The Bacchae undoubtedly bears many of these Euripidean intellectual and emotional hallmarks. Contemporary audiences are often struck by an apparent psychological realism in the portrayal of Pentheus, and elements of Cadmus' handling of Agave's madness at the end of the play have been compared with modern psychoanalytic practices. Much of the dialogue between the actors is linguistically straightforward, while Tireseias' speech (266-327) draws on contemporary philosophical theories. Yet the Bacchae has never faced any of the complaints typically made by Euripides' critics. One reason for this must be its structural and linguistic clarity: Euripides traces multiple reversals of power between Pentheus and Dionysus throughout the play, from the early scenes in which Pentheus prevails to the god's final triumphant speech over Pentheus' torn body. The reversals are underlined by the repetition of certain words throughout the play. Another reason may be the exceptional lyricism of the chorus, whose portrayal of ecstatic religion is astonishingly vivid. But above all, it is the complex and compelling figure of the god himself, who dominates this play more than any god in any other tragedy, which makes the Bacchae one of the more admired of all Greek tragedies, even though Euripides' attitude to him - respect for his power or condemnation of his malevolence? - has long been a central topic of critical discussion.