Electra · Alcestis · Medea · Hippolytus · Bacchae · Women of Troy
Electra
ELECTRA (GREEK TRAGEDY IN NEW TRANSLATIONS SERIES) - The Barnes & Noble review
Euripides' Electra is a completely different story than The Oresteia even though the two works share the same plot. In Euripides' telling, Orestes is far from the obsessive schemer bent on revenge that Aeschylus portrayed. Here, Electra is the motivator, not Orestes. Electra schemes and directs Orestes' actions, overcoming his doubts and hesitations with impassioned speeches. Instead of Orestes luring his mother into a room and coldly ignoring her cries for pity, Euripides tells us instead that it was Electra who did the luring; and when Orestes cast his cloak over his eyes so he would not see his mother as he killed her, it was Electra who guided his knife in the killing stroke.
Where Aeschylus ends in triumph and restoration, Euripides abandons us in confusion. Yes, Electra is rescued from a life of obscurity and humiliation, but she is driven from her homeland. Orestes is told that everything will turn out alright for him, but the last we see of him, he is fleeing for his life, pursued by some mysterious force.
There is no comforting closure, no reassurance for the audience. We are left with the feeling that, although they ostensibly were justified in their actions, there is still something terribly wrong.
Electra is a brief play, and the translation by Janet Lembke and Kenneth J. Reckford is clear and easy to follow. There is a good (and relatively brief) introduction, as well as end notes which help clarify the context of some of the events and ideas in the play.
This is a fairly quick read, and I found it a very interesting contrast to the events as they are portrayed in The Oresteia.
SET - 12/26/99
The following three reviews are based on my reading of EURIPIDES ONE: FOUR TRAGEDIES (ALCESTIS, MEDEA, THE HERACLEIDAE, HIPPOLYTUS).
Alcestis
Alcestis is not so much the story of a woman who dies to save her husband (as naming the play after her would suggest) as it is the story of the husband's reaction. Now, lest you think this is a tragedy, please be assured that Alcestis is rescued from death by a friend of the family who later goes on to become a god. It's a very odd little play....
And there's really not much more to say about it than that, except that it was translated by Richmond Lattimore.
SET - 1/24/00
The Medea
The Medea also features a woman as the protagonist and work title. In this case, Medea is at the center of the action. A barbarian princess married to a Greek king, Medea eventually finds herself playing second fiddle to her husband's second wife. She takes this rather personally, and this play is the story of her sorrow and revenge. I found it rather a bit more exciting than Alcestis, which, I suppose, deserves some sort of commentary on the sad state of the human condition that hot-blooded murderers are more interesting than virtuous wives and mothers. But not today.
Oh, translator is Rex Warner.
SET - 1/24/00
Hippolytus
Hippolytus is basically the story of the goddess Aphrodite punishing the goddess Artemis by arranging for the destruction of a man, Hippolytus, who - in Aphrodite's opinion - spends too much time hunting with Artemis and not enough time paying respect to herself (Aphrodite). The human condition is portrayed, not as being dictated by the gods, but as being dependent upon their good favor. If one is too extreme, unbalanced, one must surely pay. The details of the plot don't involve the goddesses overmuch, but their influence and presence is often cited.
Translated by David Grene.
SET - 1/24/00
The following two reviews are based on my reading of
BACCHAE AND OTHER PLAYS: ION, THE WOMEN OF TROY, HELEN, THE BACCHAE, translated by Philip Vellacott.
The Bacchae
In The Bacchae, one of Euripides' last plays, he finally deigns to bring a god onto the stage as a major player in the action. Dionysus (perhaps more familiar to us as the Roman god Bacchus) comes back to his home town to prove that he has, indeed, joined the ranks of the gods.
After Electra, this was the most interesting of the plays by Euripides I have read. The plot is interesting, I felt engaged by the characters, and there was even a bit of dark humor. It is a tragedy, however, and the final scene is a poignant reminder that there are very real consequences to the actions we choose to take.
SET - 1/25/00
Women of Troy
Women of Troy was a part of the story of the Trojan War I had never heard before. In that sense it was a fascinating read. There wasn't a lot of action in the play, but it did an excellent job of conveying the sense of the full weight of the Trojan defeat.
Told from the perspective of the Trojan women, we learn what they think about the war, what they think of Helen, and what is in store for them as prisoners. This is not an upbeat play with a happy ending, but it is not a tragedy in the strict classical sense of the word.
SET - 1/27/00