The Dramas of Sophocles Rendered in English Verse, Dramatic and Lyric - Couverture rigide

It is not proposed to detain the reader from Sophocles by any lengthened preface or criticism. It is assumed that those who desire to read or consult an English version of his plays will have had access to one or more of the many lives and introductions which have been produced by competent scholars. The scraps of incident recorded of his life, such as his leading the dance of triumph after Salamis, or his playing ball in the Nausicaa, are of no more importance to the appreciation of his works than the parallel items in what is called the life of Shakspeare, his holding horses at the theatre doors, or playing A dam in As You Like I t. If it is true that the Athenians appointed Sophocles with others a general of their army, to testify their admiration for his A ntigone, it gives us an idea rather a poor one of Athenian administration, but it does not tend to throw any fresh light upon the play. Much has been written, and well written, in English, of his philosophy and theodicy, of his moral and political views; but in such matters it ought rather to be the aim of a translator that the poet should be enabled to speak for himself. A few remarks may be of service, to secure that the perusal of these pages shall not be approached with an eyesight, as it were, out of focus. Greek Drama, as Sophocles found it, was but emerging from a sort of chrysalis, a lyrical performance made up of song, ritual, and the dance; such as may be met with, to this day, by travellers, in remoter villages, among ruder races.
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)

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