Euripides Our Contemporary

by J. Michael Walton

Overview

'In this masterful reevaluation of Euripides, Michael Walton recasts the playwright in light of his resonance for today's translators and directors. Springing from the rehearsal room rather than the page, Walton shows us not only why we are ready for Euripides, but why we so desperately need him.' Mary Louise Hart, Associate Curator of Antiquities, J. Paul Getty Museum

'A useful, reader-friendly introduction aimed at non-specialists, [it] offers detailed summaries of Euripides' plays, along with keen observations on their relevance for today's theater.' Rush Rehm, author of Radical Theatre

Euripides Our Contemporary is a major new study of the work of the great classical tragedian that illuminates his work and demonstrates both its vitality and how it continues to speak to us today. Taking a thematic approach to Euripides' plays it provides the reader with a wide-ranging and thorough appreciation of the writer's entire canon. For students, teachers and practitioners this is the best single-volume treatment of the writer's work, considering the plays for their accessibility and for their focus on issues and concerns which are as significant as ever in the modern world.

Divided into three sections, the book first examines 'Domesticating Tragedy', the manner in which Euripides gave the world of myth an application to ordinary life. The second section tackles the 'Grand Passions': characters under extraordinary pressure and the extent to which personal responsibility can be absolved through various aspects of circumstance. The third looks at the nature of Euripides' theatre and his acknowledgment of it, the great roles and the playwrights of the last hundred years whose craft seems most influenced by his work. An Appendix at the end of the book provides a short summary of the plots of all nineteen plays.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781408143933
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	08/20/2009
Series:	Plays and Playwrights
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	17 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

J. Michael Walton has published and/or edited seven books on classical theatre history and has nine translations of Euripides plays in print, many on the Methuen Drama list. He was professor of Drama at Hull University for many years.
J. Michael Walton has published and edited seven books on classical theatre history and has nine translations of Euripides plays in print, many on the Methuen Drama list. He is Emeritus Professor of Drama at the University of Hull where he taught from 1965 to 2002. While there he directed numerous plays and taught courses in Classical Theatre, Masks and Puppets, Russian Theatre, American Theatre, Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Theatre, Directing and Acting.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

I Domesticating Tragedy

1 Playmaker and Image-Breaker 11

2 The Family Saga: Phoenician Women, Bacchae, Iphigeneia at Aulis 29

3 Women and Men: Alcestis, Medea, Hippolytus 44

4 The Comic Touch: Cyclops, Ion, Orestes, Electra, Bacchae, Children of Heracles, Helen 62

II Powerful Forces: The Grand Passions

5 War and the Military: Rhesus, Trojan Women, Suppliants, Iphigeneia at Aulis 81

6 Revenge: Electra, Hecuba, Children of Heracles, Andromache, Medea 97

7 Immortals and Mortals: Alcestis, Iphigeneia Among the Taurians, Electra, Rhesus, Ion, Hippolytus, Bacchae 115

8 Sanity, Madness and Responsibility: Orestes, Heracles, Bacchae, Electra 131

III Theatre Theatrical

9 Playing the Game: Illusion and Reality: Hecuba, Suppliants, Ion, Rhesus, Helen, Bacchae 151

10 Great Roles: Medea, Alcestis, Heracles, Hippolytus, Iphigeneia at Aulis, Hecuba, Electra, Helen, Bacchae 168

11 Heirs to the Legacy: Shaw, Strindberg, Brecht, Pirandello, Anouilh, Sondheim, Frisch 192

Appendix: A plot summary of all nineteen surviving plays 213

Select Bibliography 235

Index 245

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"[A] stimulating and enjoyable work."—Bryn Mawr Classical Review (Bmcr)

"[Walton's] easy familiarity with the material and his enthusiasm for the theatrical possibilities that Euripides continues to offer are infectious."—Comparative Drama

Editorial Reviews

[Walton’s] easy familiarity with the material and his enthusiasm for the theatrical possibilities that Euripides continues to offer are infectious.

Comparative Drama

[A] stimulating and enjoyable work.

Bryn Mawr Classical Review (BMCR)