Four Plays by Aristophanes: The Birds; The Clouds; The Frogs; Lysistrata (Meridian Classics)

Book Description

This volume features four celebrated masterpieces: Lysistrata, The Frogs, The Assembly-Women, and Plutus (Wealth), all in new translations by the distinguished poet and translator Paul Roche.

Customer Reviews:

Inexpensive and very okay.......2006-09-27

Roche's Signet Classic "Four Plays by Aristophanes" provides good contemporary translations of Lysistrata, The Frogs, A Parliament of Women, and Plutus. On the negative side, the renderings are not terrifically inspired. The paper is too pulpy for a "classic," but that's a drawback of most (though not all) inexpensive classics nowadays. My printing of Roche, however, is not thick or blotchy, though I've noticed the Signet Classics sometimes tend in that direction.

Gone are the days, evidently, when the pages of a Signet Classic always looked crisp and stayed bright for decades. I've got some from the '60s that still look good.

Roche's introduction and notes to these four plays are brief but solid.

Great Ancient Greek Political Parodies.......2005-01-06

I should first point out that I read a different edition of this book, and the one that I had had only two plays - The Birds and The Frogs. I will review only these two. Aristophanes has a "no holds barred" type of approach to controversial political decisions and actions. The Birds is a comedy that ridicules the disastrous Greek expedition to Sicily in 413 B.C. Arisotophanes is a wonderful writer and he uses similes and parables throughout his writing. Besides being comedic, The Birds pays tribute to man's eternal desire to achieve the freedom and beauty associated with birds.
The Frogs is a parody on the stupidy and culpability of persons afflicted with their own preoccupation with themselves. We see these types of "puffed up" personalities all around even in this day and age. So like the frogs we hear in our ponds and marshes chirping the same old songs. This is acually as timely as it was when it was written sometime around 400 B.C. Hard to believe.

Get on the right page.......2004-08-25

The reviews attached here seem to refer to another collection by another translator--the Arrowsmith edition, apparently. Instead of "Clouds" we have two lesser plays--"Parliament of Women" and "Wealth." The translation's lively, the notes very helpful, the glossary mentioned in other reviews is absent here. All in all, a very useful introduction to Aristophanes, and endless fun.

ancient Greek comedy at its best.......2004-04-05

Aristophanes was to theatre what Socrates was to religion and politics--the funny, irreverent "bad boy." My favorite of these 4 plays has to be "The Clouds", which is in fact a parody mocking and making fun of Socrates (spelled or mis-spelled Sokrates). Very funny dialogue.

David Rehak
author of "A Young Girl's Crimes"

Great Student Edition.......2002-10-31

This book is physically constructed like a student edition -- i.e., cheaply. The paper is cheap and thick, the ink thick and sometimes blotchy, with that great newspaper smell. If you're looking for a lovely edition of Aristophanes to sit on the mantle with your nice books, this is not.

Book Description

In addition to the morality play, Everyman, this volume contains a selection of fifteenth century biblical pageants: the very best from the cycles of York, Chester, Wakefield, Coventry and "N. town." A translation of the Cornish Death of Pilate rounds out this fascinating collection for admirers of theatre and of medieval literature.

Customer Reviews:

Me, Myself, and Everyman.......2001-08-19

Everyman could be my next door neighbor. Seriously. He could be virtually anyone. This character appears on every television show, every comic strip, and in almost every movie. Why? Because the character "Everyman" IS every man. The trials and tribulations of Everyman are the trials and tribulations of every man. It's that simple. Read this small tome and learn about the human condition. See how man hasn't changed one iota in half a millenium. Scary, huh? --- C.B.

Everyman: A Tale for All Times.......2001-07-15

Everyman transcends all times, every time. Written six hundred years ago, the tale remains as relevant now as it was then. I recommend this for anyone who has ever pondered the human condition and wonders about its future. It's all here at "Everyman."

Interesting! Everyman has everything that we value today........1999-11-05

Everyman may have been writen in the 1400s but its values are very true to the new century. 'Everyman' is a story about Humanity's battle for salvation, and that beauty may lose its luster, your intelligence may fade, and your Five Wits may up and leave you, all you have is your Good Deeds to take with you as a compainion to the grave. If you enjoy English Literature, read this book.

Book Description

The rich tapestry of medieval belief, morality, and manners, shines through this comprehensive anthology of the twenty-four major plays that bridge the dramatic worlds of medieval and Tudor England. Here are the plays that paved the way to the Renaissance and Shakespeare. In John Gassner's extensively annotated collection, the plays regain their timeless appeal and display their truly international character and influence. Medieval and Tudor Drama remains the indispensable chronicle of a dramatic heritage - the classical plays of Hrotsvitha, folk and ritual drama, the passion play, the great mortality play Everyman, the Interlude, Tudor comedies Ralph Roister Doister and Gammer Gurton's Needle, and the most famous of Tudor tragedies, Gorboduc. Mr. Gassner's introductions and notes tell a tale of excellence and evolution too easily forgotten. The texts have been modernized for today's readers and those composed in Latin have been translated into English.

Customer Reviews:

Watch out!.......2006-01-17

Page 359 of my copy of this book is blank.

Average customer rating:

Highly readable, but(t).....?
Overly clever translation that should be avoided.
Pick your translation carefully
Hilarious and Still Relevant
Such an awful book

Lysistrata (Hackett Classics Series)
Aristophanes , and Sarah Ruden
Manufacturer: Hackett Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0872206033

Book Description

This rollicking new translation of Aristophanes' comic masterpiece is rendered in blank verse for dialogue and in lyric meters and free verse for the songs. Appended commentary essays--on ancient warfare, classical Greek rationalism, Athenian women, Athenian democracy and the Athenian festivals--offer lively and informative discussions not only of Aristophanes, but of the broader fifth-century social, political, and cultural context as well.

Customer Reviews:

Highly readable, but(t).....?.......2007-09-17

Neither the creaky and surprisingly prudish anonymous translation published by Dover Thrift Editions nor the profanity-laden, anachronistic but highly readable translation by Sarah Ruden is the perfect classroom edition of Lysistrata. Between the two, I guess I'll start teaching Ruden's version, especially since the footnotes and other apparatus are genuinely scholarly and indicate where liberties are taken.

But is the language Ruden chooses really the modern equivalent of how Aristophanes would have sounded to 5th-Century BCE ears? Visually, the play is inescapably bawdy, but is Aristophanes' dialog really so much the equivalent of today's stand-up comedians who "work blue" and use strings of low-minded profanity instead of clever innuendo to be amusing?

Personally, I prefer the Dudley Fitts translation, which seems to strike just the right balance between high-tone literal and "urban" street-talk. Unfortunately, the Fitts translation seems to be unavailable in an inexpensive, single-title edition. Any chance Dover might get the rights to it and retire their stilted anonymous translation?

[...].

Overly clever translation that should be avoided........2007-09-12

A Classics professor writing a translation of a play? This is obviously a translation meant to be read and not performed, and thus has lost the purpose of Lysistrata, and best to be avoided at all costs. Professor Parker's tortured retelling of this very funny play sucks the humor out in favor of clever witticisms and offensive stereotypes. He has forgotten that this was a play written during the Peloponnesian Wars, and was a direct response to that conflict. If he had not, then why the references to Hamlet and other plays? Are we supposed to follow the story or applaud Parker's precocious re-telling? If you read this play as part of a class and use the anthology "The Living Theatre", do yourself a favor and get another translation.

Pick your translation carefully.......2006-09-16

Having read several different translations of Lysistrata, I can report that the one you select may make all the difference in your opinion of this early comedy. Roche's translation is very vulgar but has good footnotes: get ready for cockney Spartans, however. Jack Lindsay's translation, done in 1925 (included in the Bantam edition of Aristophanes) seems to be overly literary in comparison to the original but lacks notes. It reads well, though sounds a little old-fashioned. The bawdry is present but made less direct; in this one the Spartan dialect is Scottish.

I found Parker's translation to be the least satisfactory. The "hillbilly" dialect he gives the Spartans is painfully overdone,not to mention inaccurate, and the speeches are awkward and pedestrian. An excellent edition overall is Alan H. Sommerstein's in the Penguin Classic "Aristophanes: Lysistrata and Other Plays." The introduction and notes are extremely informative, and the translation itself strikes the right note to represent Aristophanes' style in English. (Once again, though, the Spartans are Scots.)

But perhaps the best choice is Sarah Ruden's 2003 edition. Her dialogue is unusually funny without straying too far from the original. Added value comes from her four very readable essays on Greek democracy, warfare, women, and comedy. It's also printed on quality paper and comes with a great cover!

Hilarious and Still Relevant.......2005-12-31

Last semester, I took a college course on comedic drama. Lysistrata was one of the first plays the class read, and it, the oldest play we read, provided the room of twenty-somethings with our biggest belly-laugh of the semester. That, it seems, attests to the endurance of this theatrical masterpiece.

The plot is outstanding. The country is involved in a needless war that is tearing everyone apart. In response, Lysistrata leads the women in a conspiracy to stop the war. They will lock themselves in the temple and withhold sex from their men until the war stops. The outcome is increasingly hilarious (and bawdy), and profound.

And of course, the play wouldn't still be around if it were simply funny. There are layers of meaning here and, in true comedic fashion, an appeal to a better way of life. The play builds to an appeal to a more spirit-filled, more peaceful, and loving, way of living. It's no wonder that this play is still relevant 2500 years after it was written.

Such an awful book.......2005-07-23

I had to read this book in english class this year and it was absolutely horrid. The jokes weren't funny and the story was just stupid. Also, if you actually like the book, don't buy this edition because it falls apart. The book is about the battle of the sexes and it's stupid, pointless and boring. On top of it, you'll be really confused at times because of the old english. It's not a fun read more like a frustrating read. This is definitely one of my least favorite books of all time.

Divine Fire: Eight Contemporary Plays Inspired by the Greeks

Average customer rating:

Some great plays

Divine Fire: Eight Contemporary Plays Inspired by the Greeks

Manufacturer: Back Stage Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0823088510

Customer Reviews:

Some great plays.......2006-02-08

My favorite play was Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl. I'm not sure if this is out in any other form, but certainly the book is worth buying just to read this play, which has the deftness and economy of a classic Greek text, and the emotional range and subjective depth of a modern classic. She's my favorite author of plays.

English Verse: Volume 1: The Sixteenth Century: Wyatt to Shakespeare (Penguin English Verse)

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English Verse: Volume 1: The Sixteenth Century: Wyatt to Shakespeare (Penguin English Verse)
Various
Manufacturer: Penguin Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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ASIN: 0140861300

Hrotsvit of Gandersheim: A Florilegium of her Works (Library of Medieval Women)

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Hrotsvit of Gandersheim: A Florilegium of her Works (Library of Medieval Women)
Katharina M. Wilson
Manufacturer: D.S.Brewer
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0859914895

Book Description

Hrotsvit of Gandersheim (c.935 - c.975), almost certainly of noble Saxon parentage, was a canoness of the Saxon imperial abbey of Gandersheim, living and working there during its time of greatest material prosperity and cultural and intellectual pre-eminence. Her importance cannot be overestimated: she is the first poet of Saxony; the first known dramatist of Christianity (indeed the first known woman dramatist of any time); and a woman displaying erudition and wit in an essentially patriarchal age, a female author in a literary field dominated by men who insisted on re-evaluating and redrawing the literary depiction of women. Discovered in the late fifteenth century, her extraordinary oeuvre, written in medieval Latin, comprises a wide variety of genres: eight legends, six dramas, and two epics, organised into three books. The present volume contains a selection of Hrotsvit's works in English translation, together with an interpretative essay, critical introduction, and scholarly apparatus.Professor KATHARINA WILSONteaches at the University of Georgia.

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Terence: The Brothers (Classical Texts)

Manufacturer: Aris & Phillips
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0856687235

Three Greek Tragedies: Medea, Antigone, and Agamemnon (Classic Books on Cassette Collection)

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Three Greek Tragedies: Medea, Antigone, and Agamemnon (Classic Books on Cassette Collection)
Flo Gibson
Manufacturer: Audio Book Contractors, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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ASIN: 1556858515

Product Description

"Medea" by Euripides, "Antigone" by Sophocles and "Agamemnon" by Aeschylus. Blood, gore. thrills and chills abound in these plays by three of the greatest Greek authors. Three 90-minute cassettes and one 60.

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