The complete online text of Alcestis by Euripides.

Of the three poets of Greek tragedy whose work survives, Euripides is the one whose plays survive in the largest number (eighteen in contrast to seven each for Aeschylus and Sophocles). His plays are notable for containing both tragic pathos and the nimb...

Of the three poets of Greek tragedy whose work survives, Euripides is the one whose plays survive in the largest number (eighteen, in contrast to seven each for Aeschylus and Sophocles). His plays are notable for containing both tragic pathos and the nim...

Euripides (480-406 BC) was a Greek playwright whom Aristotle called the most tragic of the Greek poets. He is certainly the most revolutionary Greek tragedian known in modern times. Euripides was the son of Mnesarchus. The family owned property on the is...

Monarch Notes 01-01-1963 Alcestis Background: Alcestis was presented as the fourth play of a tetralogy, instead of the usual satyr-play; this accounts for the play's comic elements and its happy ending. Apollo's son, Asclepius, was killed by Zeus. Apollo avenged the death by killing...

WITH Birthday Letters in 1998, most people thought Ted Hughes, the former poet laureate, had delivered the final word on his relationship with Sylvia Plath, the estranged wife who committed suicide in 1963. But this production of his posthumous play, Alcestis, shows he was...

In the essay that follows, Rosenmeyer discusses the conversion of Admetus in Alcestis, which centers around the dramatic depiction of death in the play.

In the following excerpt, Conacher provides background on the Alcestis, explores the question of whether it should be considered a satyr-play, and analyzes its themes and structure.

In the following excerpt, Segal focuses on death and mourning in the Alcestis and contends that the play, despite its depiction of women's feelings, is a firmly patriarchal work.