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Reviews
The Complete Sophocles: Volume I: The Theban Plays by Sophocles, Peter H. Burian, Alan Shapiro
sjbozich's review against another edition
5.0
Hackett is my go-to publisher for Greek plays. Meineck and Woodruff are often involved. I started using another edition for "Antigone", and found myself coming back to this edition.
Great use of modern language, yet keeping the flow of the Greek text (no, I do not read ancient Greek).
Great Intro, Notes and Bibliography (one for Students, one for Scholars!).
Yes, "Colonus" does go on and on. But really, "Antigone" even more so - thought it would never end! OTOH, I would like to send a copy of "A" to every Republican politician - with the reminder that Creon is not the Good Guy!
And yes, "Oedipus Tyrannus" should be read now and then, just as a reminder what Freud is writing about.
Also nice that they provide a thumbnail of Hegel on "Antigone".
I have not read the Greek tragedies in decades, but I do need a break now after reading these 3 in a row. I did read them in order of events, rather than in order of when Sophocles wrote them ("Antigone" ends the cycle, but was the first written and performed).
Yes, I am doing a Theban play reading - a few more, and a few more various editons/translations to go.
Great use of modern language, yet keeping the flow of the Greek text (no, I do not read ancient Greek).
Great Intro, Notes and Bibliography (one for Students, one for Scholars!).
Yes, "Colonus" does go on and on. But really, "Antigone" even more so - thought it would never end! OTOH, I would like to send a copy of "A" to every Republican politician - with the reminder that Creon is not the Good Guy!
And yes, "Oedipus Tyrannus" should be read now and then, just as a reminder what Freud is writing about.
Also nice that they provide a thumbnail of Hegel on "Antigone".
I have not read the Greek tragedies in decades, but I do need a break now after reading these 3 in a row. I did read them in order of events, rather than in order of when Sophocles wrote them ("Antigone" ends the cycle, but was the first written and performed).
Yes, I am doing a Theban play reading - a few more, and a few more various editons/translations to go.
gonza_basta's review against another edition
5.0
Come al solito, di fronte a tre capolavori che non sono autorizzata - in quanto culturalmente inadeguata - a commentare e tanto meno a criticare, l'unica cosa che mi sento di fare è metterli in fila da quello che mi è piaciuto di più - l'Edipo re - a quello che mi è piaciuto di meno e cioè Edipo a Colono.
faymus1985's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mayajoelle's review against another edition
4.0
I have no idea what translation I read of these but I remember liking them very much. They're disturbing (but what ancient Greek literature isn't, pray tell?) and compelling. I especially loved the prophecy element.
lackritzj's review against another edition
I preferred this translation over the one by F. Storr because it is modern and more readable for me.
Sophocles' "older contemporary Aeschylus was credited by Aristotle with having been the first dramatic poet to use a second actor. The dramaturgy thought not the poetry of Sophocles therefore emerged immediately from what we should call the archaic. We may justly admire the extent of its emergence. The Greek drama as Sophocles found it stood to previous Greek entertainment somewhat as the movies of our century stand to the art of the stage. His work might perhaps be compared with that of the director Eisenstein for he mastered and intelligently extended a new medium." p. 171
Sophocles' "older contemporary Aeschylus was credited by Aristotle with having been the first dramatic poet to use a second actor. The dramaturgy thought not the poetry of Sophocles therefore emerged immediately from what we should call the archaic. We may justly admire the extent of its emergence. The Greek drama as Sophocles found it stood to previous Greek entertainment somewhat as the movies of our century stand to the art of the stage. His work might perhaps be compared with that of the director Eisenstein for he mastered and intelligently extended a new medium." p. 171
spookypete's review against another edition
4.0
Written by famous Greek playwright Sophocles thousands of years ago (yes, thousands!), these three translated plays stand the test of time and remain classic stories. You know that story about the Sphinx who gave that riddle, what walks on four legs in the morning, two in the day, and three in the afternoon, well, these plays are centred around the man who solved that riddle and saved the city of Thebes. Also, these are full of incest. This is both a trilogy and not really a trilogy. They're all connected, with some recurring characters, and reference to each other, but their stories are wholly separate beasts. The three plays include, in order of when they were first written, Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus. However, in the timeline, Antigone is the last in the story. I'll review each of these separately below.
Antigone: a civil war has just ended, and two brothers, on opposing sides, have killed each other. One a king, the other a traitor. The new king of Thebes, their uncle Creon, rules with an iron fist. The brother who fought for Thebes is given a proper burial, while the traitor is simply left on the ground to be eaten by the elements. The brother's sister, Antigone, gives a proper burial to the traitor in secret, despite her uncle's law. When Creon finds out, all goes to crap. So, the first of the plays written, but the last in the timeline, Antigone is the play I have to study for school. Yes, I had to buy this collection for school studies, and only required to read Antigone. However, I liked this enough to read the rest. First of all, this should have been called Creon, for he is kinda the main character, and he's also my favourite character, being the onku one to appear in all three plays. The plotting is tight and full of moral dilemmas and themes. Basically what you'd expect from a couple thousand year old classic.
Oedipus the King: the first in the timeline, and the most famous. Oedipus, having defeated the Sphinx and saved Thebes, had been given the title of king, since the previous king was murdered, and married the old king's widow, Jocasta. Things are well for several years. Until, a plague strikes the city, and a prophet reveals that only the exiling of the old king's murder can end the plague. Oedipus then acts as detective to try and find the old murderer. But, an old prophecy, a horrible prophecy, he heard when he was younger rises up again, and soon everything falls apart. This is the best of the three. The prose is so strong, almost everything Oedipus says hides a darker meaning, or foreshadowing (unknowing to him, who is well meaning). It moves at a breakneck pace. Even though I knew the outcome of the story beforehand, it was still an exhilarating read. Also, a younger Crean is here, being his usual good-evil.
Oedipus at Colonus - yeah, I won't give away any plot details on this one. Gives everything away from Oedipus the King. Not as exciting at the previous one, this is mostly philosophical and thematic. Still good.
Antigone: a civil war has just ended, and two brothers, on opposing sides, have killed each other. One a king, the other a traitor. The new king of Thebes, their uncle Creon, rules with an iron fist. The brother who fought for Thebes is given a proper burial, while the traitor is simply left on the ground to be eaten by the elements. The brother's sister, Antigone, gives a proper burial to the traitor in secret, despite her uncle's law. When Creon finds out, all goes to crap. So, the first of the plays written, but the last in the timeline, Antigone is the play I have to study for school. Yes, I had to buy this collection for school studies, and only required to read Antigone. However, I liked this enough to read the rest. First of all, this should have been called Creon, for he is kinda the main character, and he's also my favourite character, being the onku one to appear in all three plays. The plotting is tight and full of moral dilemmas and themes. Basically what you'd expect from a couple thousand year old classic.
Oedipus the King: the first in the timeline, and the most famous. Oedipus, having defeated the Sphinx and saved Thebes, had been given the title of king, since the previous king was murdered, and married the old king's widow, Jocasta. Things are well for several years. Until, a plague strikes the city, and a prophet reveals that only the exiling of the old king's murder can end the plague. Oedipus then acts as detective to try and find the old murderer. But, an old prophecy, a horrible prophecy, he heard when he was younger rises up again, and soon everything falls apart. This is the best of the three. The prose is so strong, almost everything Oedipus says hides a darker meaning, or foreshadowing (unknowing to him, who is well meaning). It moves at a breakneck pace. Even though I knew the outcome of the story beforehand, it was still an exhilarating read. Also, a younger Crean is here, being his usual good-evil.
Oedipus at Colonus - yeah, I won't give away any plot details on this one. Gives everything away from Oedipus the King. Not as exciting at the previous one, this is mostly philosophical and thematic. Still good.
filmnvinyl's review against another edition
5.0
I read this about 4 years ago for one of my english classes. I reread Oedipus Rex and Antigone this year to learn some monologues. It is still a fantastic read if you love classical Greek drama.