The Poetry of Greek Tragedy

Is Sophocles the poet "more important" than Sophocles the moralist, Sophocles the student of character, or Sophocles the storyteller?

In this acclaimed work, eminent classicist Richmond Lattimore examines the complex and varied ways in which Greek poetry contributes to Greek drama.

While acknowledging the difficulty of separating poetry-especially in translation-from other aspects of language, Lattimore offers keen insight into plays by Aeschylus ( The Suppliant Maidens, The Persians, The Seven against Thebes, Prometheus Bound), Sophocles ( Ajax, Oedipus Tyrannus), and Euripides ( Medea, Helen, The Bacchae).