Bacchae

by Euripides, Robin Robertson, Daniel Mendelsohn

Overview

A bold new translation of Euripides’ shockingly modern classic work, from Forward Prize-winning poet, Robin Robertson, with a new introduction by bestselling and award-winning writer, critic and translator Daniel Mendelsohn.

Thebes has been rocked by the arrival of Dionysus, the god of wine and ecstasy. Drawn by the god’s power, the women of the city have rushed to worship him on the mountain, drinking and dancing with frenzied abandon.

Pentheus, the king of Thebes, is furious, denouncing this so-called “god” as a charlatan and an insurgent. But no mortal can deny a god, much less one as powerful and seductive as Dionysus, who will exact a terrible revenge on Pentheus, drawing the king to his own tragic destruction.

This stunning translation by award-winning poet Robin Robertson reinvigorates Euripides’ masterpiece. Updating it for contemporary readers, he brings the ancient verse to fervid, brutal life, revealing a work of art as devastating and relevant today as it was in the fifth century, BC.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062319685
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/02/2014
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	868 KB

About the Author

Robin Robertson is from the northeast coast of Scotland. He has published five collections of poetry and received a number of accolades, including the Petrarca-Preis, the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and a Forward Prize in each category. Apart from his translations of Euripides, he has also edited a collection of essays, Mortification: Writers' Stories of Their Public Shame, and, in 2006, he published The Deleted World, a selection of free English versions of poems by the Nobel laureate Tomas Tranströmer.

Daniel Mendelsohn a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books and The New Yorker, is the author of the international bestseller The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million. He teaches at Bard College.

Table of Contents

	Preface	vi
	Background to the story of Bacchae	vii
	Map of Ancient Greece	viii
	List of characters	1
	Commentary and translation	2
	Synopsis of the play	94
	Pronunciation of names	96
	Introduction to the Greek Theatre	97
	Time line	101
	Index	102

Editorial Reviews

Offers a new line-for-line translation of Euripides' play about the consequences of an attempt in Thebes to suppress the cult of Dionysus. An introduction discusses the cultural background of the play, its author, and ancient tragic theater, and suggests psychological, moral, religious, and political issues raised by the play. --Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

"This text is one of the finest commentaries on any Greek play, and is also priced to be usable. Thank you!"—Linda Clader, Carleton College

From the Publisher

Very accessible and 'fresh' translations, which will be valuable additions to American theatre.

Interactive Theatre Newsletter - Jeff Wirth

Very accessible and 'fresh' translations, which will be valuable additions to American theatre.
— Jeff Wirth, Editor

Interactive Theatre Newsletter