Greek tragedy is widely read and performed, but outside the commentary tradition detailed study of the poetic style and language of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides has been relatively neglected. This book seeks to fill that gap by providing an account of the poetics of the tragic genre. The author describes the varied handling of spoken dialogue and of lyric song; major topics such as vocabulary, rhetoric, and imagery are considered in detail and illustrated from a broad range of plays. The contribution of the chorus to the dramas is also discussed. Characterization, irony and generalizing statements are treated in separate chapters and these topics are illuminated by comparisons which show not only what is shared by the three major dramatists but also what distinguishes their practice. The book sheds light both on the genre as a whole and on many particular passages.

Product Description: This is a revised and updated version of the survey on Homer which the author originally published in 1996. It provides a wide variety of readers with a clear and detailed introduction to the Iliad and the Odyssey, and to the problems which arise in dating, contextualising and interpreting these two epics, which are among the earliest poetic texts to come down to us from the ancient Greek world...read more

Product Description: A. S. L. Farquharson's translation was originally published in 1944, as part of a major commentary on Marcus Aurelius' work. In this volume, Farquharson's work is brought up to date and supplied with an introduction and notes for the student and general reader...read more

In the Symposium, the ancient Greek philosopher shares thoughts on the nature of love, while in Phaedrus, he explores the role of eloquence in expounding truth, in a new translation of two of Plato's acclaimed philosophical dialogues. (view table of contents)

Provides translations of five Greek dramas by Euripides. (view table of contents)

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Product Description: This study is designed to make the Meditations more accessible to the modern reader. Rutherford carefully explains the historical and philosophical background, charts the main themes and tendencies of Marcus's thought, and relates stylistic detail to the intellectual and moral outlook of the author...read more