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An Introduction to Greek Tragedy 1st edition by Scodel, Ruth (2010) Paperback
This book provides a brief, accessible introduction to Greek tragedy for students & general readers alike. Whether readers are studying Greek culture, performing a Greek tragedy or simply interested in reading a Greek play, this book will help them to understand & enjoy this challenging & rewarding genre. An Introduction to Greek Tragedy provides background information; helps readers appreciate, enjoy & engage with the plays themselves; & gives them an idea of the important questions in current scholarship on tragedy. Ruth Scodel seeks to dispel misleading assumptions about tragedy, stressing how open the plays are to different interpretations & reactions. In addition to general background, the book also includes chapters on specific plays, both the most familiar titles & some lesser-known plays--Persians, Helen & Orestes--in order to convey the variety that the tragedies offer readersPrefaceDefining tragedy Approaches Origin, festival & competitionHistorical & intellectual background"Persians" The "Oresteia""Antigone""Medea" "Hippolytus" "Oedipus the King""Helen" "Orestes"Tragic momentsGlossaryDatesWorks CitedIndex
- GenresAcademicNonfictionDrama
Unknown Binding
First published July 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 9, 2013
Ugh, this is one of the driest, most dispassionate texts I've ever had the misfortune of reading. Its so boring I can hardly get through 5 pages before dozing off. Too bad I'm actually trying to learn from it and not just using it as an insomnia cure...
August 31, 2016
One of the best books I've read on the subject of Greek tragedy.
November 28, 2020
Como siempre, leer sobre estos temas es uno de mis fuertes. Pero los diferentes elementos analizados y de la forma en que lo hace la autora me pareció increíble y me hizo releer la obra de Medea aproximadamente 3 veces para ir rastreando lo que ella nos dice.
July 27, 2014
Ruth Scodel's Introduction is, while appropriately accessible, unsatisfying, leaving the reader with the sense that the whole of it and some of its parts are incomplete.
The first part, “Defining Tragedy,” is the best, the author addressing the misconceptions engendered by the common schoolhouse juxtaposition of Aristotle's On Poetry with such exemplars of his generalizations as Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. While the philosopher, a compulsive organizer and definer of things, claims that tragedies require dramatic unity and noble, yet flawed, protagonists out of whose characters stem, by “probability and necessity,” unhappy, yet wholesomely cathartic, effects, Scodel successfully demonstrates by many examples that none of these factors obtain in all instances of the genre. Not only do some tragedies have multiple protagonists, multiple settings, but a number even have happy endings. Beyond this, however, Scodel neither offers a clear alternative definition of her own, nor does she adduce any of the other attempts at definition which have been proffered since Aristotle, ancient or modern. Instead, she suggests that the Greek tragedies relate to one another by way of what Wittgenstein termed “family resemblances,” held together as an apparent unity much as a rope consists of multiple strands, none of which span the whole.
Following the “definition” of tragedy Scodel essays some things about its origins and social role. Here again one is not satisfied, but it may not be entirely her fault. The origins of the “satyr play” (the meaning of “tragedy”) are uncertain, the ancient sources meagre and sometimes themselves demonstrably mistaken. Still, one is disappointed that she does not explore or even much describe such satyr plays as they existed in their developed form as accompanying what we think of as Greek tragedies proper.
What Scodel does do in her book it to give expositions of individual plays. Indeed, this constitutes almost three-quarters of the text. These expositions range from Aeschylus' Oresteia and Persians through Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and Antigone to Euripides' Media, Hippolytus, Helen and Orestes. All are compared and contrasted, with one another, with other plays and with Aristotle's simplifying descriptions. Although a reader should be familiar with at least some of the three dramatists' works to benefit from this book, Scodel provides enough exposition of each play discussed to carry those not versed in all of them.
Concluding notes to each section and a final chapter, “Tragic Moments,” introduce readers to much of the range of artistic and scholarly interpretation of both the individual dramas treated and classical Greek tragedy as a whole, including some discussion of the later history of the genre. Suggestions for further reading are also provided, with caveats as regards levels of difficulty.
Again, while this book is, as regards difficulty, suitable to beginners, it is in no wise complete enough to satisfy anyone seeking a full survey of the extant literature. Instead of presenting a full meal, Scodel provides appetizers.
The first part, “Defining Tragedy,” is the best, the author addressing the misconceptions engendered by the common schoolhouse juxtaposition of Aristotle's On Poetry with such exemplars of his generalizations as Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. While the philosopher, a compulsive organizer and definer of things, claims that tragedies require dramatic unity and noble, yet flawed, protagonists out of whose characters stem, by “probability and necessity,” unhappy, yet wholesomely cathartic, effects, Scodel successfully demonstrates by many examples that none of these factors obtain in all instances of the genre. Not only do some tragedies have multiple protagonists, multiple settings, but a number even have happy endings. Beyond this, however, Scodel neither offers a clear alternative definition of her own, nor does she adduce any of the other attempts at definition which have been proffered since Aristotle, ancient or modern. Instead, she suggests that the Greek tragedies relate to one another by way of what Wittgenstein termed “family resemblances,” held together as an apparent unity much as a rope consists of multiple strands, none of which span the whole.
Following the “definition” of tragedy Scodel essays some things about its origins and social role. Here again one is not satisfied, but it may not be entirely her fault. The origins of the “satyr play” (the meaning of “tragedy”) are uncertain, the ancient sources meagre and sometimes themselves demonstrably mistaken. Still, one is disappointed that she does not explore or even much describe such satyr plays as they existed in their developed form as accompanying what we think of as Greek tragedies proper.
What Scodel does do in her book it to give expositions of individual plays. Indeed, this constitutes almost three-quarters of the text. These expositions range from Aeschylus' Oresteia and Persians through Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and Antigone to Euripides' Media, Hippolytus, Helen and Orestes. All are compared and contrasted, with one another, with other plays and with Aristotle's simplifying descriptions. Although a reader should be familiar with at least some of the three dramatists' works to benefit from this book, Scodel provides enough exposition of each play discussed to carry those not versed in all of them.
Concluding notes to each section and a final chapter, “Tragic Moments,” introduce readers to much of the range of artistic and scholarly interpretation of both the individual dramas treated and classical Greek tragedy as a whole, including some discussion of the later history of the genre. Suggestions for further reading are also provided, with caveats as regards levels of difficulty.
Again, while this book is, as regards difficulty, suitable to beginners, it is in no wise complete enough to satisfy anyone seeking a full survey of the extant literature. Instead of presenting a full meal, Scodel provides appetizers.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews