Reviews

Well, this was a very interesting translation of a Greek tragedy. And it didn’t remotely feel like a tragedy. Honestly, those people got what they deserved. How could you not worship Dionysus? He had every right to fuck with these people that didn’t respect him. He’s literally the god of wine, what more could you possibly want?

Okay, but seriously. These characters are such horrible beings regarding their attitude towards gods, that they deserved what they got in the end. I mean, apparently the women didn’t worship Dionysus or something so he drove them all mad and they were doing god knows what in the mountains. Well, at least it included killing the men that were spying on them. I love how Agave just kills her own son in the end and Dionysus is like “well, you deserve it… and by the way, I will punish you even more because being traumatized by killing your own son”. The nerve.

Also, Pentheus was a jerk the whole way through so I don’t mind him dying. He literally tried to put Dionysus in jail, thinking it will hold him. This dude is literally a god! How the hell did you think that some stupid chains were going to hold him down? He can literally shapeshift if he wants to. Plus, he thought that he will be okay if he goes to see the women dressed up as a woman. Sorry, but it can’t hide the fact that you’re an arrogant little man.

Overall, this is a very entertaining tragedy with quotes about wine that I might use on a daily basis from now on. Anyway, it was cute and interesting but in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t offer much. I’m giving it 3 stars but despite that, it was very enjoyable.

sjov's review

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5.0

"Grandfather, you look like a lampshade" is the most memorable thing Pentheus has said in any translation of the Bacchae. Carson's original poem at the beginning is wonderful, and her balance of the comic and the horrific in the script is amazing. That said, I'm glad I read Grene and Lattimore's stricter translation before I read this one.

es_biomed's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

my first greek play and im actually stunned, like im stareing at at a white wall after this. Very florence and the machine "lungs" core.

Content Warnings

mimissyouuu's review

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4.0

dionysus go crazyyyy bro

rhaegals's review against another edition

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3.0

You’re the type of person who listens
yet you do not hear.
You’ve used me badly
yet I warn you,
don’t take up arms against a god.

dolphinpoetry's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective slow-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

4.5

notbambi's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I'm not a classics scholar. I found this to be a very readable translation for a general audience like me. There were some translation choices that sort of took me out of it, like a point where Dionysus talks about there being no word for this English.

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