Sophocles: Ajax

Author: Sophocles
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139504657
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1007

Book Description
Sophocles' Ajax describes the fall of a mighty warrior denied the honour which he believed was his due. This edition of the play presents a text and critical apparatus which take full advantage of advances in our understanding of Sophoclean manuscripts and scholarship. The introduction and commentary scrutinise all important aspects of the drama - from detailed analysis of style, language, and metre to consideration of wider issues such as ethics, rhetoric, and characterisation. Notorious dramaturgical problems, including the staging of Ajax's suicide, receive particular attention; so too do questions of literary history, such as the date of the play and Sophocles' creative interaction with previous accounts of the myth. The translation which accompanies the commentary ensures that this edition will be accessible to Hellenists of all levels of experience, as well as to readers with a general interest in the history of drama.

All That You've Seen Here Is God

Author: Sophocles
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 030794977X
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 482

Book Description
These contemporary translations of four Greek tragedies speak across time and connect readers and audiences with universal themes of war, trauma, suffering, and betrayal. Under the direction of Bryan Doerries, they have been performed for tens of thousands of combat veterans, as well as prison and medical personnel around the world. Striking for their immediacy and emotional impact, Doerries brings to life these ancient plays, like no other translations have before.

The Ajax

Author: Sophocles
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Book Description

Aiax

Author: Sophocles
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Ajax (Greek mythology)
Languages : en
Pages : 368

Book Description

The Theater of War

Author: Bryan Doerries
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307949729
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Book Description
For years theater director Bryan Doerries has been producing ancient Greek tragedies for a wide range of at-risk people in society. His is the personal and deeply passionate story of a life devoted to reclaiming the timeless power of an ancient artistic tradition to comfort the afflicted. Doerries leads an innovative public health project—Theater of War—that produces ancient dramas for current and returned soldiers, people in recovery from alcohol and substance abuse, tornado and hurricane survivors, and more. Tracing a path that links the personal to the artistic to the social and back again, Doerries shows us how suffering and healing are part of a timeless process in which dialogue and empathy are inextricably linked. The originality and generosity of Doerries’s work is startling, and The Theater of War—wholly unsentimental, but intensely felt and emotionally engaging—is a humane, knowledgeable, and accessible book that will both inspire and enlighten.

Looking at Ajax

Author: David Stuttard
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
ISBN: 1350072303
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 249

Book Description
Ajax is perhaps the earliest of Sophocles' tragedies, yet the issues at its heart remain profoundly resonant today. Set in the Greek encampment during the siege of Troy, it traces not just the story of a respected war hero's mental breakdown but (like Sophocles' Antigone) the treatment of an enemy's remains and the management of his memory. Pitting the fate of the individual against not just his own community but the cosmic world of the divine, it explores questions of loyalty and power, compassion and control, integrity and political expediency – and ultimately what it is to be human. In Antiquity the fate of Ajax fascinated writers and artists alike. Today it has assumed a new importance with Sophocles' play being used to help treat military veterans suffering from PTSD. This collection of 12 essays by leading academics from across the UK, US and Ireland draws together many of the themes explored in Ajax, from how Sophocles exploits audiences' awareness of mythology and visual arts, to questions of politics and religion, staging and characterization, changing perceptions of the heroic, and the therapeutic use to which the play is put today. The essays are accompanied by David Stuttard's introduction and performer-friendly, accurate and easily accessible English translation.

Our Ajax

Author: Timberlake Wertenbaker
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 0571313477
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 85

Book Description
Torn between army politics and the love of his soldiers on the front line, a legendary leader spirals out of control. Inspired by Sophocles' classical play, Our Ajax draws on interviews with contemporary servicemen and women to create a modern epic of heroism, love and homeland. Timberlake Wertenbaker's Our Ajax premiered at the Southwark Playhouse, London, in November 2014.

Odysseus at Troy

Author: Sophocles
Publisher: Hackett Publishing
ISBN: 1585106518
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Book Description
This book contains translations of three plays:Ajax, Hecuba, and Trojan Women. They are all centered around the mythological theme of the Greek warrior, Odysseus, hero of the Trojan War. All three plays are complete, with notes and introductions, plus an introduction to the volume with background to the story which was one of the most popular themes and one of the most written about Greek hero in Greek literature. Written during a tumultuous age of sophists and demagogues, these three plays (c. 450-425 BCE) bear witness to the gradual degradation of Odysseus’ character. In presenting the unexpected devolution of a renowned mythic figure, the plays examine numerous themes relevant to contemporary American political life: the profound psychological consequences of brought on by the stress of war and why a once proud and noble warrior might commit suicide; and the dehumanizing darkness that descends upon innocent female war-victims when victors use act on false political necessity.

A Companion to Sophocles

Author: Kirk Ormand
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119025532
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 624

Book Description
A Companion to Sophocles presents the first comprehensive collection of essays in decades to address all aspects of the life, works, and critical reception of Sophocles. First collection of its kind to provide introductory essays to the fragments of his lost plays and to the remaining fragments of one satyr-play, the Ichneutae, in addition to each of his extant tragedies Features new essays on Sophoclean drama that go well beyond the current state of scholarship on Sophocles Presents readings that historicize Sophocles in relation to the social, cultural, and intellectual world of fifth century Athens Seeks to place later interpretations and adaptations of Sophocles in their historical context Includes essays dedicated to issues of gender and sexuality; significant moments in the history of interpreting Sophocles; and reception of Sophocles by both ancient and modern playwrights

When Heroes Sing

Author: Sarah Nooter
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139510479
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Book Description
This book examines the lyrical voice of Sophocles' heroes and argues that their identities are grounded in poetic identity and power. It begins by looking at how voice can be distinguished in Greek tragedy and by exploring ways that the language of tragedy was influenced by other kinds of poetry in late fifth-century Athens. In subsequent chapters, Professor Nooter undertakes close readings of Sophocles' plays to show how the voice of each hero is inflected by song and other markers of lyric poetry. She then argues that the heroes' lyrical voices set them apart from their communities and lend them the authority and abilities of poets. Close analysis of the Greek texts is supplemented by translations and discussions of poetic features more generally, such as apostrophe and address. This study offers new insight into the ways that Sophoclean tragedy inherits and refracts the traditions of other poetic genres.