Reader and Spectator: Problems in the Interpretation of Greek Tragedy

Greek tragedies were intended for spectators who were watching the play for the first time and had not read it beforehand. But they are explained and discussed by readers, who know the text from start to finish. These readers often do not pause to ask: what did the audience know at this stage of the action? The author of this study concen-trates her attention on the importance of this question. The introductory chapter is followed by an elaborate discussion of the foreknowledge of the original audience. Af-ter this discus-sion the author turns to Aeschylus’ Agamemnon and argues that an interpreta-tion that is based on in-formation not yet available to the audience is, in principle, not valid. The next chapter deals with dramatic irony, since - here again - the knowledge of the original audience is the deciding factor. In the final chapter it is argued that, while the knowledge of the audience is too often neglected, their emotional response is too often considered self-evident. Many a statement on this subject is quite unwarranted.