Page:History of the Literature of Ancient Greece (Müller) 2ed.djvu/334

312 312 HISTORY OF THE theme, often with few variations. It is as if we heard the passionate song rushing in a mighty torrent right onwards, while the stream of Pindar's verse winds its mazy way through all the deep and delicate intricacies of thought. Without venturing upon the extensive and diffi- cult subject of the difference between the rhythmical structure of lyric and tragic choral verse, we may remark that, as the tragedians used not only the Pindaric measures, but also those of the older Ionic and iEolic lyric poets, they observe very different rules in the combination of series and verses. To make this clear, it would be necessary to go into all the niceties of the theory of the Greek metres. § 12. The pauses which the choral songs produced naturally divided tragedy into the parts already mentioned, prologue, episodia, and exodus. The number, length, and arrangement of these parts admit of an astonishing variety. No numerical rule, like that prescribed by Horace,* here confines the natural development of the dramatic plan. The number of choral songs was determined by the number of stages in the action calculated to call forth reflections on the human affections, or the laws of fate which governed the events. These again depend on the plot, and on the number of persons necessary to bring it about. Sophocles composed some intricate tragedies, with many stages of the action and many characters, like the Antigone, which is divided into seven acts ; and some simple, in which the action passes through few but carefully worked-out stages, like the Philoctetes, which contains only one stasimon, and therefore consists of three acts, inclusive of the prologue. Long portions of a tragedy may run on without any such pause, and form an act. In the Agamemnon of .ZEschvlus, the choral song which precedes the predictions of Cassandra is the last stasimon. f These prophecies coincide so closely with their fulfilment by the death of Agamemnon, and the emotions which they excite are so little tranquil- lizing -, that there is no opportunity for another stasimon. In Sophocles' CEdipus at Colonus, the first general choral song (that is to say, the pavodos, in the meaning above given to it) occurs after the scene in which Theseus promises to QEdipus shelter and protection in Attica. j Hitherto the chorus, vacillating between horror of the accursed and pity for his woes; first fearing much, then hoping greatly from him ; is in a state of restless agitation, and can by no means attain to the serenity and composure which are necessary to enable it to discern the hand of an overruling power. § 13. As to the combination of the episodia or acts, the lyric may Neve minor, neu sit quinto productior acta Fabula, quae posci vult et spectata reponi. t V. 668 — 719. Dindorf. This ode is called the ^anoho; of the CEdipus Coloneuu in Plutarch An Seni sit ger. Resp. 3.
 * Art. Poet. 299.
 * V. 975—1032. Dindorf.