Euripides, 1 - (Penn Greek Drama) by David R Slavitt & Palmer Bovie (Paperback)

About the Book

Euripides is, of the three great Attic tragedians, perhaps the most contemporary in sensibility. This volume contains four of his plays, largely about women, in translations that reveal the complexities of these strong figures--even the towering, murderous Medea can be seen in a sympathetic light. Continues the Penn Greek Drama Series.

Book Synopsis

The Penn Greek Drama Series presents original literary translations of the entire corpus of classical Greek drama: tragedies, comedies, and satyr plays. It is the only contemporary series of all the surviving work of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, and Menander.

This volume includes translations by Eleanor Wilner with Inés Azar (Medea), Marilyn Nelson (Hecuba), Donald Junkins (Andromache), and Daniel Mark Epstein (The Bacchae).

Review Quotes

"[Marilyn] Nelson, like her colleagues, avoids anything jarringly contemporary or self-consciously colloquial. Directness, vivid imagery, and rhetorical music prevail in different cadences."-- "San Francisco Chronicle"

"A boon for classicists and general readers alike. For the reader who comes to tragedy for the first time, these translations are eminently 'accessible.' . . . For the classicist, these versions constitute an ambitious reinterpretation of traditional masterpieces."-- "Boston Book Review"

"A superb translation of 'Medea' by Eleanor Wilner . . . an 'Andromache' that, in [Donald] Junkins's translation, manages to be both lovely and dignified; a 'Bacchae' by Daniel Mark Epstein that . . . is intelligent, eminently playable, and prefaced by a straightforward and useful introduction."-- "New York Times"

"Don't look for the wild and woolly-these were put together by wordsmiths. . . . But they are a far cry from some of the stodgier translations."-- "Washington Post"

"The 12-volume set will offer readers new verse translations of the complete surviving tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, as well as the surviving comedies of Aristophanes and Menander. The complete line of Greek theater classics has not been offered to readers since 1938."-- "Publishers Weekly"