Antigone and other Tragedies

Description

These original and distinctive verse translations convey the vitality of Sophocles' poetry and the vigour of the plays in performance, doing justice to both the sound of the poetry and the theatricality of the tragedies.

• An important new verse translation of three of Greek tragedian Sophocles' plays: Antigone, Deianeira, and Electra
• Includes a substantial introduction to Sophocles, his cultural context, and theatrical resources
• The translation focuses on the perfomance and dramatic vigour of the plays, making it equally suitable for performance and reading
• Antigone, Deianeira, and Electra each feature women as their unyielding hero

About the Author(s)

Sophocles

Oliver Taplin retired in 2008 from being a Professor of Classics at the University of Oxford and, for thirty-five years, Tutorial Fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford. The leading recurrent theme of his work has been the reception of poetry and drama through performance and material culture, in both ancient and modern times. As well as his academic work, he has been involved in broadcasting and theatre, both within and beyond the UK. Productions on which he has collaborated include the Oresteia (1981-2, dir. Peter Hall), The Thebans (1992, dir. Adrian Noble), the Oresteia (1999-2000, dir. Katie Mitchell), and Swallow Song (2004 and 2006 dir. Lydia Koniordou). Sophocles, born in the 490s BC, was a leading ancient Greek dramatist who composed as many as 120 plays in his long lifetime, although only seven survive. He entered and won many of the dramatic competitions held in honour of Dionysus, and was also a prominent public figure in the Athens of his day.

Table of Contents

Introduction
The Priorities of this Translation
Notes on text, spellings, stage-directions etc
Selected Bibliography
Antigone
Deianeira
Electra
Explanatory Notes

Reviews

"My enthusiasm is undiminished ... a notable achievement." - Malcolm Heath, Greece & Rome