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A brand-new translation of the world's greatest satirist.
With a signature style that is at once bawdy and delicate, as well as a fearless penchant for lampooning the rich and powerful, Aristophanes remains arguably the finest satirist of all time. Collected here are all 11 of his surviving plays-newly translated by the distinguished poet and translator Paul Roche.
"Directness, vivid imagery, and rhetorical music prevail."—San Francisco Chronicle
Praise for the Penn Greek Drama Series:
"These three new volumes of plays constitute a boon for classicists and general readers alike. For the reader who comes to tragedy for the first time, these translations are eminently 'accessible,' and consummately American in tone and feeling. For the classicist, these versions constitute an ambitious reinterpretation of traditional masterpieces; after 2,500 years, the poetry of Euripides and Aeschylus has found a new voice—in fact, ten of them."—Boston Book Review
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Translation,
This review is from: Aristophanes: The Complete Plays (Paperback)
With the old comedy of Greece (i.e. Aristophanes), a more common language was used, therefore, a common dialect should be used for the translation. Roche does that here, much like any of the other translations. This should not direct one away from the text. It is very readable, and brings out the great humor of these works. It is also the one of the only ways to get all of Aristophanes' extant plays in one collection, and for a good price. Very worthy of your bookshelf.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Decent Modernization, Horrible Translation,
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This review is from: The Suits, Clouds, Birds (Aristophanes) (v. 3) (Hardcover)
This translation of Aristophanes takes many liberties with the Greek. The translator has a knack for adding profanity wherever he sees fit. This gets in the way of the humor, and makes Aristophanes' admittedly crude humor much cruder than necessary. Furthermore, there are random lines that the translator adds, including one in The Suits that seems as if he is just trying to slip in his own political views among those of the poets. Significant lines have also been removed or altered beyond recognition. Though this translator does make an honest attempt at modernizing the puns and jokes used in the play, he fails utterly at maintaining the original meaning and vibe of the poetry.In a nutshell, there are much better translations of Aristophanes out there.
43 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Local Dialect Detracts from the Plays,
This review is from: Aristophanes: The Complete Plays (Paperback)
Paul Roche, attempting to give his plays a more "familiar" feel to an English-speaking audience goes too far.He has the irritating habit of occasionally flavoring the words of a minor character in such a way that they sound more like an English country bumpkin than the character they are supposed to represent. As an example, near the beginning of The Acharnians, Roche does the following; pay close attention to the Crier: AMPHITHEUS: Have the speeches begun? CRIER: 'oo wishes to speak? AMPHITHEUS: I do. CRIER: 'oo are you? AMPHITHEUS: Amphitheus CRIER: That don't sound like a 'uman being. This is but a single example. If you prefer a feeling of authenticity in your ancient Greek drama, stay away from Paul Roche.
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