Verse Set Text Group 4 (2025–26): Euripides, Hippolytus, lines 601–624, 627–633, 638–662, 664–668, 682–731, 885–911, 914–1035

This set of passages from Euripides' Hippolytus focuses on the aftermath of Phaedra's confession and the confrontation between Theseus and Hippolytus. The prescribed lines (601–624, 627–633, 638–662, 664–668, 682–731, 885–911, 914–1035) cover the Nurse's attempt to persuade Phaedra, Phaedra's suicide, Theseus' discovery of her body and the letter, and the ensuing agon between father and son. These scenes are pivotal for understanding the play's central themes: the destructive power of passion (eros), the conflict between reason and emotion, the role of the gods (especially Aphrodite and Artemis), and the limitations of human knowledge and justice.

In the OCR A-Level specification, this verse set text group requires close analysis of Euripides' language, imagery, and dramatic techniques. Students must examine how Euripides uses rhetoric, stichomythia, and messenger speeches to heighten tension and explore moral dilemmas. The passages also reveal key characterisation: Phaedra's internal struggle, the Nurse's misguided loyalty, Theseus' rashness, and Hippolytus' uncompromising purity. Understanding these lines is essential for writing about the play's tragic structure, the role of women in Athenian society, and the critique of traditional heroic values.

These passages fit into the wider context of Greek tragedy as a genre that explores the boundaries of human behaviour and the consequences of transgression. Euripides' Hippolytus is particularly notable for its psychological depth and its challenge to contemporary Athenian ideals. By studying these lines, students gain insight into how Euripides manipulates audience sympathy, uses dramatic irony (since the audience knows Hippolytus is innocent), and presents a world where divine caprice and human error combine to produce catastrophe.