Seneca: Phaedra (Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics) - Hardcover

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521200857 ISBN 13: 9780521200851

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1990

Synopsis

Seneca's Phaedra occupies an important and influential position in the tradition of European drama. This new edition concentrates on the dramatic qualities of Phaedra and examines the Greek and Roman background to the play, particularly Seneca's use of Euripides and Ovid, and its philosophical elements grounded in Seneca's Stoicism. The introduction also discusses dramatic and rhetorical presentation, aspects of style including imagery and the transmission of the text. An unusual feature is the treatment of the influence of the Phaedra story in later European literature and music. The commentary examines Seneca's language in detail and looks at his use of earlier poetic models (Virgil and Ovid) as well as plot, characterisation and his use of myth. Although principally for students of Latin literature, this new edition will also be of interest to historians of drama and comparative literature.

About this title

Review

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)

Book Description

This new edition concentrates on the dramatic qualities of Phaedra and examines the Greek and Roman background to the play.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0521200857
• ISBN 13: 9780521200851
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 229
• Editor: Coffey Michael, Mayer Roland