Amphitryon, by Molière - (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Wilbur is at the peak of his form in this stellar translation of an unusual Molière play-populated with Greeks and Greco-Roman gods and flavored with the essences of vaudeville, fan-tasy, high comedy, farce, and even opera.

Molière adapts the ancient tale from Plautus, setting the action before Amphitryon's house in Thebes where Jupiter assumes the general's form to woo Alcmena.

The play pairs this Olympian deception with the plight of the servant Sosia, whom Mercury bewilders and batters under the guise of an identical double.

Afterword by Richard Wilbur.

• Mistaken Identity: A celestial doppelgänger robs a cowardly servant of his very name, citing secret tent-feasts of ham and stolen wine that only the true valet could know.
• Marital Discord: Jupiter placates a suspicious Alcmena with intricate distinctions between the obligations of a husband and the fires of a lover, even as Sosia's neglected wife Cleanthis fumes at her own unrewarded virtue.
• Social Commentary: Behind the mythological burlesque lies a sharp inquiry into power and servitude, opened by Mercury complaining to the chariot-riding goddess Night about the wearying chores forced upon Olympian underlings.
• Dramatic Irony: An unbroken seal on an empty jewel box and five stolen diamonds pinned to Alcmena's gown drive the returning Theban general to the brink of frenzy before his bewildered captains.