Overview

The first revenge drama, the first great female role, the first tragedy set on the cusp between public space and private household, the first part of the only surviving tragic trilogy—the foundational status of Aeschylus’ monumental Agamemnon cannot be over-estimated. Agamemnon’s entry on a chariot, arrogant passage over purple carpets, death in the bath and display as a corpse, along with the inspired prophetess, his war booty Cassandra, make this tragedy visually electrifying; the poetry, especially in Clytemnestra’s orations and the choral odes, in magniloquence and vivid imagery surpasses anything in classical literature. This new edition, with Greek text, critical introduction, accessible translation and detailed commentary gives consistent support in construing the ancient Greek and appreciating the aural power of Aeschylus’ language and rhythms. It draws on cutting-edge scholarship to provide unprecedented illumination of sociological and performative aspects of his play: the chorus’ struggle to maintain representation for ordinary Argives, the different responses of Clytemnestra and Cassandra to the inequities imposed on them by patriarchy, the sensory experience of poetry imbued with prompts to taste, smell, touch and hearing as well as vision, the challenges and opportunities presented by the text to directors and actors both ancient and modern, and the thrilling control of the tragic medium by its undisputed founding father.

Full Product Details

Author:   Edith Hall (Professor of Classics, Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Durham (United Kingdom))
Publisher:   Liverpool University Press
Imprint:   Liverpool University Press
ISBN:  

9781800856288

ISBN 10:   1800856288
Pages:   560
Publication Date:   28 October 2024
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1 A Play about Pain 2 Political and Historical Context 3 The Argive Constitution in Agamemnon 4 Plot, Temporality and Structure 5 Characters 5.i The Watchman 5.ii The Chorus 5.iii Clytemnestra 5.iv The Herald 5.v Agamemnon 5.vi Cassandra 5.vii Aegisthus 6 Religion 6.i Gods 6.ii Ritual Performed and Evoked 6.iii The Erinyes and the Family Curse 7 Sensory Theatre 8 Imagery and Spectacle 8.i Verbalisation to Visualisation 8.ii Legal Language 8.iii Mammalian Reproduction 8.iv More Fauna 8.v The House 9 Soundscapes, Voices, Vocality 10 Style and Language 11 Sources and Antecedents 12 The Afterlife and Influence of Agamemnon in Antiquity 13 Reception from the Renaissance to the 21st Century 14 Texts and Commentaries 15 Conclusion Greek Text and English Translation Commentary Metrical Appendix Abbreviations and Bibliography Index

Reviews

Author Information

Edith Hall FBA, Professor of Classics at Durham University, has previously taught at Oxford, Cambridge, Reading, London, Leiden and Northwestern Universities. She has published more than thirty books and is co-leader of the campaign Advocating Classics Education. She regularly broadcasts on television and BBC Radio and acts as consultant to professional theatre companies.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Countries Available

All regions