ABOUT THIS BOOK

“The most extensive scholarship to appear on this Greek dramatist in many years, Michelini’s work will be important to specialists and students of classical literature, literary theory, and both English and comparative literature.”—Modern Greek Studies

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Ann Michelini is the author of articles and books on Greek tragedy. Her current research focuses on the literary aspects of Platonic dialogues, including an edited volume, Plato as Literary Author.

REVIEWS

“Euripides and the Tragic Tradition asks all the right questions. It forces us to confront the many contradictions in Euripides’ work, demonstrates the differences between the literary assumptions of Sophocles and Euripides, and challenges us to respond to Euripidean drama with sophistication and sensitivity.”—Francis M. Dunn, Scholia

“The work is characterized throughout by lively intelligence, impeccable scholarship and long familiarity with Greek tragedy. Michelini has read widely (the bibliography is 35 pages long) and independently in the secondary sources (early 20th c. Continental literature is surprisingly well-represented) but at the same time is willing to take chances and advance bold hypotheses.”—Richard Hamilton, Classical World

“This perceptive and fluently written study is a valuable contribution to our understanding of the complex and anomalous work of Euripides.”—Choice

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

Preface

A Note about References

Part I
Toward Interpretation

Chapter 1
A History of Euripidean Interpretation

I.
Euripides Dethroned and Rehabilitated: The First Stage

A.
Classicism and the Nineteenth-Century View of Euripides

B.
The First Scholarly Criticism

II.
The Beginnings of Modern Euripidean Criticism: New Trends and Old Methods

A.
Structural Studies and the Traditional View of Euripides

B.
English-Speaking Scholars: Kitto and After

C.
The Historicist School

III.
The More Recent Work

A.
Structural Criticism

B.
New Perspectives

C.
Euripides Rehabilitated

D.
The Last Decade: A Step Forward and a Step Back

E.
Conclusions

Chapter 2
Euripides and His Tradition

Chapter 3
Euripides and His Audience: The Tactics of Shock

Chapter 4 Formalism in the Style of Euripidean Drama

Part II
Four Plays

Chapter 6
Hekabe: The Aesthetic of the Aischron

I.
Structure

II.
Nature and Nurture

III.
Rhetoric and Persuasion

IV.
Polyxene's Death Scene

V.
Revenge and Complementarity

VI.
Some Central Themes

Chapter 7
Elektra: The “Low” Style

I.
Anti-traditional Aspects

A.
Realism and Comic Tone

B.
The Elektra of Sophokles

C.
The Personality of the Euripidean Elektra

D.
The Role of Elektra's Husband

E.
The Tokens

II.
Elektra and Orestes

A.
The Meeting

B.
Moral Ambiguity

C.
Aigisthos

D.
Klytaimestra

E.
The Exodos

F.
Male and Female

Chapter 8
Herakles: Tragedy in Paradox

I.
Some Critical Problems

II.
The Design of the First Half

A.
Archaizing Style in Dialogue and Lyric

B.
Plot Structure

III.
Herakles as Modern Hero

A.
Herakles the Bowman

B.
Masculine Focus and the Role of Megara

C.
Domestic Drama

IV.
Human Strength and Human Weakness

A.
Herakles' Dual Parentage

B.
Theseus as Comforter

C.
Heroism in Paradox

V.
The Gods

A.
The Problem of Divine Agency

B.
The Fiction Erases Itself

Chapter 9
Hippolytos: An Exceptional Play

I.
Tragic Morality

A.
The Manipulation of “Dramatic Effect”

I.
Tragic Morality

A.
The Manipulation of “Dramatic Effect”

B.
The Spoudaion and Human Feeling (To Philanthropon)

II.
The Second Hippolytos

A.
Revision

B.
Êthos

III.
Socratic Ideology

A.
Phaidra's Speech

B.
Hippolytos as Socratic Hero

IV.
The Spoudaion in Hippolytos

A.
Aristocratic Norms

B.
The Role of the Gods: Hippolytos and Other Plays

Appendix A.
Melodrama

Appendix B.
Albin Lesky and Alkestis

Appendix C.
Lyrics in Hekabe

Appendix D.
Dating, Influence, and Literary Analysis

Reference List

Index

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