Of This and That: The Recognition Formula in Sophocles' Electra

This paper offers an analysis of recognition in Sophocles' Electra. It identifies a particular verbal element marking many recognitions in tragedy: referred to as the recognition formula, it typically pairs proximal and distal deictics (e.g., ... Soph. OT 1145), and is mentioned in Aristotle�...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTransactions of the American Philological Association (1974) Vol. 147; no. 1; p. 27
Main Author Dugdale, Eric
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 01.04.2017
Subjects
Aeschylus (522-456 BC)
Classical literature
Deception
Deixis
Drama
Euripides (c 485-406 BC)
Greek literature
Literary criticism
Poetics
Recognition
Sophocles (496?-406 BC)
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Summary:This paper offers an analysis of recognition in Sophocles' Electra. It identifies a particular verbal element marking many recognitions in tragedy: referred to as the recognition formula, it typically pairs proximal and distal deictics (e.g., ... Soph. OT 1145), and is mentioned in Aristotle's discussion of recognition (..., Poetics 1448b17). Its occurrence at key moments in Sophocles' Electra highlights the spatial relocation of the returning exile Orestes. It also points to the play's interest in deception and the implications of this for recognition, and broadens our understanding of what constitutes recognition beyond the single "recognition scene."
ISSN:2575-7180
2575-7199