The volume focuses specifically on issues of characterization, demonstrating how Euripides shaped his figures through their use of language, while also using the same methodology to tackle some of the play's major textual issues. An introductory chapter treats each of the linguistic approaches used throughout the book, and discusses some of the general issues surrounding the play's interpretation. This is followed by chapters on the figures of the Peasant, Electra herself, and Orestes, in each case showing how their characterization is determined by their speaking style and their "linguistic behavior." Three further chapters focus on textual criticism in stichomythia, on the messenger speech, and on the agon.
By using modern linguistic methodologies to argue for a balanced interpretation of the
Read more