Teaching Greek Tragedy in Translation: A Consolidated Approach

In this article I have sought to sketch a method of teaching Greek tragedy in translation which will both stimulate the student and satisfactorily equip him to appreciate a play. It remains to draw attention to one commonly advanced criticism of the genre which no teacher can afford to ignore. On first meeting Greek tragedy, students are often struck, and disappointed, by the lack of action and the slow pace of development. The most rapid sequence in surviving tragedy is probably the second half of Libation-Bearers, but even this cannot compete with what can be found on the cinema screen. Here, as elsewhere, we have to contend with the problem of expectation. If you are used to Sylvester Stallone, you may not think much of Prometheus Bound. To appreciate Greek tragedy one has to acquire a quite different feeling for time, to be prepared for a gradual increase in tempo and a gradual heightening of tension, as in a Wagner opera or a dramatic oratorio by Handel. Handel's Hercules is as dramatic a work as one could wish for; but the drama is internal rather than external, and the composer will not be hurried. No more could Sophocles, in Women of Trachis, on which Hercules is based, and in the case of both, as with all art, the novice needs to be guided by those who, if their understanding is imperfect, know at least where improvement may be sought