Characters in ‘Electra’

1. Characters in ‘Electra’

2. Electra • The main protagonist is Electra. • The daughter of king Agamemnon and Clytemnestra • Her chief motivation in the play is to avenge the killing of her father by her mother • Throughout the play she is ready to challenge the system in order to avenge his death. • In her portrayal by Sophocles there is no nasty or wicked side to her. She wants to see justice done.

3. These are pictures of actresses portraying Electra

4. Look at the pictures Look at the pictures. Which one comes closest to your idea of Electra? Is any one of them completely different to your idea of Electra? Discuss why!

5. The character • This part presents challenges for its actors. They have to convey the depth of Electra's grief and the need to take revenge on her mother. This hatred towards her mother is the difficult thing to portray, as is the depth of her despair before she discovers that her brother is still alive.

6. Read the speech below. Note the important words in each sentence. What do these tell us about Electra's feelings at the start of the play. O thou pure sunlight And thou air, earth's canopy How often have ye heard the strains of my lament, The wild blows dealt against this bleeding breast, when dark night fails! And my wretched couch in yonder house of woe knows well, ere now, How I keep the watches of the night,- How often I bewail my hapless sire; To whom deadly Ares gave not of his gifts in a strange land, But my mother, and her mate Aegisthus, cleft his head With murderous axe, as woodmen fell an oak.

7. Remember that there is no correct or incorrect interpretation, only a difference of opinion. Note the use of words at the start such as ‘pure’, ‘air’, and ‘earth’ - natural things. Then we have 'lament', 'dealt this bleeding breast’, 'dark night’ 'wretched’, 'keep the watches of the night'. These convey Electra's feelings to us at the start of the play and provide a key to the actor's interpretation of the character at the start. There is no need to show every aspect of a character at once in a performance – the mark of a good actor is to reveal different aspects throughout the play. The speech says a lot about Electra's state of mind and also shows the audience what type of character she is.

8. For this woman, in professions so noble, Loudly upbraids me with such taunts as these: 'Impious and hateful girl, hast thou alone lost a father, And is there no other mourner in the world? An evil doom be thine, and may the gods infernal Give thee no riddance from thy present laments.' Thus she insults; save when any one brings her word That Orestes is coming: then, infuriated, she comes up to me, and cries;- 'Hast not thou brought this upon me? Is not this deed thine, Who didst steal Orestes from my hands, and privily convey him forth? Yet be sure that thou shalt have thy due reward.' ’ Look at the speech below by Electra. Electra says these words before learning that Orestes is dead

9. Activity - The Speech What is required of the actor in the speech? How must the actor prepare this section in a rehearsal room? What is Electra trying to do in the speech? How does she expect the audience to react? Now try to work on the speech for about 10 minutes. Focus on the following: • Electra's motive • The sections where her mother speaks • Emphasise the important words in the sentences. • Once you are happy with the words, try to create movements that go with the section. • Think – with whom is Electra speaking – this will have an effect on your movements

10. Electra • It is thought that movements in the Greek theatre were exaggerated ones as the theatres held over 15,000 people and most of the audience was far away. • Therefore all movements were probably slow and quite obvious ones. • Here nowadays, our theatres are small and intimate. The audience is used to the realism of television or film and finds it difficult to handle movements that are not natural. • You can try to stage the speech using more than one style of movement.

11. Activities • Listen to the dialogue between Electra and Chrysothemis at the start of the play • Do the words give a clear indication of the mood of the two characters? • Do the words convey the different attitudes of the two sisters? • Do the two actresses communicate the difference between the two of them in their performance?