Sophocles

The introduction to this volume has a section on cognitive narratology which is very helpful for the study of character and characterization in Sophocles. This chapter will accordingly begin with an examination of the relevant schemas available to Sophocles and his audience, followed by a discussion of how the schemas are modified by ‘bottom-up’ processing in the earlier parts of the plays. The chapter will then investigate the various textual techniques used by Sophocles to construct character throughout the plays. This will include discussion of the question ‘who characterizes?’. There will inevitably be a certain amount of overlap between these two sections, but it seems worthwhile to give particular attention to the presentation of characters in the earlier parts of the plays in view of the importance of the effect of ‘primacy’ discussed in the introduction. Finally, the chapter will address the nature of character in Sophocles, with attention to such issues as the long-term stability of traits attributed to characters and the question of character development.