Chorus, Character, and Plot in Electra

This chapter offers a close reading of Electra, which is the first of Euripides’s surviving tragedies to display multiple, extended descriptions of mousikē. In this play, choral song and dance frame our understanding of Electra, demonstrating the close link between music and characterization. Though some of the choral odes initially appear to be far removed from the dramatic present, Weiss argues that they are closely connected to the plot through the combination of verbal images and live performance. Music, then, not only complements the play’s action but also has a generative force, anticipating and enacting pivotal moments of the drama.