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OBSERVATIONS ON THE AGAMEMNON Being separated from the general classes OF ESCHYLUS, ILLUSTRATED WITH TRANSLATIONS. # IT has justly been remarked by a very ingenious essayist on the Greek Drama, that " it is rather extraordinary, that, with the example of Homer before their eyes, whose characters are always men of nature, each marked by his own individual pecuharity, the Greek tragedians should have often been so careless, or so unsuccessful, in this most important department of dramatic writing."-The fables of these poets are perhaps better conducted, and their incidents, although limited in their range, of a more pathetic kind, than we generally meet with on the modern But it is chiefly the interest arising from situation, that they are anxious to excite, and while they give all the effect that can be given to this species of interest, they have very little conception of that individuality and distinction of character which forms so powerful a charm in dramatic composition, and is, in truth, the great animating soul of the dramas of Shakespeare. From possessing the wonderful talent of making every personage whom he produces in the fertility of his exhaustless invention, a real living stage. * See Remarks on the Tragedy of Philoctetes in the sixth number of the Edinburgh Monthly Magazine. The same writer has obliged us with the article on the Iphigenia in Aulis of Euripides, at page 240 of the present Work; and we have the satisfaction of being enabled to promise our readers a further continuation of his learned and admired "Remarks on Greek Tragedy," in our next number.-EDIT. of existence, and moving and acting before us like one of ourselves, that great poet has far more than atoned for all his faults and absurdities, and makes us almost as indifferent about these faults as he seems to have been himself. The ancient drama, from the peculiarity of its origin amid the ritual of religion, and loaded as it was by the coldness and inaction of its Chorus, seems to have been regarded more in the light of a moral poem, than as a representation of human life, and it is, indeed, as this learned writer has observed, much rather to Homer than to the tragic poets of Greece, that we are to look for those varied and perfect exhibitions of life and manners, which are more, perhaps, in the spirit of our own Shakespeare, than any thing else in antiquity. These observations, however, it ought to be mentioned, apply much more to Sophocles and Euripides, than to the great founder of the Greek tragedy, Eschylus-who, in the drama which was rising in his hands, seems clearly to have perceived the importance of making his personages characteristic, and even while he allots to his Chorus a greater portion of his poem, than was done by his successors, he yet contrives to render that cumbersome machine much more dramatic than it ever appears in them. The sublime imagination of this poet, when he soars into the unfathomed fields of his mythology, is strikingly displayed in the dramas of Prometheus and of the Furies; in the tragedy of Agamemnon, of which it is here proposed to give some account, we have the finest examples of his skill in the delineation of character, and the display of passion; and the chief object of the present essay and of the quotations to be produced from a very imperfect translation of this noble performance, is, accordingly, to illustrate the dramatic genius of Eschylus, although, at the same time, instances will present themselves to us as we proceed of his general powers of description, and of the fervour of his Lyrical poetry. The story of the Agamemnon relates to the murder of that hero by his wife Clytemnestra, at the instigation of her paramour Egisthus. No sooner has the unfortunate Prince, on his return from Troy, entered his own house, than he is decoyed by the Queen into a bath, where, winding a robe around him, from which he is unable to extricate himself, she stabs him; and Egisthus and she usurp the sovereign rule. This incident the poet has brought out with the least possible appearance of artifice; but still, it is to be remarked, with the most consummate skill and judgment, contriving throughout to seize those points in the story which are the best adapted for exhibiting his characters in their most impressive forms. The drama opens with a very striking circumstance. It had been agreed upon at the departure of Agamemnon, that upon the success of the expedition, a fire should be lighted upon Mount Ida, which was to be repeated at proper intervals, till the blaze of triumph should be distinctly seen from his palace in Argos. The moment of the opening of the drama is the appearance of this welcome light, and the character first introduced is a faithful watchman attached to his master's family, who is represented as walking upon the top of the palace, and anxiously looking for the long-expected object of his watch. In his simple and natural soliloquy, we get some insight into the infidelity of Clytemnestra, though, at the same time, of so imperfect a kind, that we are by no means permitted to see through that deep veil of hypocrisy which the poet throws around her, and which is intended partly to deceive the spectators, as well as the persons of the drama. Watchman. Would that the Gods would free me from my toil, the old men of the city, who are supposed to have been left behind when the youthful warriors of the land had followed their king into battle; and are represented as a kind of council of the queen. Upon being informed of the beacon light, she had sent out orders for a public rejoicing, and required the attendance of these her ancient counsellors. Before coming into her presence, they consume, it must be owned, a most unconscionable length of time in talking and singing; but there is much mysterious grandeur in those dark forebodings of evil which sit deep upon their souls, and which had taken possession of them ever since the horrible incident of the sacrifice of Iphigenia. This Chorus is extremely characteristic: they are feeble old men, full of remembrances and presages, which the poet works up into fine wild starts and rhapsodies but quite inefficient when they are called upon to act. They describe themselves very accurately and pathetically in their first speech. Meantime the flower of all the land de Might bring on them ill omen !—There she lay Her rosy tincture vanished-like a sign Tears dash'd the cheeks of those who held the knife Above that beauteous form, once flitting gay Through her paternal hall-not yet a wife, To cheer the banquet and drive care away! But a young maiden, singing roundelay What butcher-work ensued I will not tell! Only that Calchas never was said nayAnd that sweet lady unrevenged fellHow yet things will come round, 'tis not for me to spell. Clytemnestra now makes her appearance, and in her firm and decided character, we have a fine contrast to the hesitation and imbecility of the Chorus. either, that does not impress us with We see nothing, at first, respect for her, and are half inclined to think that the watchman who had thrown out hints against her virtue, must have been slandering his mistress. Her triumphant joy on occasion of the great event which she announces, and the enthusiasm with which she describes the rapidity of the succession of fires by which the glorious intelligence was conveyed, seem quite natural, and characteristic merely of an ardent and noble-mind ed woman. |