Sophocles: An Interpretation

Professor Winnington-Ingram interprets seven extant tragedies of Sophocles and explores his tragic vision of the world.

R. P. Winnington-Ingram (Author)

9780521296847, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 28 February 1980

360 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.53 kg

In this interpretation of the seven extant tragedies of Sophocles, Professor Winnington-Ingram provides not so much a straightforward account of Sophocles as an exploration of his tragic vision of the world. The Sophoclean 'hero' lies at the centre of this vision. Taking the plays individually but without losing sight of the single consistent mind behind them, the author faces the questions of how the hero is to be regarded, what we are to make of the fates he suffered and the divine powers who controlled those fates. He proceeds by a detailed study of what Sophocles wrote, by close attention to form and recurrent themes, and especially by close analysis of a number of choral odes. Students of Greek drama will find that this detailed study provides invaluable insights into the meaning of the tragedies. Greek in the text is translated or paraphrased, so that the book will also be of interest to students of the literature and drama of other cultures.

Preface
Bibliography of short titles
1. Introduction
2. The mind of Ajax
3. The burial of Ajax
4. Trachiniae
5. Sophocles and the irrational: three odes in Antigone
6. Creon and Antigone
7. Fate in Sophocles
8. The fall of Oedipus
9. Furies in Sophocles
10. Electra
11. Oedipus at Colonus
12. Philoctetes
13. Heroes and gods
Appendices
Select index.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]