The murder of
Agamemnon is but one more link in the long chain of hereditary guilt;
and with that exposition of the pitiless law of punishment and crime
this chapter of the great drama comes to a close. But the _Agamemnon_ is
only the first of a series of three plays closely connected and meant to
be performed in succession; and the problem raised in the first of them,
the crime that cries for punishment and the punishment that is itself a
new crime, is solved in the last by a reconciliation of the powers of
heaven and hell, and the pardon of the last offender in the person of
Orestes. To sketch, however, the plan of the other dramas of the trilogy
would be to trespass too far upon our space and time. It is enough to
have illustrated, by the example of the _Agamemnon_, the general
character of a Greek tragedy; and those who care to pursue the subject
further must be referred to the text of the plays themselves.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 79: From "The Greek View of Life," 1909 (sixth edition). By
permission of Messrs.
Pages:
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738