Sophocles, 1 : Ajax, Women of Trachis, Electra, Philoctetes (Penn Greek Drama Series) [Paperback]

David R. Slavitt (Editor), Henry Taylor (Author), Armand Schwerner (Author), Brendan Galvin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Penn Greek Drama Series | Publication Date: May 1, 1998

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"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 speakable version of Sophocles's 'Philoctetes': as it were, after 25 years, a sequel to Pound's 'The Women of Trachis'."—Hugh Kenner, New York Times

"A two-year project to publish the corpus of classical Greek drama in translations by an impressive array of contemporary poets. It may not be long before anyone who mentions that he is reading Sophocles in Greek can expect to be told, 'Oh but you simply "must' read it in translation.'"—New Yorker

"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

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Greek --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (May 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812216539
• ISBN-13: 978-0812216530
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,207,585 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars hmmm., February 16, 2000

By 

arye orona - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sophocles, 1 : Ajax, Women of Trachis, Electra, Philoctetes (Penn Greek Drama Series) (Paperback)

These stroies are worth reading,but the translations in this book are fairly bland. In fact, the translation for Ajax is pretty bad. I don't think I've ever seen the word twinkie used in a Greek trajedy before. I would recomend picking up other versions of these plays.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great success!, August 31, 2008

By 

Alexander Prikhojan (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sophocles, 1 : Ajax, Women of Trachis, Electra, Philoctetes (Penn Greek Drama Series) (Paperback)

This rather experimental work attempts to translate classics into the modern American language - not just the concrete meaning of the words, but the abstract meaning as well, which is always derived from the entirety of the particular culture. As such, these translations are a monumental undertaking in making ancient Greeks speak to us directly, without the traditional use of modern rhyming or artificial pseudo-archaic English as most of the available translations employ. I would consider it a big success and recommend the entire series to anyone truly interested in ancient culture. However, for those who can't care less about antiquity, this is just a marvelous easy reading.