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A review by anisha_inkspill
Electra by Sophocles
4.0
I am dropping my rating to 4 stars, this is not a criticism on the play, it’s more a reflection of my journey as a reader, where this time round, I read this with less awe and being starry eyed.
I chose to read this again when this came up as one of the Goodread groups this month, I’ve been meaning to do this for a while, but have read again since 2019.
This time, I wanted to read a translation written outside our time, so I chose one from 1906 by Lewis Campbell.
Back in 2019 it was harder for me to connect to Electra’s depth of grief, where nothing consoles her. This time it was different. This had nothing to do with the translation: quickly skimming over again Anne Carson’s translation, it flows better but Lewis Campbell’s translation, that is in the public domain, is good enough.
This difference comes from me having a better grasp of this old world – so once what seemed melodramatic now feels heartfelt.
However, my sympathies are still torn between both Electra & Clytemnestra. It’s really clever how the drama is presented so I can empathise with both their point of views.
It’s this complexity that makes this one easy to return to and read again.
I chose to read this again when this came up as one of the Goodread groups this month, I’ve been meaning to do this for a while, but have read again since 2019.
This time, I wanted to read a translation written outside our time, so I chose one from 1906 by Lewis Campbell.
Back in 2019 it was harder for me to connect to Electra’s depth of grief, where nothing consoles her. This time it was different. This had nothing to do with the translation: quickly skimming over again Anne Carson’s translation, it flows better but Lewis Campbell’s translation, that is in the public domain, is good enough.
This difference comes from me having a better grasp of this old world – so once what seemed melodramatic now feels heartfelt.
However, my sympathies are still torn between both Electra & Clytemnestra. It’s really clever how the drama is presented so I can empathise with both their point of views.
It’s this complexity that makes this one easy to return to and read again.