Chapter Codificazione della violenza: l’Elektra di Hugo von Hofmannsthal

Abstract

Hugo von Hofmannsthal's Elektra constitutes an important turning point in the transition from early lyric to theatre. Inspired by Sophocles' drama, but with elements more similar to Euripides', it proposes a linguistic connotation, characterisation of the characters and a completely innovative and unconventional staging. Blood, a concrete representation of the unprecedented violence that characterises the entire drama, is the red thread that links the succession of events. Words turn into weapons and the protagonist's thirst for vengeance drives the action. The finale culminates in a supreme act of violence that sees the roles reversed: the executioners become victims and the victims executioners. This is the only solution to end the circle of brutal suffering.