The Noose of Words

This 1990 book is a reading of Euripides' Hippolytos, a central play for the study of Euripides and of Greek tragedy. Dr Goff approaches the play through the techniques of modern literary criticism, including deconstruction and feminism, and is able to shed light on this influential text through her close examination of the language of the play. She divides her discussion into five important critical issues: gender, desire, violence, language and the status of poetry and drama. Throughout she is concerned to site the play in the historical and cultural context of fifth-century Athens, and her analysis of the position of women is particularly illuminating for the role of Phaedra, and for female characters throughout Greek tragedy. This is a provocative book which brings critical insights to one of the most extensively discussed of all Greek tragedies. It will be accessible both to classicists and students of drama and literary theory.