Sophocles: A Very Short Introduction

by Edith Hall

Very Short Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring

This Very Short Introduction introduces the life, work, and influence of one of the greatest dramatists of all time, Sophocles the Athenian.

Placing his plays within their historical context, and explaining the conventions of ancient Greek tragic theatre, Edith Hall spotlights their distinctive features-tight plots, titanic personalities, lucid style, sympathetic women, exquisite poetry, and stagecraft. This analysis is followed by an account of how and why Sophoclean dramas have survived to be read and widely performed into the twenty-first century.

ABOUT THE The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Genres: Nonfiction

1 pages, Audio CD

Published March 18, 2025

Reviews

[Matthew Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a risk with each book in the Very Short Introductions series that the book will not work as an introduction to the topic at all. There can be several reasons: the subject can be so broad that the author can only touch on certain aspects; they may have chosen a more complex organization structure than the beginner can follow; the books are often cut down from large introductions or specialized texts, and it shows. Edith Hall’s Sophocles avoids all of these. It is, perhaps, a little beyond introductory (my knowledge of the subject is also a little beyond introductory); before starting, it is valuable to know some of the plays – Robert Fagles' translation of the ‘Theban’ plays is good; I also enjoyed the BBC audiobook Sophocles’ Greek Tragedies. But I’ve never encountered a less-than-excellent version of Oedipus Tyrannos (aka Oedipus the King, Oedipus the Tyrant, or Oedipus Rex), so I trust you will be able to find one.

Hall has structured the book quite simply: biographical introduction; general overview of tragedy and Sophocles’ place within it; then four chapters thematically pairing two of the surviving tragedies and, in Chapter 6, the fragmentary Satyr play Trackers. Each of these chapters is organized with the focus on one play then the other, although Hall cross references when appropriate. Finally, a chapter on Sophocles’ reception. It’s straightforward, which works for an introduction. Although the general structure of the discussion of the plays is start-to-finish, there is no overall summary of them. It is easier to follow if you have an idea of the shape of each play going in.

The analyses of the plays are thorough, despite the brevity befitting a very short introduction. I don’t agree with Hall on everything, and have ideas that she does not incorporate, but her points are well-argued and illuminating. I particularly like the dismissal of the presumptuous stylistic arguments for dating Ajax and Women of Trachis early in Sophocles’ career; rather, Hall makes suggestions for how the plays could be understood differently within the context of the Peloponnesian War without pushing a date or sequence with any certainty.

While Hall is excellent in the area of her expertise, her references to the ‘Bronze Age’ and ‘Neolithic’ settings of the plays are frustrating to the archaeologist of prehistoric Greece (i.e., me). Rather than saying that these plays are set in ‘the Bronze Age’, I would say that they are set in the Heroic Age of the fifth century Athenian imagination, which they placed in their past and connected to the ruins of what we call the Mycenaean period of the Late Bronze Age. Our interpretation of these ruins has been influenced by the first-millennium BCE Greek understanding of their own heroic age, and when Hall says that the Mycenaean civilization had ‘inherited absolute monarchies, feudal estates, and massive stone-built palaces’, she is describing the imagined heroic age, not our knowledge of Mycenaean Greece today. This is perhaps too complex for a Very Short Introduction, but repeatedly introducing a simplified idea of (Late) Bronze Age history into a book about fifth century drama is a misstep for me.

A few other faults do not greatly mar the book. The brief chapter on reception occasionally lapses into catalogue – a risk in all accounts of reception of the ancient world. But Hall frequently offers brief, insightful discussions of into how the plays have been adapted and used in various historical contexts. The reception of any work over two-and-a-half millennia is a huge undertaking, and so this could be little more than a summary. It is, nonetheless, a worthwhile one. Perhaps someone on the editing team could have checked Judith Butler’s pronouns, though.

Overall, as someone with a little knowledge and an adjacent specialty, I found this a solid, readable little book on Sophocles that I think others interested in his work would find useful.

[Kay West · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for armchair experts of ancient Greece.

'Introduction' might be a misnomer here. I highly recommend going into this with at least a high school understanding of ancient Greece, especially the myths around Antigone, Oedipus, Elektra and Ajax.

I've been reading translated ancient Greek texts, mythology retellings and learning from Natalie Haynes, which was a great primer for this 'introduction'. If you don't know who these Greek characters are, put this on your TBR to come back to later.

I love how this is set up. I listened to the audiobook and it is like listening to an extended lecture by your favourite professor. I'll definately be looking for more of the same from this series.

What to expect
🎭 Exploration of ancient Greek theatre
🎭 Bringing women characters to the forefront
🎭 Fresh analysis
🎭 Quickly paced
🎭 Connecting influence to the present

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This introduction to plays of Sophocles was very intense, very revealing. Beautifully done.

I came close to finishing this audiobook but stopped when I reached my saturation point.

SUCH AN AGE OF FAITH CULTURE

I'm used to holding it high, the ancient Greek civilization that brought democracy into the world. I've savored every course and book by Dr. Robert Garland that I could find, and relished learning about Socrates and Plato.

This book brought me a very different perspective, and was read at a time when I have been fascinated with The Age of Faith -- the first consciousness era on Earth -- which gave way in my lifetime to The Age of Awakening -- the second consciousness era on Earth.

"I MUST GRIEVE MY BROTHER BECAUSE

He is irreplaceable. Whereas if I had a husband, he could be replaced."
Was that from Antigone? Could any human being today ever think that way? As dramatized by a latter day equivalent to Sophocles, could this way of thinking even make sense?

Yet, in the context of The Age of Faith, it does make sense to me why dead bodies mattered so much, and how the gods must always be propitiated.

Human consciousness, even at its most dramatic and most noble, was undeveloped by today's standards.

IN CONCLUSION

My apology for stating a controversial view of Sophocles, not as one of the greatest playwrights of all time but as a revealer of human life so different from what humans now embody and enliven. This is my main learning at this time, and I'm grateful to Edith Hall for adding so much to it. FIVE STARS' worth of gratitude.

[Taylor Swift Scholar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned new stuff from this and I’m excited to dig into the suggestions for further reading! It was particularly interesting to me to learn more about which parts of the plays were sung vs spoken and what the significance of that was.

[foolscap · Rating 2 out of 5]

felt solid, but the obvious joy and spectacle of introducing something you obsess over was clearly absent