Electra

by Sophocles Sophocles, Marianne MacDonald (Translator), J. Michael Walton (Translator)

Overview

The Drama Classic edition of Sophocles' version of the Electra myth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781854597564
Publisher:	Theatre Communications Group
Publication date:	09/01/2004
Series:	Drama Classics
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 6.20(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	1000L (what's this?)

About the Author

Hanna Roisman is the Francis F. Bartlett and Ruth K. Bartlett Professor of Classics at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Her special interests are Homeric epic, Greek and Roman tragedy and Classical literature and modern film.

Editorial Reviews

Every era needs the classics on its own terms, so Sophocles' Electra, translated by Anne Carson (The Beauty of the Husband; Forecasts, Dec. 18, 2000), should prove very popular among newcomers and seasoned readers of the sublime dramatist's brutal drama, as well as among Carson's many fans. While Carson renders the book in her signature free verse, her major innovation is the phonetic preservation of Electra's "far from formulaic" screams: "OIMOI," "O TALAINA" and "PHEU PHEU" among them. As Carson writes in her excellent translator's preface, they are not stock ejaculations like "Alas!" or "Woe is me!," but "bones of sound" emitted by the daughter who finds herself cheering her mother's execution. Though Oxford's stock existentialist cover looks like something from the height of '50s abstract angst and the book's paper is pulpy, expect strong sales. ( Apr.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Roisman's book can serve as a very useful introduction for a newcomer to Classics and Greek tragedy and is well suited for a non-language student without ancient Greek. Also a beginning ancient Greek language student will find Roisman's translation helpful in many instances for working through Sophocles' original because of the faithfulness of her translation. . . .

- Elke Steinmeyer, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2009.04.34

From the Publisher