among the Taurians”, and “Helen”. Plays of the tragicomedy type seem to anticipate the New Comedy*** of the **** 4th century BC[E].’
#
*R~
**
***ref [[Redbook8:244][19910208:1520l]{Greek Literature [continued (12)] [Comedy [continued (4)]]}[8th February 1991],] 244 above
****(end of the)
(ie approaching 2048R~)
#– ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 20: 395]
[continued]
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[Redbook8:254-255][19910214:1610g]{Classical Greek Dramatists [continued (7)] [– Euripides [continued (3)]]}[14th February 1991]
19910214.1610
[continued]
‘The chief structural peculiarities of Euripides’ plays are his use of prologues and of the providential appearance of a god (deus ex machina) at the play’s end. Almost all of the plays start with a monologue that is in effect a bare chronicle explaining the situation and the characters with which the action begins. Similarly, the god’s epilogue at the end of the play serves to reveal the future fortunes of the characters.’
– ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 20: 395]
[continued]
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[Redbook8:254][19910214:1610f]{Classical Greek Dramatists [continued (6)] [– Euripides [continued]]}[14th February 1991]
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[continued]
‘Given this strong strain of social realism, Euripides shows moments of brilliant insight into his characters, especially in scenes of love * and madness. His depictions of women deserve particular attention; it is easy to extract from his plays a long list of heroines who are fierce, treacherous, or adulterous, or all three at once.’
**
*r~R~?
**– ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 20]: 395
[continued]
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[Redbook8:254][19910214:1610e]{Classical Greek Dramatists [continued (5)] [– Euripides]}[14th February 1991]
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[continued]
‘Euripides differed from Aeschylus and Sophocles in making his characters’ tragic fates stem almost entirely from their own flawed natures and uncontrolled passions. Chance, disorder, and human irrationality and immorality frequently result not in an eventual reconciliation or moral resolution but in apparently meaningless suffering* that is looked upon with indifference by the gods. The power of this type of drama lies in the frightening and ghastly situations it creates and in the melodramatic, even sensational, emotional effects of its characters’ tragic crises.**
***
*G~
**
|
|
|
C |
|
|
/ |
|
|
R~ |
|
|
***[– ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 20]: 395]
[& See [Redbook8:242][19910208:1520h]{Greek Literature [continued (8)] [– Tragedy [continued (5)]: Euripides]}[8th February 1991]]
[continued]
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[Redbook8:253][19910214:1610d]{Classical Greek Dramatists [continued (4)] [– Sophocles [continued (3)]]}[14th February 1991]
19910214.1610
[continued]
‘In the play Electra is seen passing through the whole range of human emotions – from passionate love to cruel hatred, from numb despair to wild joy. There is debate over whether the play depicts virtue triumphant or, rather, portrays a young woman incurably twisted by years of hatred and resentment.’
[– ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 20]: 394]
[continued]
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[Redbook8:253][19910214:1610c]{Classical Greek Dramatists [continued (3)] [– Sophocles [continued]]}[14th February 1991]
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[continued]
‘... It should be stressed that to Sophocles “the gods” appear to have represented the natural forces of the universe to which human beings are unwittingly or unwillingly subject. To Sophocles, human beings live for the most part in dark ignorance because they are cut off from these permanent, unchanging forces and structures of reality. Yet it is pain, suffering and the endurance of tragic crisis that can bring people into valid contact with the universal order of things. In this process, a person can become more human, more genuinely himself.’
***
*
**C
***[– ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 20]: 393]
[continued]
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[Redbook8:252][19910214:1610b]{Classical Greek Dramatists [continued] [– Sophocles]}[14th February 1991]
19910214.1610
[continued]
‘The typical Sophoclean drama presents a few characters impressive in their determination* and power** and possessing a few strongly drawn qualities or faults that combine with a particular set of circumstances to lead them inevitably to a tragic fate. Sophocles develops his characters’ rush*** to tragedy with great economy, concentration,*** and dramatic effectiveness, creating a coherent, suspenseful situation whose sustained and inexorable onrush**** came to epitomise the tragic form to the classical world. Sophocles emphasises that most people lack wisdom,# and he presents truth#* in collision with ignorance, delusion and folly.#** Many scenes dramatise flaws or failures in thinking (deceptive reports and rumours,#*** false optimism, hasty judgement, madness). The chief character does something involving grave error; this affects others, each of whom reacts in his own way, thereby causing the chief agent to take another step towards ruin – his own and that of others as well.’
*S~
**A~?
[or M~?]
***S~ (eg T.VII)
***C→S~
****(cf T.VII again)
#r~
#*C
#**A~?
#***A~
#****– ibid [Encyclopaedia Britannica 20]: 392-3
[& See [Redbook8:241-242][19910208:1520g]{Greek Literature [continued (7)] [– Tragedy [continued (4)]: Sophocles]}[8th February 1991]]
[continued]
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