The Theban Plays

Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone

Sophocles author Ruth Fainlight translator Robert J Littman translator

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Johns Hopkins University Press

Published:27th Apr '09

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

This hardback is available in another edition too:

The Theban Plays cover

I would recommend the translation without reservations. I expect that students and the general public will find these works newly exciting. This is clearly a translation well suited to success both in the classroom and in the theater. -- Robin Mitchell-Boyask, Temple University

This elegant and uncommonly readable translation will make these seminal Greek tragedies accessible to a new generation of readers.Sophocles' Theban Plays- Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone-lie at the core of the Western literary canon. They are extensively translated, universally taught, and frequently performed. Chronicling the downfall of Oedipus, the legendary king of Thebes, and his descendants, the Theban Plays are as relevant to present-day thought about love, duty, patriotism, family, and war as when they were written 2,500 years ago. Recent translations of the plays, while linguistically correct, often fail to capture the beauty of Sophocles' original words. In combining the skills of a distinguished poet, Ruth Fainlight, and an eminent classical scholar, Robert J. Littman, this new edition of the Theban Plays is both a major work of poetry and a faithful translation of the original works. Thoughtful introductions, extensive notes, and glossaries frame each of the plays within their historical contexts and illuminate important themes, mythological roots, and previous interpretations. This elegant and uncommonly readable translation will make these seminal Greek tragedies accessible to a new generation of readers.

"I would recommend the translation without reservations. I expect that students and the general public will find these works newly exciting. This is clearly a translation well suited to success both in the classroom and in the theater." - Robin Mitchell-Boyask, Temple University"

ISBN: 9780801891335

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 22mm

Weight: 499g

284 pages