How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Line). We used Lewis Campbell's translation.
Quote #1
THE OLD SLAVE
For we reach the bourn
Of far renowned Mycenae, rich in gold
And Pelops' fatal roofs before us rise (9-10)
Mycenae's great fortune has come at a great expense.
Quote #2
ORESTES
Thou, too, paternal hearth! To thee I come,
Justly to cleanse thee by behest from heaven. (69-70)
Yet in many ways Orestes ends up further tainting his home.
Quote #3
ELECTRA
While I behold the sky,
Glancing with myriad fires, or this fair day.
But, like some brood-bereavèd nightingale (105-8)
The "nightingale" refers to Procne, another girl from Greek mythology also consumed with eternal sorrow.
Quote #4
ELECTRA
And ye, Erinyës, of mortals feared,
Daughters of Heaven, that ever see
Who die unjustly, who are wronged i' the bed
Of those they wed,
Avenge our father's murder on his foe! (112-116)
The Erinyës are the Furies, the avenging spirits that feature prominently in Aeschylus's trilogy. Though they do not appear in this version of Electra, they are referenced repeatedly in the dialogue.
Quote #5
THE CHORUS
Time bringeth rest (179)
In another words…time heals all wounds. What do you think – true or not in the context of Electra?
Quote #6
ELECTRA
Wherefore, with much constraint
And painful urging of his backward will,
Hardly he yielded;--not for his brother's sake. (575-6)
Electra and Clytemnestra debate this point at great length: they disagree on Agamemnon's reasons for sacrificing Iphigenia.