Secondary sourceBook1878
The Life and Writings of Sophocles
E. H. Plumptre · 1878
A 19th-century biographical essay by E. H. Plumptre introducing his translation of Sophocles's tragedies.
A later biographical study introducing the life and work of Sophocles for English readers.
About this source
What it is
This is a biographical essay by E. H. Plumptre, published in 1878 as the introduction to his translation of The Tragedies of Sophocles. It surveys what little is known about the playwright's life.
Why it matters
Plumptre openly admits the difficulty of writing about Sophocles: ancient sources are thin, scattered among later writers like a scholiast, a lexicographer, and mentions in Plato, Cicero, and Athenaeus. This essay shows how modern scholars had to piece together a life from fragments, much as they did for Shakespeare.
Look closer
- Why does the author compare Sophocles to Shakespeare?
- What kinds of ancient sources does he rely on, and how reliable might they be?
- What does the admission of gaps tell you about historical biography?
This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Sophocles on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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