Author: Sarah Kane

Title: Phaedra’s love

Publishing house: Methuen

Published: 1998

Place: London

Characters:

Phaedra: She is Storphe’s mother, Theseus’ wife and Hippolytus’ stepmother. She is in

love with Hippolytus, who violate her and for this reason she commits suicide.

Hippolytus: He is a young and fat prince. He is Theseus’ son. He spends his days eating

fat food and watching T.V. He is obsessed with the sex, he has sexual relationships with

men and women. He goes to prison because he violates Phaedra.

Strophe: She is daughter’s Phaedra. She is very sad because of her mother’s death.

When the play finishes, Theseus kill her.

Doctor: He is a psychologist. He appears to speak with Phaedra about Hippolytus’ ill.

Theseus: He is a king. He is married to Phaedra. His son is Hippolytus. He is never at

home. The last time that he went al home was when his wife died. He commits suicide

too.

Priest: He is a gay priest. He goes to prison to speak to Hippolytus and to discover what

it happens.

There are other characters but they are secundaries.

Plot:

Hippolytus lives in his bedroom which is situed in the Real Palace, he spends his days

eating, watchind T.V. and sleeping. Phaedra, his stepmother, is in love with him and she

tells to the doctor what she is feeling. She and Hippolytus speak about their secrets

because they are friends. One day, she goes to Hippolytus’ bedroom and he tells her that

he made in love with a man, then, she say to him that she is in love with him and she

tries to seduce him. They did oral sex, but then he refuses her, he commits suicide and

finally he kills her. For this reason, Hippolytus goes to prison. In the Phaedra’s funeral,

there were some men, policemen and a boy who would want to kill Hippolytus.

Theseus, does not recognise her and he kills him for mistake. He commits suicide too.

Setting:

The play sets up King’s Palace, in the Hippolytus’ bedroom, in the prison, Phaedra’s

funeral…

Time:

The play develops in the actual present. It lasts some days or years. We do not know it

exactly.

Literary and stylistic resources:

It is written in prose. The language is simple.

Personal Opinion:

 I like a lot Phaedra’s love because it deals themes that are in the present day and they

are interested above all for young people, for instance a passionate love that conduct to

the lovers till the death. I find it very interesting because I love Greek tragedies and this

play is similar to them because in this kind of plays, all its characters die too. Other

reason because I like it is because its language is colloquial and it does not create

difficulties for the readers to understand the play. As well, it does not bore us and this

makes us to go on reading.