Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by saareman
An Oresteia by Euripides, Aeschylus, Sophocles
4.0
Anne Carson's Oresteia
Review of the Faber & Faber (2009) hardcover edition
Although this edition is primarily credited to Aeschylus (or Aiskhylos, in the pronunciation friendly spelling provided by Carson) it properly belongs to Anne Carson herself. This is not "The Oresteia" of Aiskhylos but is instead "An Oresteia" created by anthologizing the primary play of the original trilogy with Sophokles "Elektra" and Euripides "Orestes". It thus tells the same story but with the additional slant of later historical perspective.
As detailed in the introduction, Carson completed her trilogy at the request of Brian Kulick of New York City's Classic Stage Company who convinced her that:
Carson's translation takes a few unorthodox steps. She leaves the Greek laments and cries of woe in the original. So instead of standard clichés such as "Oh woe is me," you see expressions of "OIMOI" which may lend themselves to more exaggerated shrieks of despair and desolation by the actors. She also injects passages of 21st century expression in the translation, which may themselves seem dated in later readings. For instance, describing Helen of Troy as a "weapon of mass destruction" seems to place the translation in a certain era of the news cycle to present-day ears. Still, all in all, this was a refreshing and exciting view of one of our earliest epic tragedy trilogies.
Review of the Faber & Faber (2009) hardcover edition
Although this edition is primarily credited to Aeschylus (or Aiskhylos, in the pronunciation friendly spelling provided by Carson) it properly belongs to Anne Carson herself. This is not "The Oresteia" of Aiskhylos but is instead "An Oresteia" created by anthologizing the primary play of the original trilogy with Sophokles "Elektra" and Euripides "Orestes". It thus tells the same story but with the additional slant of later historical perspective.
As detailed in the introduction, Carson completed her trilogy at the request of Brian Kulick of New York City's Classic Stage Company who convinced her that:
In Aiskhylos’ hands the story of the house of Atreus is designed to end in a valedictory celebration of Athenian democracy and its newborn sense of justice; when Sophokles takes over the tale it becomes more complex and contradictory; with Euripides the design is completely turned on its head. We follow a trajectory from myth to mockery. What happened to effect this? History happened. Aiskhylos composed his Oresteia shortly after Athens’ victory at the battle of Marathon which marked the height of Athenian military and cultural supremacy; Euripides finished his Orestes almost a hundred years later as Athens headed for ruin due to her protracted involvement in the Peloponnesian War.… The house of Atreus, for these tragedians, was a way of talking about the fate of Athens.
Carson's translation takes a few unorthodox steps. She leaves the Greek laments and cries of woe in the original. So instead of standard clichés such as "Oh woe is me," you see expressions of "OIMOI" which may lend themselves to more exaggerated shrieks of despair and desolation by the actors. She also injects passages of 21st century expression in the translation, which may themselves seem dated in later readings. For instance, describing Helen of Troy as a "weapon of mass destruction" seems to place the translation in a certain era of the news cycle to present-day ears. Still, all in all, this was a refreshing and exciting view of one of our earliest epic tragedy trilogies.