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faithfulcat111's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dee9401's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent collection of some of the best Greek tragedy. (It's Modern Library, so you know it would be good!
leesmyth's review against another edition
4.0
I got this mostly for the Wilson translations, so I read those first and then started at the beginning and read the rest through. Some of the dialogue is delightfully blunt and funny - I loved the Very Reluctant Guard in Sophocles' Antigone. But overall, I think I liked the Euripides plays best.
rustedtrains's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
sere_rev's review against another edition
4.0
I'm sure these plays would make a very different impression when acted, sung, and chanted on stage. In book form, it is easier to judge some characters as weak, some plot points as strange.
Still, I really enjoyed some of these plays, and I appreciated all the notes, introductory paragraphs, and appendices.
My favorite play in the volume was Euripides' Medea, followed by the Bacchae (also by Euripides). Medea is a very strong, conflicted, and intriguing character ("Let no one think me weak, worthless, or docile"). If you want to read just one play as an introduction to Greek tragedy, I'd go for that.
Still, I really enjoyed some of these plays, and I appreciated all the notes, introductory paragraphs, and appendices.
My favorite play in the volume was Euripides' Medea, followed by the Bacchae (also by Euripides). Medea is a very strong, conflicted, and intriguing character ("Let no one think me weak, worthless, or docile"). If you want to read just one play as an introduction to Greek tragedy, I'd go for that.
checkers09's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The Greek plays consist of sixteen of the most popular and widely known tragedy plays from classical Greece, as well as introductory biographies and context behind each play.
The sixteen plays come from three different tragedians from the 5th century BC Athens, Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus. Their plays represent the interests in Athenian culture and demonstrate how classical Greeks' saw the world and their place in it.
Each play begins with a few pages which go over the origins of the play and the general themes within them. they add important grounding to the story and help in understanding why a particular play was produced at that time. tragedians, much like modern writers or filmmakers, would look at which trends and genres were popular at any given time so they could incorporate them into their plays.
The plays themselves were remarkably similar in their composition and general themes; the vast majority were set in the mythological past, often with a hero as the main protagonist. they also often had a Chorus, which was a staple of 5th-century plays and helped underscore messages in the play and provide moral guidance. hubris is a common theme in many of the plays, with a protagonist often being punished by the gods in some way for a slight they commit against them. Being tragedy plays, they often have a sombre tone and resolve around the fall of the protagonist, either due to an injustice or because of their own actions.
Two of my favourite plays were Persians and Hippolytus. Persians, unlike most tragedies, was set just a few years before the play production in 480 BC after the battle of Salamis. Persians show the aftermath of the battle from the Persian perspective, with Atossa (the mother of Xerxes) lamenting the destruction of the Persian forces and fearing for her son. later on, the ghost of Darius arrives and chastises the Persian leaders for their hubris. Afterwards, Xerxes arrives at the end of the play in a state of panic and despair, having barely escaped. Surprisingly, for an Athenian play on Persia, it does not demonise the Persian people; instead, it humanises them, showing the despair and anguish that would have been felt by the Persian people. the play is composed quite well, with a coherent structure and equal distribution of lines between the main characters. The Chorus, which is often my least favourite aspect of Greek plays, did not interject as often and served more of a logical purpose in the play as representations of Persian elders.
The Chorus is an important aspect of Greek plays, with many of their verses being sung; however, with these plays being in text form and translated from their original Greek, it makes these parts of the plays quite dull and irrelevant.
Hippolytus is more of a traditional play centred around the Myths of Theseus and his son Hippolytus. In this play, Hippolytus is punished by Aphrodite for his chastity and devotion to Artemis. She does this by using a spell on Phaedra (the wife of Theseus), which causes her to have an insatiable lust for Hippolytus. In anguish, Phaedra contemplates suicide until her nurse reassures her, saying that she will speak to Hippolytus. however, things go array when the nurse informs Hippolytus of her stepmother's affection and is disgusted. In shame, Phaedra commits suicide but, worried about her reputation, decides to leave a note accusing Hippolytus of raping her. When Theseus sees this, he asks his father, Poseidon, to destroy his son and banishes him. shortly after Hippolytus suffers an accident and on his deathbed bed, Artemis appears and informs Theseus of Aphrodite's trickery. Theseus forgives his son, and Artemis swears to enact vengeance on Aphrodite for the death of her favourite follower.
I found this play very captivating and thought it had great dialogue between the characters. I felt the complex incentives and morality of each character gave the play an interesting dynamic and allowed for a certain amount of ambiguity as to which character was in the right.
Each tragedian had a series of plays on one particular mythological character. Euripides, for instance, has a series on Oedipus, focusing on a different period in his life, and both of these plays (Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus) are included in the book.
Some plays were a bit less interesting, and many were too farfetched to be taken seriously; most, however, were easy to follow, and I enjoyed reading.
The sixteen plays come from three different tragedians from the 5th century BC Athens, Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus. Their plays represent the interests in Athenian culture and demonstrate how classical Greeks' saw the world and their place in it.
Each play begins with a few pages which go over the origins of the play and the general themes within them. they add important grounding to the story and help in understanding why a particular play was produced at that time. tragedians, much like modern writers or filmmakers, would look at which trends and genres were popular at any given time so they could incorporate them into their plays.
The plays themselves were remarkably similar in their composition and general themes; the vast majority were set in the mythological past, often with a hero as the main protagonist. they also often had a Chorus, which was a staple of 5th-century plays and helped underscore messages in the play and provide moral guidance. hubris is a common theme in many of the plays, with a protagonist often being punished by the gods in some way for a slight they commit against them. Being tragedy plays, they often have a sombre tone and resolve around the fall of the protagonist, either due to an injustice or because of their own actions.
Two of my favourite plays were Persians and Hippolytus. Persians, unlike most tragedies, was set just a few years before the play production in 480 BC after the battle of Salamis. Persians show the aftermath of the battle from the Persian perspective, with Atossa (the mother of Xerxes) lamenting the destruction of the Persian forces and fearing for her son. later on, the ghost of Darius arrives and chastises the Persian leaders for their hubris. Afterwards, Xerxes arrives at the end of the play in a state of panic and despair, having barely escaped. Surprisingly, for an Athenian play on Persia, it does not demonise the Persian people; instead, it humanises them, showing the despair and anguish that would have been felt by the Persian people. the play is composed quite well, with a coherent structure and equal distribution of lines between the main characters. The Chorus, which is often my least favourite aspect of Greek plays, did not interject as often and served more of a logical purpose in the play as representations of Persian elders.
The Chorus is an important aspect of Greek plays, with many of their verses being sung; however, with these plays being in text form and translated from their original Greek, it makes these parts of the plays quite dull and irrelevant.
Hippolytus is more of a traditional play centred around the Myths of Theseus and his son Hippolytus. In this play, Hippolytus is punished by Aphrodite for his chastity and devotion to Artemis. She does this by using a spell on Phaedra (the wife of Theseus), which causes her to have an insatiable lust for Hippolytus. In anguish, Phaedra contemplates suicide until her nurse reassures her, saying that she will speak to Hippolytus. however, things go array when the nurse informs Hippolytus of her stepmother's affection and is disgusted. In shame, Phaedra commits suicide but, worried about her reputation, decides to leave a note accusing Hippolytus of raping her. When Theseus sees this, he asks his father, Poseidon, to destroy his son and banishes him. shortly after Hippolytus suffers an accident and on his deathbed bed, Artemis appears and informs Theseus of Aphrodite's trickery. Theseus forgives his son, and Artemis swears to enact vengeance on Aphrodite for the death of her favourite follower.
I found this play very captivating and thought it had great dialogue between the characters. I felt the complex incentives and morality of each character gave the play an interesting dynamic and allowed for a certain amount of ambiguity as to which character was in the right.
Each tragedian had a series of plays on one particular mythological character. Euripides, for instance, has a series on Oedipus, focusing on a different period in his life, and both of these plays (Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus) are included in the book.
Some plays were a bit less interesting, and many were too farfetched to be taken seriously; most, however, were easy to follow, and I enjoyed reading.
seolhe's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
poetpenelopee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0