Antigone: A New Translation - Softcover

Sophocles

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062132121 ISBN 13: 9780062132123

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2012

Synopsis

Among the most celebrated plays of ancient Athens, Antigone is one of the seven surviving dramas by the great Greek playwright, Sophocles, now available from Harper Perennial in a vivid and dynamic new translation by award-winning poet Robert Bagg. Powerfully portraying the clash between civic and familial duty—between morality and obedience—the play brings the Oedipus Cycle to a conclusion with the story of the tragic hero's eldest daughter Antigone, who courts her own death by defying the edict of Thebes's new ruler, her uncle Kreon, which forbids giving her dishonored brother a proper burial. This is Sophocles, vibrant and alive, for a new generation.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Sophocles' masterpiece Antigone dramatizes the terrible series of events that results when patriotism clashes with familial duty—and hubris incites the wrath of the gods.

The sons of Oedipus have killed each other on the battlefield, but Thebes' new ruler, their uncle Kreon, decrees that only Eteokles will be granted a hero's burial; Polyneikes, who attacked his own city, is left to rot in dishonor. Their sister Antigone, enraged by the king's heartlessness, defies him by burying Polyneikes' body herself. That decision dooms her, and the consequences destroy Kreon's wife and son. A play that begins with a woman's defiance of a tyrant ends in the havoc caused by Eros, the god of love. A drama abounding with moral conundrums, Antigone is presented in an extraordinary new translation by Robert Bagg, modern in idiom while faithful to the original Greek. Ideally suited for reading, teaching, or performing, this is Sophocles for a new generation to discover and admire.

About the Author:

Robert Bagg is a recipient of the Prix de Rome for poetry and is author of critical studies of Sappho and Catallus.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0062132121
• ISBN 13: 9780062132123
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 120