Greek Tragic Style
Form, Language and Interpretation

An exploration of the poetic qualities of the Greek tragic dramatists Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides highlighting their similarities and differences.

R. B. Rutherford (Author)

9781107470750, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 November 2014

492 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.65 kg

'The value of R.'s work lies in the fact that it puts its finger decisively on many important topics and provides ample stimulus for further debate. Its clarity and rigour of presentation are hard to fault, its discussions of individual passages are satisfyingly complex and thoughtful, and above all it is a timely reminder of the importance of treating tragedy as poetry.' Matthew Wright, The Classical Review

Greek tragedy is widely read and performed, but outside the commentary tradition detailed study of the poetic style and language of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides has been relatively neglected. This book seeks to fill that gap by providing an account of the poetics of the tragic genre. The author describes the varied handling of spoken dialogue and of lyric song; major topics such as vocabulary, rhetoric and imagery are considered in detail and illustrated from a broad range of plays. The contribution of the chorus to the dramas is also discussed. Characterisation, irony and generalising statements are treated in separate chapters and these topics are illuminated by comparisons which show not only what is shared by the three major dramatists but also what distinguishes their practice. The book sheds light both on the genre as a whole and on many particular passages.

1. Introduction
2. Genre: form, structure and mode
3. Words, themes and names
4. The imagery of Greek tragedy
5. The dramatists at work: part 1 (spoken verse)
6. The dramatists at work: part 2 (lyric)
7. The characters of Greek tragedy
8. The irony of Greek tragedy
Appendix: ironic dramatists?
9. The wisdom of Greek tragedy
10. Epilogue.

Subject Areas: Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Literary studies: plays & playwrights [DSG], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]