The Greek Plays: Sixteen Plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides (Modern Library Classics)

Description

A landmark anthology of the masterpieces of Greek drama, featuring all-new, highly accessible translations of some of the world’s most beloved plays, including Agamemnon, Prometheus Bound, Bacchae, Electra, Medea, Antigone, and Oedipus the King Featuring translations by Emily Wilson, Frank Nisetich, Sarah Ruden, Rachel Kitzinger, Mary Lefkowitz, and James Romm The great plays of Ancient Greece are among the most enduring and important legacies of the Western world. Not only is the influence of Greek drama palpable in everything from Shakespeare to modern television, the insights contained in Greek tragedy have shaped our perceptions of the nature of human life. Poets, philosophers, and politicians have long borrowed and adapted the ideas and language of Greek drama to help them make sense of their own times. This exciting curated anthology features a cross section of the most popular—and most widely taught—plays in the Greek canon . Fresh translations into contemporary English breathe new life into the texts while capturing, as faithfully as possible, their original meaning. This outstanding collection also offers short biographies of the playwrights, enlightening and clarifying introductions to the plays, and helpful annotations at the bottom of each page. Appendices by prominent classicists on such topics as “Greek Drama and Politics,” “The Theater of Dionysus,” and “Plato and Aristotle on Tragedy” give the reader a rich contextual background. A detailed time line of the dramas, as well as a list of adaptations of Greek drama to literature, stage, and film from the time of Seneca to the present, helps chart the history of Greek tragedy and illustrate its influence on our culture from the Roman Empire to the present day. With a veritable who’s who of today’s most renowned and distinguished classical translators, The Greek Plays is certain to be the definitive text for years to come. Praise for The Greek Plays “Mary Lefkowitz and James Romm deftly have gathered strong new translations from Frank Nisetich, Sarah Ruden, Rachel Kitzinger, Emily Wilson, as well as from Mary Lefkowitz and James Romm themselves. There is a freshness and pungency in these new translations that should last a long time. I admire also the introductions to the plays and the biographies and annotations provided. Closing essays by five distinguished classicists—the brilliant Daniel Mendelsohn and the equally skilled David Rosenbloom, Joshua Billings, Mary-Kay Gamel, and Gregory Hays—all enlightened me. This seems to me a helpful light into our gathering darkness.” —Harold Bloom Review: This is why anthologies were made. - This volume of Greek Plays has me blown away. Before each play there is a page or two detailing the contents and themes of the play, (spoilers aplenty during those prefaces so beware) and a section dedicated to the playwright’s life and to the impact his plays had on the world during the time in which he produced them, alongside with a few illustrations. And if that wasn’t enough, they supply you with footnotes alongside your reading to help guide you along the way in case you get stuck once an unfamiliar word creeps up. Sixteen plays reside in this volume which were manufactured by the three most important Greek playwrights of their time, Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. Aeschylus’ Oresteia trilogy, Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers and The Eumenides are in this volume, as well as Prometheus Bound. Sophocles’ Antigone, Electra and his two Oedipus plays are in here as well, finished off by Euripides’ Medea, The Bacchae, Hippolytus and Trojan women. The paper feels good, the cover is soft and the translations are modern but powerful, retaining the poetic flair that the plays are famous for while remaining accessible to the modern day reader. If I had to nitpick for any negatives, I’d say that this volume’s size is bigger than I anticipated. I have to sit up and read which may not be a problem for many of you out there, but I like to lie down as I read so this posed a challenge which I hadn’t anticipated but it was one that I easily conquered. You definitely can’t read this in any position you desire, so bear that in mind. The last thing I could see someone having a negative view of are the copious amount of footnotes. Now as I’ve previously stated, I am a fan of the footnotes, but I could easily see someone being bogged down by the sheer volume of footnotes that one may begin to believe their interpretations of the play are been swayed by the footnotes as opposed to their own genuine interpretation. All in all a great edition that is also very beginner friendly so if you’re interested in The Greek Plays but don’t know where to start, I recommend purchasing this volume as you get the most bang for your buck. Review: Outstanding Translations! - Over the years, I have read several different translations of these classical Greek plays. I've read all the plays in this book and it contains the best translations I've seen. I'll cite three aspects of this excellent text. First, the translations themselves. Older works typically try to restate the original Greek poetry as English poetry, which forces too many uncomfortable phrasings. The plays in this book do not attempt to "re-poetize" the original Greek, but instead give the reader a clear, modern English rendition of the original text. Second, the text of each play is accompanied by numerous footnotes, explaining references that are frequently obscure to modern readers. Footnotes in the Kindle edition are very easy to read, as they are shown as simple popups. In the paper editions, the footnotes appear at the bottom of each page. Third, each play is preceded by an excellent introduction. My only wish is that the book contained more than sixteen plays. The comedies of Aristophanes, for example, are not included in this edition. The actual selection, however, is excellent.