アイスキュロス『コエポロイ』のコンモス

Abstract

This paper expresses appreciation for the kommos in Aeschylus' Choephori. Among the many studies of this lyric part, Schadewaldt and Lesky are most highly respected. Schadewaldt argues that it is not Orestes, but the audience who experiences the necessity of matricide and that Orestes' is as resolute at the beginning of the kommos as at the end. For Lesky, on the other hand, the principal function of the kommos is to show Orestes, first anxious and doubting, then deciding on matricide. Both fail to consider the whole play in these interpretations. Since the kommos is a part of a play, it is essential to consider the stagecraft of Choephori and place the kommos within that context. In the elaborate stagecraft, the focus is on the staging of the second confrontation of Clytaemestra and Orestes (892-930). In this climactic scene, Orestes gives reasons for his horrible deed. But, a carefully detailed speech would have weakened the intensity of the scene. It is in the kommos, therefore, that the necessity for matricide is detailed. The extremely long kommos is preparation for the climactic moment between Clytaemestra and Orestes. Whether Orestes' will is variable or steadfast makes a difference. His resolution fails him facing the necessity for matricide (899). After considering the relation between the kommos and the climax, we should interpret his depression as anticipated in the kommos, str. VI. Partly, I agree with Schadewaldt, partly with Lesky, but my view results from considering stage effects which have previously been ignored.