Keywords
Aeschylus Agamemnon
Louis MacNeice
Wyndham Lewis
How to Cite
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Abstract
Louis MacNeice translated Aeschylus’ Agamemnon in such a way that some were reminded of T.S. Eliot’s play
Murder in the Cathedral. Both plays were staged in the mid-1930s in England, and the authors corresponded
with each other. At first sight, this is the story of a minor figure imitating greater stylishness. A closer analysis,
however, reveals that Eliot drew largely on Aeschylus’ Agamemnon. This is new, yet on second thoughts, not
surprising: being obsessed by heritage and tradition, Eliot was surely a fervent reader of classical tragedies,
perhaps even a fine connoisseur. Nevertheless, there is another story, lurking in the background so to say, this
time about a great poet indebted to a subtle and sensitive mind.
References
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