Sophocles found the art-form already developed. But he tempered the tone of tragedy, the material of which he narrowed to the compass of a single play: there is no nexus between the parts of his trilogies. In Sophocles, too, the characterization becomes sharper, and the dialogue moves more briskly, the action be comes more complicated, the meshes of intrigue finer. There is also a marked difference between Sophocles and lEschylus in the space devoted to the chorus. The lyric simply reflects, no longer bears the piece, though it is still an integral part of the action. But the plot is developed with consummate skill and with the most exact thoughtfulness. The plot of (CEdipus Rex' is so subtly articulated that each episode, each period, each verse, becomes an indispensable part of the whole. Not even Edgar Allan Poe strove more earnestly for totality of effect. It is this articulation that makes conspicuous the 'irony" that runs through Sophocles. But it is particularly in the portrayal of character that Sophocles is in advance of /Eschylus. The latter evokes fear, Euripides pity, Sophocles both — and in due proportion. The plot assists in the development of the character. The poet's theme is man. His heroes are ideal, but they show genuinely human traits. The gods are kept in the background. As in 2Eschylus, they control the action, but from a point so high above our horizon that we are not conscious of their domination until we reach the denoue ment. Sophocles was not only a dramatist: he was also a poet. In all Greek poetry there is a strong current of feeling for external nature; but in Sophocles this feeling is always ex quisitely adapted to dramatic effect.
Many innovations were made by Sophocles. He increased the number in the chorus from 12 to 15, developed the parados, introduced a third actor and made great use of stage scenery. Sophocles has his inevitable per fection; but he is not uniform enough to be faultily faultless. His poetry is never jejune, but succulent, full of sap and marrow; and he is the one consummate master of style, melody, vocabulary and versification, the one poet that always maintains a noble Homeric grace, that never sinks below the calm level of high art. His style is vigorous, but it is also marvelously subtle. No poet better combines severity with variety and sweetness with vigor in his rhythmic measures. He always adapts rhythm to expression. His choral songs are con structed with the skill of a master architect. Of the hundred and more plays which Sophocles wrote seven have come down to us. In cl:Edipus Rex' Sophoclean art reaches its highest point. The 'Trachinim) is the least popular; nevertheless, it is a good play. The cllEdipus at Colonus' is the least dramatic, but its charm and breadth indicate that it is the work of the poet's best years. The earliest extant play is the 'Ajax' (451). The 'Antigone' was produced three years later. The 'Philoctetes' is one of the latest (409), while the (CEdipus at Colonus' was brought out (401) by his grandson after the poet's death. The 'Electra,' though hard for a modern to appreciate, is the only one on this theme that thoroughly satisfies, the (Chcephori) of lEschylus and the 'Electra' of Euripides being inferior.