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Phaedra

Literary Character
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A figure from Greek myth, wife of Theseus, who falls in love with her stepson; in poetry, she represents forbidden passion, tragic self-destruction, and the destructive force of unrequited love.

Detailed Definition
Phaedra is best known from Euripides’ Hippolytus and its later adaptations, including Seneca and Racine. Her passion for Hippolytus is presented as both personal torment and a force imposed by divine power. Shame, silence, accusation, and patriarchal honor combine to produce catastrophe. As a literary character, Phaedra complicates the figure of the guilty lover: she is at once responsible, victimized, self-aware, and trapped within a culture that gives desire no honorable speech.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Euripides’ Hippolytus, Phaedra’s forbidden desire creates a tragedy shaped by shame, repression, and destructive accusation; A poet may use Phaedra as a speaker whose private passion conflicts with social expectations; Her silence or confession can dramatize the tension between moral reputation and emotional truth; A contemporary poem may reinterpret Phaedra sympathetically, examining how patriarchal judgment helps produce her tragedy.
Additional Notes
Phaedra is a tragic figure from Greek and later European drama, especially Euripides’ Hippolytus and Racine’s Phèdre. Her illicit love for her stepson exposes the destructive effects of desire, shame, silence, and false accusation. Writers often use her as an example of forbidden love, psychological conflict, tragic flaw, and the collision between private passion and public honor.
Other Meanings of “Phaedra”
Also Known As
Phaidra
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