Birds - Hardcover

Aristophanes

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198149344 ISBN 13: 9780198149347

Publisher: Clarendon Press, 1995

Synopsis

This comprehensive edition of "Birds" aims to enable the reader, including the less-advanced student of Greek, to understand, interpret and enjoy the play. It is a play generally recognized as one of Aristophanes's masterpieces - both for its imaginative plot and for the charm and originality of its lyrics. The commentary gives help with the translation to cater for the less-advanced student of Greek, and also with interpretation and the lyric metres, as well as fully discussing the staging. It uses the resources of modern ornithology to elucidate Aristophanes's reference to birds. The introduction discusses the nature of the play: its historical and mythological background; the history of the text, including the contributions of ancient scholars recorded in the scholia, which are exceptionally important in this play; and also more recent scholarship.

About this title

Review:

Aristophanes addicts unite! This book is for us. It has everything that we always wanted to know about Birds and we were unable to find in one place. (Greek Gazette)

The commentary elucidates with an experts knowledge of syntax, meter, and artifacts ... The volume will remain authoritative for generations. (Religious Studies Review)

From the Back Cover:

Lamenting the unwholesome state of human affairs, a pair of adventurers turn their backs on civilization as they know it and unite with the birds to found an idyllic city in the clouds. Among the earliest existing portrayals of a utopian society, this sparkling fantasy by one of antiquity's most brilliant and popular playwrights offers modern audiences and readers a vision of ancient Greek theater at its very finest.
Widely acknowledged as Aristophanes' masterpiece, this rollicking farce follows the two Athenians into their self-imposed exile as they negotiate with their avian allies to establish a "Cloud-cuckoo-town" between heaven and earth. Satirical targets include Socrates, depicted here as a wily sophist, and the gods themselves, who ultimately capitulate to the utopians' crafty maneuverings.
The Birds resounds with comic vitality, combining witty dialog, interludes of exquisite lyricism, and clever stage effects for an extravaganza as appealing to contemporary audiences as it was to Athenians of more than 2,000 years ago. This inexpensive edition offers students, teachers, and theater lovers a handsome and durable means of savoring this immortal comedy.
Dover (1999) unabridged republication of the anonymous translation originally appearing inAristophanes: The Eleven Comedies, published by Horace Liveright, New York, 1928. Introductory Note. Translator's footnotes.

About this edition

• Publisher: Clarendon Press
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0198149344
• ISBN 13: 9780198149347
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 799
• Editor: Nan Dunbar