Tragedies

John of Gaunt delivers his prophecy to Richard, Richard departs for Ireland and Bolingbroke raises to English nobles in rebellion

In the first act of Shakespeare’s Richard II, Bolingbroke, the future Henry IV, accuses the Duke of Norfolk of treason. King Richard fails to persuade them to reconcile and declares they shall fight a duel to settle the matter.

Years after she was led to Aulis to be sacrificed, Iphigenia lives in exile as a priestess of Artemis, charged with sacrificing strangers who come to her shores. When two Greek prisoners arrive, she discovers that one is her long-lost brother Orestes. Euripides’ Iphigenia Among the Taurians is a story of recognition, escape, and a family broken by violence given one unexpected chance at reunion.

An old, blind Oedipus comes at last to Colonus, seeking a place to die. Hunted by his past and fought over for the strange power promised by his death, the ruined king must confront his sons, his city, and the gods before finding a final resting place. Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus is a haunting story of exile, reconciliation, and redemption at the end of a long and terrible life.

Tantalus, mighty king and son of Zeus, prepares a feast for the gods—and becomes convinced it is a test of his own divinity. As reason gives way to pride, he crosses the final boundary between man and god, father and monster, and discovers too late the meaning of the laws he has broken.