The Seven Plays in English Verse
1906
The Seven Plays in English Verse
1906
Translated by Lewis Campbell
The plays that invented tragedy itself. Sophocles' seven surviving dramas, translated into English verse, pulse with the raw energy of ancient Athens where gods and mortals collide and no one escapes unscathed. Here is Oedipus, the king who discovers too late the horrifying truth of his origins. Here is Antigone, a young woman who defies a king's edict to bury her brother, choosing certain death over silence. Here are Electra, waiting for vengeance, and Ajax, driven to madness and shame. These are not mere historical artifacts but urgent, vibrating dramas about the price of pride, the weight of family loyalty, and the impossible choices that define us. For readers who want to understand where Western literature came from, or who simply want to experience the electric shock of watching a masterpiece unfold, this collection offers the complete canon of a playwright who shaped an entire art form.
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“You, you'll see no more the pain I suffered, all the pain I caused! Too long you looked on the ones you never should have seen, blind to the ones you longed to see, to know! Blind from this hour on! Blind in the darkness-blind!””
— Sophocles
“ANTIGONE Yea, for these laws were not ordained of Zeus, And she who sits enthroned with gods below, Justice, enacted not these human laws. Nor did I deem that thou, a mortal man, Could’st by a breath annul and override The immutable unwritten laws of Heaven. They were not born today nor yesterday; They die not; and none knoweth whence they sprang. I was not like, who feared no mortal’s frown, To disobey these laws and so provoke The wrath of Heaven. I knew that I must die, E’en hadst thou not proclaimed it; and if death Is thereby hastened, I shall count it gain. For death is gain to him whose life, like mine, Is full of misery. Thus my lot appears Not sad, but blissful; for had I endured To leave my mother’s son unburied there, I should have grieved with reason, but not now. And if in this thou judgest me a fool, Methinks the judge of folly’s not acquit.””
— Sophocles
“Therefore, while our eyes wait to see the destined final day, we must call no one happy who is of mortal race, until he has crossed life's border, free from pain.””
— Sophocles
“And now that Reason’s light returns, New sorrow in his spirit burns.””
— Sophocles
“I should have praise and honor for what I have done: All these men here would praise me.Were their lips not frozen shut with fear of you.Ah the good fortune of kings. Licensed to say and do whatever they please." Antigone to Theben's king Creon””
— Sophocles
“Pero éstas me han salvado; éstas me alimentan; éstas son hombres, no mujeres, para sufrir conmigo; que vosotros, como si os hubiera engendrado otro, no yo.””
— Sophocles
“È impossibile conoscere a fondo anima, pensiero, intendimento di un uomo, prima che abbia dato pubblica prova di sé nell’esercizio del potere, secondo le leggi.””
— Sophocles
“O građani otadžbine Tebe, evo Edipa,znalca čudesne zagonetke i prvog čoveka,čiju sreću niko nije gledao bez zavisti!Gledajte u kakav ponor sudbe grozne pade on!Zato nikog, dan dok onaj poslednji ne dočeka,neću proslavljati kao srećna, pre no doplovikraju veka svog a nikakav ne pogodi ga jad.””
— Sophocles
About The Seven Plays in English Verse
Chapter Summaries
- 1
- Antigone defies King Creon's edict forbidding the burial of her brother Polynices. Despite warnings from her sister Ismene, she performs the burial rites and is condemned to death, leading to the destruction of Creon's family.
- 2
- Ajax, maddened by Athena after losing Achilles' armor to Odysseus, slaughters cattle thinking they are his enemies. Upon regaining his sanity and realizing his shame, he commits suicide despite pleas from Tecmessa and his sailors.
- 3
- King Oedipus investigates the murder of the previous king Laius to end a plague in Thebes. Through his investigation, he discovers he is the murderer and that Laius was his father and Jocasta his mother. Jocasta kills herself and Oedipus blinds himself.
Key Themes
- Fate vs. Free Will
- Characters struggle against predetermined destinies while making choices that seem to fulfill prophecies. Oedipus cannot escape his fate despite his efforts to avoid it.
- Divine vs. Human Law
- The conflict between religious duty and civil obedience, most clearly shown in Antigone's defiance of Creon's edict to honor divine law.
- Knowledge and Ignorance
- The pursuit of truth often leads to destruction, as seen in Oedipus's relentless quest to discover his identity and Dêanira's fatal misunderstanding.
Characters
- Oedipus(protagonist)
- King of Thebes who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother. A tragic hero whose quest for truth leads to his downfall.
- Antigone(protagonist)
- Daughter of Oedipus who defies King Creon's edict to bury her brother Polynices. Represents divine law over human law.
- Electra(protagonist)
- Daughter of Agamemnon who mourns her father's murder and awaits her brother Orestes' return for vengeance.
- Heracles(protagonist)
- The great hero whose final labor leads to his death through his wife's unwitting poisoning.
- Philoctetes(protagonist)
- Wounded hero abandoned on Lemnos, possessor of Heracles' bow needed to take Troy.
- Ajax(protagonist)
- Great warrior who falls into madness after losing Achilles' armor to Odysseus, ultimately choosing suicide.
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Sophocles. The Seven Plays in English Verse. Lex, lex-books.com/book/the-seven-plays-in-english-verse-e881f157-315d-4e82-8cbd-8ccfd45aa028.Sophocles (1906). The Seven Plays in English Verse. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-seven-plays-in-english-verse-e881f157-315d-4e82-8cbd-8ccfd45aa028Sophocles. The Seven Plays in English Verse. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/the-seven-plays-in-english-verse-e881f157-315d-4e82-8cbd-8ccfd45aa028.
