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The Agamemnon is a classical Greek tragedy written by Aeschylus that plays a complicated and essential role in The Browning Version. Firstly, it serves as a prop: it is the text that Andrew Crocker-Harris has his pupil, John Taplow, work on, laboriously translating its ancient Greek line-by-line into English. But when Taplow excitedly embellishes one of the lines—deliberately adding gore and drama to the original—Aeschylus’s play comes to represent the potential excitement, reward, and vitality of classical literature. Taplow’s intervention, though outwardly disapproved of by Andrew, causes Andrew to reveal his own passion for the play and to relate how, as a spirited and talented scholar in his youth, he produced a translation that was arguably more beautiful than the original. The book, then, allows Andrew to reconnect with what gave his life meaning in the first place. When Taplow returns to Andrew’s flat to give him a leaving gift, it’s a second-hand copy of The Agamemnon translated by Robert Browning (hence the play’s title). Taplow’s inscription, a quote from the play executed in perfect Greek, moves Andrew deeply: “God from afar looks graciously upon a gentle master.”
There is one other important symbolic function of The Agamemnon that stems from the content of the classical Greek play itself. Aeschylus’s tragedy relates the murder of Agamemnon by his wife, Clytemnestra, thus mirroring the action of The Browning Version: though, of course, no actual murder takes place in Rattigan’s play, Millie does seek to kill off any late-blooming chance of happiness that her husband, Andrew, has left. Loosely, then, the couple in The Browning Version can be seen as a modern version of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, an expression of the ancient story in the emotionally repressed environment of an English public school.
The Agamemnon Quotes in The Browning Version
The The Browning Version quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Agamemnon. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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The Browning Version Quotes
TAPLOW: (Protestingly.) I’m extremely interested in science, sir.
FRANK: Are you? I’m not. Not at least in the science I have to teach.
TAPLOW: Well, anyway, sir, it’s a good deal more exciting than this muck. (Indicating his book.)
FRANK: What is this muck?
TAPLOW: Aeschylus, sir. The Agamemnon.
FRANK: And your considered view is that the Agamemnon of Aeschylus is muck, is it?
TAPLOW: Well, no, sir. I don’t think the play is muck – exactly. I suppose, in a way, it’s rather a good plot, really, a wife murdering her husband and having a lover and all that. I only meant the way it’s taught to us – just a lot of Greek words strung together and fifty lines if you get them wrong.
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This exchange happens early in the play, when both Frank and Taplow are waiting to speak with Andrew. Taplow has been summoned to the Crocker-Harrises’ flat for extra work, having missed a class in the previous week. The quote serves two important functions. Firstly, it demonstrates Frank’s casual relationship with the pupils at the school; he is part of a new breed of teachers whose general manner is much more informal and laidback than Andrew’s. Secondly, it places The Agamemnon at the center of the play, where it will come to serve an important role. Taplow’s description of the plot Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas au
ANDREW: However diligently I search I can discover no ‘bloody’ – no ‘corpse’– no ‘you have slain’. Simply ‘husband’–
TAPLOW: Yes, sir. That’s right.
ANDREW: Then why do you invent words that simply are not there?
TAPLOW: I thought they sounded better, sir. More exciting. After all she did kill her husband, sir. (With relish.) She’s just been revealed with his dead body and Cassandra’s weltering in gore –
ANDREW: I am delighted at this evidence, Taplow, of your interest in the rather more lurid aspects of dramaturgy, but I feel I must remind you that you are supposed to be construing Greek, not collaborating with Aeschylus.
TAPLOW: (Greatly daring.) Yes, but still, sir, translator’s licence, sir – I didn’t get anything wrong – and after all it is a play and not just a bit of Greek construe.
ANDREW: (Momentarily at a loss.) I seem to detect a note of end of term in your remarks. I am not denying that The Agamemnon is a play. It is perhaps the greatest play ever written –
TAPLOW: (Quickly.) I wonder how many people in the form think that?
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When Andrew arrives back at the flat, he and Taplow sit down to go through the latter’s extra Classics work, in this case consisting of the laborious line-by-line translation of The Agamemnon. Andrew’s only criterion for the quality of Taplow’s work seems to be whether or not his translation is technically correct (as opposed to dramatically effective). Taplow takes the bold move of embellishing the text, inspired by what he is reading (which is surely a significant reason for teaching in the first place). Though Andrew’s first reflex is to chastise his student for diverging from the script, Taplow’s flash Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam volu
ANDREW: (Murmuring gently, not looking at TAPLOW.) When I was a very young man, only two years older than you are now, Taplow, I wrote, for my own pleasure, a translation of The Agamemnon – a very free translation – I remember – in rhyming couplets.
TAPLOW: The whole Agamemnon – in verse? That must have been hard work, sir.
ANDREW: It was hard work; but I derived great joy from it. The play had so excited and moved me that I wished to communicate, however imperfectly, some of that emotion to others. When I had finished it. I remember, I thought it very beautiful – almost more beautiful than the original.
TAPLOW: Was it ever published, sir?
ANDREW: No. Yesterday I looked for the manuscript while I was packing my papers. I was unable to find it. I fear it is lost – like so many other things. Lost for good.
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Taplow’s evident interest in Aeschylus’ tragedy stirs Andrew’s memories of his youth, reconnecting his older self with his earlier sense of ambition and passion. Andrew was once committed to his subject because of his belief in its beauty, not just as part of his job. It was a source of “joy” and he wanted to use his scholarly talent to share this with others. On the one hand, he has failed to fulfill this early ambition—but Taplow’s interest in the subject counts as a quiet triumph. Andrew clearly feels the sense of an end looming over his life, symbolized by Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati
MILLIE: The mean old brutes! My God, what I wouldn’t like to say to them! (Rounding on ANDREW.) And what did you say? Just sat there and made a joke in Latin, I suppose?
ANDREW: There wasn’t very much I could say, in Latin or any other language.
MILLIE: Oh, wasn’t there? I’d have said it all right. I wouldn’t just have sat there twiddling my thumbs and taking it from that old phoney of a headmaster. But then, of course, I’m not a man.
ANDREW is turning the pages of the Agamemnon, not looking at her.
What do they expect you to do? Live on my money, I suppose.
ANDREW: There has never been any question of that. I shall be perfectly able to support myself.
MILLIE: Yourself? Doesn’t the marriage service say something about the husband supporting his wife? Doesn’t it? You ought to know?
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Dr. Frobisher’s visit comes with bad news—that Andrew will not receive a pension from the school. According to the headteacher, the decision was made by the board of governors and hinged on the fact that Andrew is not quite at the usual retirement age yet (though he is close and unwell enough to have resign). Millie shows her deep frustration with Andrew’s meekness, though this concern is more motivated by worry about her own financial security than Andrew’s wellbeing. Andrew, for his part, is doing what he has become accustomed to: avoiding emotional confrontation. He stares at his book—which it’s Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Com
TAPLOW: I didn’t have a chance with the head here. I rather dashed out, I’m afraid. I thought I’d just come back and – and wish you luck, sir.
ANDREW: Thank you, Taplow. That’s good of you.
TAPLOW: I – er – thought this might interest you, sir. (He quickly thrusts a small book into ANDREW’S hand.)
ANDREW: What is it?
TAPLOW: Verse translation of the Agamemnon, sir. The Browning version. It’s not much good. I've been reading it in the Chapel gardens.
ANDREW very deliberately turns over the pages of the book.
ANDREW: Very interesting, Taplow. (He seems to have a little difficulty in speaking. He clears his throat and then goes on in his level, gentle voice.) I know the translation, of course. It has its faults, I agree, but I think you will enjoy it more when you get used to the metre he employs.
He hands it to TAPLOW who brusquely thrusts it back to him.
TAPLOW: It’s for you, sir.
ANDREW: For me?
TAPLOW: Yes, sir. I’ve written in it.
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This exchange comes when Taplow unexpectedly returns to Andrew’s flat, having been dismissed when the headmaster arrived earlier. Given that it’s the last day of term, Andrew is highly surprised to see one of his pupils going out of their way to show him a gesture of respect. In fact, a leaving gift from Taplow is so outside of Andrew’s realm of possibility that he thinks the book belongs to Taplow. The gift is Robert Browning’s translation of The Agamemnon, giving Rattigan’s play its title. Andrew shows the physical signs of an attempt to suppress the emotions. By this point, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Ap
ANDREW: […] “God from afar looks graciously upon a gentle master.”
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With Frank back in the room, Andrew translates Taplow’s inscription written in the fly-leaf of Taplow’s gift. The quote is from The Agamemnon itself, showing Taplow’s engagement with the text. Moreover, it is written in perfect Greek, showing that Taplow represents a small success in Andrew’s teaching. The quote moves Andrew deeply in part because he is an especially fragile emotional state, brought on by his attempt to hold all feelings at bay. But most importantly Taplow’s chosen quote shows a remarkable sensitivity towards Andrew’s life, suggesting that Taplow empathizes with Andrew and wishes to show that he believes his Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut ven
Pause. MILLIE laughs suddenly.
MILLIE: The artful little beast –
FRANK: (Urgently.) Millie –
ANDREW: Artful? Why artful?
MILLIE looks at FRANK who is staring meaningly at her.
Why artful, Millie?
MILLIE laughs again, quite lightly, and turns from FRANK to ANDREW.
MILLIE: My dear, because I came into this room this afternoon to find him giving an imitation of you to Frank here. Obviously he was scared stiff I was going to tell you, and you’d ditch his remove or something. I don't blame him for trying a few bobs’ worth of appeasement.
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After Taplow has said his goodbyes to Andrew, Millie comes back into the room. Frank tells her about Taplow’s gift. Not wishing her husband even a fleeting moment’s happiness, Millie gleefully undermines Taplow’s intentions in an attempt to restore Andrew’s bleak outlook on life. Taplow’s gift represents the one great act of kindness Andrew receives in his final days at the school—not even the headmaster treats Andrew well—and accordingly to undermine Taplow’s act is to deny Andrew any momentary redemption from the feeling that his life is one great failure. The added information about Taplow’s impersonation, though true, is a Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. O
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The Agamemnon Symbol Timeline in The Browning Version
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Agamemnon appears in The Browning Version. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Browning Version
...refers to as “muck”; Frank asks, “what is this muck?” Taplow explains that it is The Agamemnon by Aeschylus, but that it’s not exactly “muck”—the plot, which centers on a wife murdering...
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...the table and invites Taplow to do the same. They both open up texts of The Agamemnon , and Andrew instructs Taplow to begin translating the ancient Greek. As Taplow does so,...
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...thinks Taplow is behaving this way because it’s the end of term but admits that The Agamemnon is “perhaps the greatest play ever written.” Taplow wonders “how many people in the form...
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...was a young man. Back then, he had attempted—“for my own pleasure”—his own translation of The Agamemnon , “a very free translation” in rhyming couplets. Taplow asks whether it was hard work;...
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...asks whether Andrew expects to live on her money; with his eyes fixed firmly on The Agamemnon he objects that he will be “perfectly able” to support himself. “Doesn’t the marriage service...
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Left alone, Andrew stares at The Agamemnon , pretending to read. Eventually he puts a hand over his eyes. Just then, Taplow...
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Taplow explains that the book is Robert Browning’s verse translation of The Agamemnon : “The Browning Version.” He says, “it’s not much good” and that he’s been reading...
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Andrew recites the inscription, which is a quote from The Agamemnon itself, first in Greek and then in translation: “God from afar looks graciously upon a...
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