Product Description

The first two chapters of this book isolate and describe the literary phenomenon of the Sophoclean tragic hero. In all but one of the extant Sophoclean dramas, a heroic figure who is compounded of the same literary elements faced a situation which is essentially the same. The demonstration of this recurrent pattern is made not through character-analysis, but through a close examination of the language employed by both the hero and those with whom he contends. The two chapters attempt to present what might, with a slight exaggeration, be called the 'formula' of Sophoclean tragedy. A great artist may repeat a structural pattern but he never really repeats himself. In the remaining four chapters, a close analysis of three plays, the Antigone, Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus, emphasizes the individuality and variety of the living figures Sophocles created on the same basic armature. This approach to Sophoclean drama is (as in the author's previous work on the subject) both historical and critical; the universal and therefore contemporary appeal of the plays is to be found not by slighting or dismissing their historical context, but by an attempt to understand it all in its complexity. 'The play needs to be seen as what it was, to be understood as what it is'.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #476989 in Books
• Published on: 1992-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

About the Author
Bernard M. W. Knox, Director of the Center for Hellenic Studies, Washington, D.C., was formerly Professor of Classics at Yale University. He is the author of numerous articles and monographs including The Serpent and the Flame, and Oedipus at Thebes.

Customer Reviews

A Marvelous Insight Into Sophocles' Heroes
This book is essential reading for any student of Sophocles. It studies the Sophoclean hero in a new and accurate light - far removed from the many older works which mistakenly impose modern views of heroism on ancient literature.

This view of the Greek hero is valuable to all students of classics and ancient history, not just of Sophoclean tragedy. It allows a reader to appreciate an aspect of Greek culture which is often misunderstood, allowing a far greater understanding of the Classical world.