This chapter explains the author's rationale for retelling the story of Ajax. The story derives from Sophocles' play Ajax. Sophocles leaves much unsaid and unexplained, as in all his plays, and, most important, unjudged. He leaves to his audience the pleasure of judging such questions as whether or not Ajax's claim was treated fairly by the army, and to whether or not Ajax lied to his wife about his intention to take his life. The story is not an interpretation of the play; it is a new work, using some of the play's material, aiming at a clarity that the play does not provide.
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