Euripides the Rationalist: A Study in the History of Art And Religion

A W Verrall was a crucial figure in the emergence of literary criticism as distinct from, but based in, traditional classical philology. In this book-first published in 1895-he presents a resolutely rationalist Euripides, whose uses of divine intervention are seen as deeply ironic. He noted that, while the ancients were unanimous in regarding Euripides as a dramatic artist of the first rank, modern scholarship had resorted either to distaste for his values and innovative dramatic methods, or to apologetic excuse for them. Verrall's book proved influential in explaining features of Euripidean dramatic technique that have been basic to interpretation ever since. For this re-issue Peter Burian has written a new introduction, placing Verrall's work in its context, assessing its major influence on subsequent criticism, and adding a select bibliography.