Sophocles,

Love and loyalty, hatred and revenge, fear, deprivation, and political ambition: these are the motives which thrust the characters portrayed in these three Sophoclean masterpieces on to their collision course with catastrophe. Recognized in his own day as perhaps the greatest of the Greek tragedians, Sophocles's reputation has remained undimmed for two and a half thousand years. His greatest innovation in the tragic medium was his development of a central tragic figure, faced with a test of will and character, risking obloquy and death rather than compromise his or her principles: it is striking that Antigone and Electra both have a woman as their intransigent `hero'. Antigone dies rather than neglect her duty to her family, Oedipus's determination to save his city results in the horrific discovery that he has committed both incest and parricide, and Electra's unremitting anger at her mother and her lover keeps her in servitude and despair. These vivid translations combine elegance and modernity, and are equally suitable for reading or theatrical performance.

Antigone; Oedipus the King; Electra

A Student Edition of Sophocles' classic play in Don Taylor's translation, which looks at the clash between family and the city and has at its centre one of the greatest heroines of Greek tragedy.

Antigone

The war is over. The dead have been buried. The traitors have been punished. People feel more alive than they have in a long time. They are ready to start again. But Antigone is not. She will not move on, and she will not forget. She will drag everyone back if she has to. Lulu Raczka's searing adaptation of Sophocles' classic text hands the reins to the young women at its heart, creating something messy, irreverent and vital.

Includes the plays Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone, collectively known as the Theban plays. Starting with Oedipus the King and ending with the ultimate sacrifice of Antigone, his daughter the plays follow the trials of a family cursed by the edict of an oracle that "you will kill your father and marry with your mother". From the fourth century BC - when Aristotle took Oedipus the King as his model tragedy, the influence of Sophocles' great plays has been assured. These three great tragedies have a relevance and immediacy as metaphors for some of the most fundamentally held beliefs and values in our culture.This volume contains the Theban plays - widely studied in schools and universities. Translated and with an introduction and notes from Don Taylor - the playwright who directed these plays for BBC TV

Sophocles,

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