In each issue of D&T, we bring you a guide to a play to study with your students. Here, Rebecca Thompson discusses the potential of teaching this infamous Greek tragedy.
Sophocles’ Electra interrogates the human condition, centring on a family feud and the eponymous character's desire to avenge her father's death. The myth of Electra captured the imagination of not only Sophocles, both Euripides and Aeschylus covered versions of it. In the 2004 Nick Hern Books version of the play, McDonald and Walton suggest it is likely that the first audiences watching the ‘Electras’ would have known the varying versions, captivated by the differing moral dilemmas presented. Sophocles presents Electra as being overwhelmed with grief and with how her late father was dishonoured; Euripides’ version shows an Electra less concerned with his murder and more with her inheritance. While this guide is based on the Sophocles’ interpretation (most recently stage in London – pictured above) the various takes on this myth are useful, especially if teaching students about telling a story from different perspectives.
Synopsis
Prior to the start of the play, King Agamemnon (Electra's father) was killed by her mother Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus. This was retaliation because Agamemnon sacrificed their daughter to favour his position in the Trojan War. Electra's brother, Orestes, was sent away and the play begins with his return, in disguise (unbeknown to Electra); he also declares an intention to avenge his father's death. In contrast, Electra's sister, Chrysothemis, is submissive and tries to persuade Electra not to be ‘ruined by folly’ seeking bloody revenge.
When Orestes reveals himself to Electra, the pair set about devising their murderous plan. The play ends with the brutal execution of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus, leaving the audience to question the moral complexities of justice.
Context
Sophocles’ Electra was most likely performed in the fifth century BC in the open air as part of the City Dionysia – a playwriting competition. In the opening lines of the play the audience is informed of Orestes’ intention to ‘avenge my father on his murderers,’ introducing the core themes of the play: revenge and justice. Electra quickly takes up the mantle through her grief, expressing: ‘I cannot leave this task undone’. In the original performance conditions, it is likely speech would have been sung or accompanied by music, heightening Electra's lamentations and reflecting the impact of her grief and trauma. Other themes worthy of exploration include the friction between individual agency and societal demands: Electra defies her mother and her sister's call to ‘learn prudence’ which challenges conventional expectations of women in Ancient Greek society.
Stichomythia
The sections of rapid exchange of single line dialogue, or Stichomythia, between Electra and Clytemnestra emphasises the hostile nature of their relationship. To explore and analyse this, place students in pairs to play one of the characters. Challenge them to say the lines back and forth like a game of tennis, quickly, using a clap to control the pace and increase the tension. Encourage students to review how it felt and what corresponding emotions the characters might feel, before developing the scene. Next, ask them to say the lines using specific emotions, swapping roles to consider the alternative perspective. Finally, try out different proxemics between the characters and then discuss how the stichomythia emphasises the open dispute and Electra's unrelenting hatred for her mother.
The chorus
Following the traditions of Greek tragedy, the chorus in Sophocles’ Electra would have been made up of 12–15 performers. They take the role of women who serve as Electra's confidante, advising and consoling her, as well as commenting on events. Sophocles’ play has been noted for its psychological exposition of Electra, lending itself to off-text work. For instance, to explore the given circumstances of the play, assign students key characters and hold a ‘family therapy’ session where each character is invited to share their grievances, facilitated by one student as the therapist. Alternatively, using Boal's practice as a source to explore family dynamics, students could play the scenes of confrontation by using forum theatre to come up with alternate endings to resolve the conflict in a non-violent way.
Contemporary productions
There have been a few notable European productions of Electra in the last decade. In Daniel Fish's ‘experimental’ 2025 London production of Elektra, Brie Larsson portrayed a woman determined to break with convention, committing to her cause. This was realised through dialogue being sung, shouted and digitally manipulated against a stark, stripped stage. Although critics were perplexed by this production, a warning that reached far beyond the parameters of Electra's story was powerfully portrayed, encapsulated in translator Anne Carson's chorus's repeated line: ‘do not breed violence out of violence’.
In the fifth century, Athenian audiences had had been subjected to decades of vicious war and the plays of the time spoke to this lived experience. In the twenty-first century, when violent acts punctuate the news flow on a daily basis, Electra remains an urgent parable speaking to our times.
Resources
Sophocles, (2004). Electra.
Translated by M. McDonald and J. Harrison. London: Nick Hern Books.