Seneca: Phaedra
Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Michael Coffey, Roland Mayer, P. E. Easterling (Editor)Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
Concentrating on the play's dramatic qualities and its Greek and Roman background, this introduction discusses dramaturgy and rhetoric as well as style and textual transmission.Synopsis
Concentrates on the dramatic qualities of Phaedra and examines the Greek and Roman background to the play.
Editorials
From the Publisher
Ahl's translations reveal a genuine, imaginative response to the playwright. His work has a coherent dramatic shape and the quality of lyrical fantasy characteristic of Senecan language. I do not think a translator can come closer to being 'Senecan.' ~Eleanor Winsor Leach, Department of Classical Studies, Indiana University
In addition to proffering such supplementary information as is commonly found in translations aimed at the general public, Ahl argues that the Senecan tragedies were written for production...As for the translations themselves, they are excellent. They convey an impression of the Senecan poetic style rather than make an attempt to imitate it. Most important, the language is such that it can be clearly articulated and rendered at once comprehensible to an audience. Ahl rightly finds the style and texture of each play different and reflects such a difference in his translations. ~Classical World (Spring 1988)