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Six Tragedies (Oxford World's Classics) by Seneca (14-Jan-2010) Paperback
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Seneca
2,718 books3,914 followersLucius Annaeus Seneca (often known simply as Seneca or Seneca the Younger); ca. 4 BC – 65 AD) was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, and dramatist of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero, who later forced him to commit suicide for alleged complicity in the Pisonian conspiracy to have him assassinated.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 19, 2024
Holy Cow Batman!? Can you think of a more grim way to experience theater?
Seneca is generally known as a Stoic philosopher in the 1st Century AD. Here Emily Wilson provides translations for six of his tragedies: Phaedra, Oedipus, Medea, Trojan Women, Hercules Furens, Thyestes. The plays are among the darkest and bleakest that I have ever read.
Seneca basis his plays usually off of earlier myths and legends. Oedipus many know from Sophocles, Medea is almost a tragic sequel of Jason and the Argonauts; Trojan Woman builds off the end of the Iliad, etc. In these, Seneca almost seems that he wants to expand or correct on the earlier work. The Illiad should not be viewed as a heroic epic, but only as a prequel to more horror. The same is true the Jason and Medea.
Horror after horror haunts these pages. In them, Seneca demonstrates how fate and morality interplay with each other. Oedipus, seeking to avoid his fate is unable to; Jason trying to put his city first winds up losing everything. What is the meaning and the purpose of any of the actions we go through every day? Can we truly become noble, or is that an illusion? These plays help us take a look at ourselves and, because they are so uncompromising, make us challenge ourselves.
Emily Wilson's translation is superb. It is easy to read, easy to comprehend. She has extensive notes and a wonderful introduction.
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
Grade: A
Seneca is generally known as a Stoic philosopher in the 1st Century AD. Here Emily Wilson provides translations for six of his tragedies: Phaedra, Oedipus, Medea, Trojan Women, Hercules Furens, Thyestes. The plays are among the darkest and bleakest that I have ever read.
Seneca basis his plays usually off of earlier myths and legends. Oedipus many know from Sophocles, Medea is almost a tragic sequel of Jason and the Argonauts; Trojan Woman builds off the end of the Iliad, etc. In these, Seneca almost seems that he wants to expand or correct on the earlier work. The Illiad should not be viewed as a heroic epic, but only as a prequel to more horror. The same is true the Jason and Medea.
Horror after horror haunts these pages. In them, Seneca demonstrates how fate and morality interplay with each other. Oedipus, seeking to avoid his fate is unable to; Jason trying to put his city first winds up losing everything. What is the meaning and the purpose of any of the actions we go through every day? Can we truly become noble, or is that an illusion? These plays help us take a look at ourselves and, because they are so uncompromising, make us challenge ourselves.
Emily Wilson's translation is superb. It is easy to read, easy to comprehend. She has extensive notes and a wonderful introduction.
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
Grade: A
May 18, 2024
Lively translations that depict the depravity and horror of Seneca's plays. Seneca owes a heavy debt to Euripides and his plays are generally not as good as their Euripidean forbears, but they are still a pleasure to read in this translation.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews