... play themselves. It is a clever tactic used by playwrights because the audience's attention is held when dramatic irony is used. There is a perfect example of dramatic irony in "Electra" when the audience know that Orestes has returned to find Electra. The audience know that Electra is talking to her long lost brother, Orestes, but she does not. "Orestes: I bring news of your brother ... when Orestes goes to murder Aegisthus. The audience know what Orestes" intentions are but Aegisthus does not. And the same happens when Clytemnestra goes to Electra's house full of good intentions when ...

• Word Count: 690
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... than 100 plays, of which 7 complete tragedies and fragments of 80 or 90 others are preserved. The seven extant plays are Antigone, Oedipus Tyrannus or Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King), Electra, Ajax, Trachiniae (Maidens of Trachis), Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus (produced posthumously in 401 BC). Also preserved is a large fragment of the Ichneutae (Investigators), a satiric drama discovered on papyrus in ... of the 20th century. Of the surviving tragedies the earliest is thought to be Ajax (circa 451-444 BC). Next probably are Antigone and Trachiniae (after 441). Oedipus Tyrannus an...

• Word Count: 2321
• Approx Pages: 9

... Aegisthus for the death of his father, is justifiable. Orestes is successful in avenging the murderer of his father, by plotting the assassination of his father's executioners with his sister, Electra. The chorus in the tragic play agree with Orestes before the deaths of the two murderers, "The spirit of Right cries out aloud and extracts atonement due: blood stroke for ... has for Agamemnon. This wretched conspiracy with Aegisthus is successful in killing Agamemnon and claiming the power over Agamemnon's subjects. In The Libation Bearers, Orestes cleverly conspires with his sister, Ele...

• Word Count: 2363
• Approx Pages: 9

... gods to settle problems. His influence toward creating a more realistic drama was powerful. Of the more than 90 plays credited to Euripides, 18 survive: Alcestis, Andromache, the Bacchae, the Cyclops, Electra, Hecuba, Helen, the Heracleidae, Heracles, Hippolytus, Ion, Iphigenia at Aulis, Iphigenia in Tauris, Medea, Orestes, the Phoenissae, Rhesus and the Trojan Women. Herodotus the Historian Herodotus wrote the first historical ... years. Sophocles Sophocles, the third of the great tragic poets of Ancient Greece, wrote more than 100 plays, all in verse. Only six complete ones have been ...

• Word Count: 2001
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... theme of the plays was about justice. He also introduced the second character to the stage.. Another playwright was Sophocles. He was most famous for three of his tragedies, Antigone, Electra, and Oedipus Rex. He was fascinated in divine justice. His tragedies focused on the connection between the community and its individuals. Sophocles introduced the third character and also the use ... ...

• Word Count: 1162
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... ; within them and included clear, angelic poetry. Poetic language was one of Sophocles strong points. This gave the play more of a theatrical feeling. Among his plays were The Ajax, The Electra, and Antigore. He contributed many innovations to Greek theater such as introduction of the third actor, the trilogy, which was used by Aeschylus. Introducing a third actor allowed him to go ... ...

• Word Count: 963
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Xenophon make it exceedingly evident that when a gentleman entertained friends the only women present were those who had no reputation to lose, apart from a professional one. Twice in tragedy (Sophocles' Electra and Antigone) women are bluntly ordered to go indoors, which is their appropriate place. Jebb, commenting on Antigone 579, quotes a poetic fragment: 'Nor permit her to be seen outside the ... ...

• Word Count: 2025
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography

... stay home with the mother. However the plays of that time do not reflect the evidence that we have about the women in classical Athens. The tragedies of Medea, Antigone, Electra, and even Agamemnon, show women are strong and free willed and are capable of doing things on their own. In Euripides" Medea, Medea is constantly talking about the conditions that ... ...

• Word Count: 1759
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School