Helma Dik
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199279296
- eISBN:
- 9780191706905
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199279296.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This book approaches word order in Greek tragic dialogue from the perspective of language rather than metre. The tragic poets engaged in mimesis of natural dialogue; therefore the analysis of the ...
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This book approaches word order in Greek tragic dialogue from the perspective of language rather than metre. The tragic poets engaged in mimesis of natural dialogue; therefore the analysis of the linguistic characteristics of the dialogue precedes exploration of the metrical dimension, on the assumption that poets would not be overly constrained by the iambic trimeter, which, after all, was the most natural speaking verse according to Aristotle. The book analyses the word order of tragic dialogue in pragmatic terms, arguing that, in sentences, words functioning as Topic (the ‘starting point’ of an utterance) or Focus (the most salient piece of information) will come early, and that other less important words will follow. Similarly, the position of adjectives within noun phrases is analysed as a function of their relative salience rather than in terms of their semantics. This approach aims to account for word order in sentences generally, but it also allows for a new interpretation of familiar phenomena in Greek, such as ‘postponed interrogatives’. The book concludes with a commentary on the word order in four passages of Sophocles' Electra.Less
This book approaches word order in Greek tragic dialogue from the perspective of language rather than metre. The tragic poets engaged in mimesis of natural dialogue; therefore the analysis of the linguistic characteristics of the dialogue precedes exploration of the metrical dimension, on the assumption that poets would not be overly constrained by the iambic trimeter, which, after all, was the most natural speaking verse according to Aristotle. The book analyses the word order of tragic dialogue in pragmatic terms, arguing that, in sentences, words functioning as Topic (the ‘starting point’ of an utterance) or Focus (the most salient piece of information) will come early, and that other less important words will follow. Similarly, the position of adjectives within noun phrases is analysed as a function of their relative salience rather than in terms of their semantics. This approach aims to account for word order in sentences generally, but it also allows for a new interpretation of familiar phenomena in Greek, such as ‘postponed interrogatives’. The book concludes with a commentary on the word order in four passages of Sophocles' Electra.
James Robson
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780859897525
- eISBN:
- 9781781380628
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9780859897525.003.0010
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Plays and Playwrights: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter examines scenes from two of Aristophanes' plays, where the tragic poets Euripides (in the Acharnians) and Agathon (in the Thesmophoriazusae) are encountered in the midst of composing ...
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This chapter examines scenes from two of Aristophanes' plays, where the tragic poets Euripides (in the Acharnians) and Agathon (in the Thesmophoriazusae) are encountered in the midst of composing their tragedies. One of the aims of the chapter is to shed some light on Aristophanes' own compositional processes as a comic writer. It is organized as follows. Sections I and II explore the way in which the composition of tragedy and the modus operandi of the two tragic poets are represented by Aristophanes. Section III places this representation within the wider context of ancient beliefs about the process of poetic composition and then assesses the extent to which Aristophanes' views of this process were either derivative or innovative. Section IV offers some concluding remarks on what the discussion can teach us about the nature of Aristophanes' own compositional technique.Less
This chapter examines scenes from two of Aristophanes' plays, where the tragic poets Euripides (in the Acharnians) and Agathon (in the Thesmophoriazusae) are encountered in the midst of composing their tragedies. One of the aims of the chapter is to shed some light on Aristophanes' own compositional processes as a comic writer. It is organized as follows. Sections I and II explore the way in which the composition of tragedy and the modus operandi of the two tragic poets are represented by Aristophanes. Section III places this representation within the wider context of ancient beliefs about the process of poetic composition and then assesses the extent to which Aristophanes' views of this process were either derivative or innovative. Section IV offers some concluding remarks on what the discussion can teach us about the nature of Aristophanes' own compositional technique.
