The Bacchae of Euripides

by C. K. Williams, Martha Nussbaum (Introduction)

Overview

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet C.K. Williams presents this fluent and accessible version of the Athenian playwright Euripides's great tragedy.

Based on the Greek myth of the god Dionysus's punishment of King Pentheus and his mother Agave, Williams' The Bacchae of Euripides is a unique interpretation of one of the most celebrated plays in the history of dramatic theater.

With an Introduction by Martha Nussbaum, award-winning author of The Fragility of Goodness: Luck and Ethics in Greek Tragedy and Philosophy

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374522063
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	08/23/1990
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.33(d)

About the Author

C. K. Williams (1936–2015) published twenty-two books of poetry including, Flesh and Blood, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award; Repair, which won the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry; and The Singing, winner of the National Book Award. Williams was awarded the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize in 2005. He wrote a critical study, On Whitman; a memoir, Misgivings; and two books of essays, Poetry and Consciousness and In Time: Poets, Poems, and the Rest.

Editorial Reviews

Williams's fine translation of The Bacchae achieves something of what Longinus (in On The Sublime) admires in Euripides, 'sobriety in the midst of the Bacchic revels.' Williams convinces us of Dionysus' power to make a man slip into madness, but in language that never forgets its form and control. Martha Nussbaum's subtle, wide-ranging, and well-informed introduction does justice to the disturbing, transgressive energy of the play. It is an excellent study of the psychological, religious, and moral issues that Euripides raises.” —Charles Segal, Princeton University

“This new version of The Bacchae should allow English readers to appreciate some of the rich qualities of Euripides' masterpiece. C. K. Williams handles the spoken poetry of the original in a flexible verse that encompasses a wide range of tone. His treatment of the lyrics uses a rhythmically bold form whose accents would particularly lend themselves to effective choral acting. The translation is accompanied by a striking essays from Martha Nussbaum, who offers both a well-shaped approach to the play for new readers and many challenging thoughts for those seeking to deepen their appreciation of the work.” —Stephen Halliwell, University of Birmingham

“Williams has done a fine version of The Bacchae in vigorous, plain language, and I think that the beautifully rendered choruses, if distributed in the manner he envisions, would have great power in performance.” —Richard Wilbur

From the Publisher

Martha Nussbaum's excellent introductory discussion of how Euripides examines Greek ideas about moral virtue, together with her well-selected bibliography on Dionysius and studies of The Bacchae, make this work a worthwhile purchase. There are still problems with the text, however. Noted poet Williams's translation of the choruses is clearly designed for the stage, containing repetitive lines that allow one actor to pick up and carry on the thought of another. Yet, as the inclusion of Nussbaum's scholarly essay indicates, the book attempts to serve two different audiences whose needs cannot be adequately fulfilled by a single volume. Ultimately, the essay provides a good beginning for analysis while the repetition of the choruses, which are quite striking when read aloud, makes the reader struggle to move forward in the text.-- Marjorie F. MacKenzie, GSLIS, Univ. of Washington, Seattle

Library Journal