Menander, the most celebrated exponent of Athenian New Comedy, hailed from a prosperous background, likely inheriting his flair for comic drama from his uncle Alexis. His works are renowned for their keen observation of human nature and social dynamics, often delving into themes of love, family, and fate. Through witty dialogue and intricate plots, Menander offered timeless insights into the human condition that continue to resonate. His influence on the evolution of comedy is significant, laying the groundwork for many dramatic conventions that became staples of European theater.
Set in ancient Athens, this nearly complete play from the Athenian New Comedy showcases the talent of Menander, a renowned playwright of his time. Winning first prize at the Lenaia festival, it reflects the comedic style that greatly influenced Roman playwrights like Terence and Plautus, as well as later figures such as Shakespeare and Molière. The work highlights the themes and character dynamics typical of Menander's era, making it a significant piece in the evolution of comedic theater.
For eight centuries after his death Menander was the third most popular poet in the Greek-speaking world, and his plays, through Roman imitations and adaptations, engendered a tradition of European light drama that extends to our own day. But it is only since 1844 that some of the actual texts of Menander's plays have been rediscovered, mostly in Egyptian papyri. Two of these have given us four-fifths of the script of Samia (The Woman from Samos), a play of deception and misunderstanding in which a marriage that everyone desires almost fails to happen, two women and a baby are almost ruined, and a loving father almost loses his only son, because the people at home and the people abroad have both been doing things behind each other's backs - but somehow everything ends happily after all. This is the first full-scale edition with English commentary and is suitable for upper-level students.
The book is a facsimile reprint of a scarce antiquarian work, preserving its historical significance despite potential imperfections like marks and flawed pages. It aims to protect and promote important literature by providing an affordable, high-quality modern edition that remains true to the original text. This dedication to cultural preservation highlights the book's value within the literary community.
Brings together the works of Classical comedy, with two early Greek plays: Aristophanes' Birds, and Menander's The Girl from Samos; and two Roman comic plays: Plautus' The Brothers Menaechmus and Terence's double love-plot, The Eunuch. Together, these four plays demonstrate the development of Classical comedy.
Birds. Frogs. Women in Power. The Woman from Samos. Cyclops. Alkestis
Six wide ranging classic plays with introduction by the editorThe comedies of the Athenian theatre not only lie at the root of Western drama, they also offer a unique insight into everyday life in ancient Greece. This selection of six wide ranging plays includes the comic fantasies of Aristophanes, which combine the ridiculous with serious satirical comment (Birds, Frogs, Women in Power); Menander's The Woman from Samos, a recognisable forebear of today's situation comedy; Euripides ribald satyr play, Cyclops, the only surviving example of the genre, and his Alkestis, a complex romance which gave a new face to comedy.The volume is edited and introduced by J. Michael Walton, Professor of Drama at the University of Hull and founder/director of the Performance Translation Centre there.
This volume provides a Greek text based on careful study of recently discovered papyri, a facing translation and full explanatory notes so the Menander's comic art can now be fully known and enjoyed. schovat popis
Menander (?344/3-292/1 BCE), the dominant figure in New Comedy, wrote over 100 plays, of which one complete play, substantial portions of six others, and smaller but interesting fragments have been recovered. The complete play, Dyskolos (The Peevish Fellow), won first prize in Athens in 317 BCE.
Describes the background of Menander's plays, and provides notes along with new translations of more than fifteen of his plays.
MENANDER (?344/3-292/1 B.C.) of Athens was the leading playright of the 'New Comedy', a type of drama which has influenced the modern 'Comedy of Manners' and (indirectly at least writers as disparate as Oscar Wilde and P.G. Wodehouse. Menander wrote more than 100 plays, but did not become a star until after his death. Many of his comedies were adapted by Roman dramatists. By the middle ages, however, his works were lost, apart from quotations like 'He whom the gods love dies while still a youngster.' Then at the end of the nineteenth century, papyrus texts, preserved from antiquity by the dry heat of Egypt, began to be discovered. These have yielded so far one play virtually complete (Dyskolos), large continuous portions of four more (Aspis, Epitrepontes, Perikeiromene, Samia), and sizable chunks of many others. Menander remains a paradox: artificial plots based on unlikely but conventional coincidences, enlivened by individualised characters, realistic situations and at times deeply moving dialogue. 'Menander and life, which of you imitated the other?'