Dionysiac Poetics and Euripides' "Bacchae" [Paperback]

Charles Segal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 27, 1997

In his play Bacchae, Euripides chooses as his central figure the god who crosses the boundaries among god, man, and beast, between reality and imagination, and between art and madness. In so doing, he explores what in tragedy is able to reach beyond the social, ritual, and historical context from which tragedy itself rises. Charles Segal's reading of Euripides' Bacchae builds gradually from concrete details of cult, setting, and imagery to the work's implications for the nature of myth, language, and theater. This volume presents the argument that the Dionysiac poetics of the play characterize a world view and an art form that can admit logical contradictions and hold them in suspension.

Editorial Reviews

From Scientific American

Well-written and well-documented, based on extensive reading and intensive study, [the book] reveals the Bacchae as a much more beautiful, more interesting, and more important play than has thus far been realized.

Review

Here the fruits of intensive and sustained scholarship are combined with a sophisticated awareness of current critical theory to offer a powerful reading of one of the greatest plays of the tradition. . . . Segal offers an exemplary instance of the fusion of traditional scholarship and current critical practice. -- Cyrus Hamlin, Recherches Sémiotiques/Semiotic Inquiry



Well-written and well-documented, based on extensive reading and intensive study, [the book] reveals the Bacchae as a much more beautiful, more interesting, and more important play than has thus far been realized. -- W. J. Verdenius, Mnemosyne

Product Details

• Paperback: 379 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (October 27, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 069101597X
• ISBN-13: 978-0691015972
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,022,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars so many ideas...so little time..., September 9, 2003

By 

euripidesgirl (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dionysiac Poetics and Euripides' "Bacchae" (Paperback)

Charles Segal is acknowledged as one of the foremost authorities on Euripides' Bacchae, and has written several billion other articles on this subject and other themes in Greek literature. So he knows a thing or two. Now this helps, as just about any idea that one has while reading the Bacchae can be found dissected and pondered over in this book. Segal brings together psychoanalytical theory, ritualistic (a la Seaford) theory, and many, many others. However...it takes a while to read and some parts take a while to digest. Overall, though, it is very comprehensive and a must for anyone contemplating studying this fantastic play. One complaint: the bibliographies are great, but the afterword (of the 1997 edition) mentions some texts which aren't at the back, and one which doesn't even seem to exist!!! Gah! But, nice one, Mr Segal...sets the bar.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Feels Very Nietzschean, January 15, 2007

By 

Dan (Albany, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dionysiac Poetics and Euripides' "Bacchae" (Paperback)

I tend to agree with the previous review on this book, but I thought it worth mentioning that this text also feels VERY Nietzschean (from Birth of Tragedy). That is to say, Nietzsche's metaphysical principle of the Dionysian (in opposition to the Apollonian in BoT) seems to underwrite every chapter. This is fairly common, I suppose, since "Dionysian" is virtually synonymous with wild/ecstatic/irrational these days (largely because of Birth of Tragedy). But there. I said it. cheers.