SOPHOCLES: Three Tragedies: Antigone, Oedipus the King, Electra

Faithful as translations and vigorous and straightforward both to read and to act, these versions were written, like their originals, for immediate staage-production. Kitto has deliberately used a fairly strict meter, allowing himself no greater number of verses than Sophocles used, and where the original is formal--as in the line-by-line dialogue--the translations too are formal. The original rhythmic structure of the lyrics has been approximately represented; in the Antigone the lyric passages have been followed as closely as the English language permits. Quasi-musical indications of tempo or mood have been added to the lyrical portions as a reminder that they were not recited but were a fusion of poetry, music, and dancing. There are brief notes on the dance-rhythms, on the pronunciation of Greek names, and on the mythological allusions in the three plays.