[DOC] Philoctetes (Greek Tragedy in New Translations) by Sophocles at Arts-Photography

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A play on painBy HHThis translation of the "Philoctetes" sets out to convey the force of the Greek original. its nuances. and its strangeness. It delivers on each of these counts. offering a version which is attuned to the range of tones employed by Sophocles. which comes across well in oral delivery. and which exudes raw emotion. The accompanying notes offer a sensitive treatment of key themes of the play and give important mythical background. They do not measure up to the series aim to provide notes "to mediate the conventions of the Athenian stage." providing only minimal treatment of issues of performance. Overall. though. this edition offers a vigorous translation and helpful notes suited to the needs of the Greekless reader.The introduction by Diskin Clay does an excellent job of situating the "Philoctetes" in the context of the constellation of preceding works dealing with the Trojan War. "The Iliad". "The Odyssey". "The Epic Cycle". the lost "Philoctetes" plays by Aeschylus and Euripides and numerous extant and lost Sophoclean tragedies are introduced as the necessary backdrop for understanding what is distinctive about Sophocles handling. Such background could easily read like a catalogue. but Clay avoids this by organizing his introduction thematically. interweaving references to literary predecessors as and when they are relevant. So. for example. the characterizations of Philoctetes. Neoptolemos and Odysseus are elucidated by a succession of thought-provoking comparisons. Although Philoctetes is at the periphery of the Iliad while Achilles is at its heart. they are both heroes who are characterized by their anger and notable by their absence. Philoctetes shares with Herakles the experience of extreme physical suffering and with Ajax the isolation of a warrior whose pride has been injured by a slight by Odysseus and the sons of Atreus. Just as Achilles in the Iliad rejects the embassy because of Odysseus duplicity. so his son Neoptolemos initially refuses to participate in Odysseus proposed embassy to Philoctetes for the same reason. When Philoctetes asks about "a worthless creature. but clever and a skilled speaker." Neoptolemos thinks of Odysseus rather than Thersites.Two sections of the introduction distinguish themselves as particularly valuable contributions. The section on Lemnos draws attention to the long history of human habitation of this island. from the Late Bronze Age settlement of Polichni to the Athenian expeditionary group of colonists sent there in 450. It also notes the political. commercial and religious connections between Athens and Lemnos. In so doing. it makes a forceful case for the singularity of Sophocles conception of the island as deserted. and highlights the effect it would have had on an Athenian audience. familiar from the Iliad and Aeschylus and Euripides Philoctetes with a populated Lemnos. to find that Philoctetes is completely alone on the island. The section entitled "Philoctetes before Philoctetes" takes stock of the little we know of the lost Philoctetes plays by Aeschylus and Euripides and contrasts our relative ignorance of their content with our ability to compare the three tragedians treatments of the story of Orestes and Electra. Clay then introduces Dio of Prusas assessment of the three Philoctetes plays and his characterization of Sophocles as a playwright who is "intermediate" between the extremes of Aeschylus and Euripides. He uses Dios comment as a spring-board for his characterization of Sophocles Philoctetes as a play that deals with extremes rather than a middle ground. Philoctetes and Odysseus embody two extremes: the former is a throwback to a vanished archaic heroism. the latter represents the sophistry current during the Peloponnesian War. Neoptolemos is caught between these two extremes. drawn to each by the conflicting forces of admiration for Philoctetes and duty towards Odysseus.The strengths of Clays introduction are also its weaknesses. His character delineation through comparison and contrast is both refreshingly original and confusingly allusive. The introduction scatters treatment of certain key themes over a wide terrain. So. for example. the isolation of Philoctetes on Lemnos is discussed both in the section on Lemnos (pp. 7-9) and in the section entitled "Philoctetes before Philoctetes" (p. 11). Neoptolemos moral dilemma is mentioned at the end of the "Philoctetes before Philoctetes" section (p. 12). then again under "Dramatis Personae" (pp. 13-6). but nowhere is it fully articulated what Neoptolemos inherited phusis as the son of Achilles is and how his genealogy influences both his own decision-making and that of Philoctetes. The story of how Philoctetes received his bow from Herakles in return for the part he played in freeing Herakles from pain by lighting his funeral pyre crops up again and again in the introduction and is mentioned four times in the notes. but the reader is never told why Deianera gave Herakles the poisoned robe in the first place. Athenian sophistry is mentioned in passing on three occasions. but nowhere is it clearly laid out what sophistry actually was nor what role it played in Athenian policy-making during the Peloponnesian war. And although Sophoclean scholars understand what is meant by "the sacrament of the bow" (p. 20. 108). the expression will leave most readers bemused.Although the coverage of the plays themes is necessarily curtailed by the scope of the series. a number of key themes that warrant inclusion are missing from the introduction and notes. The maturation of the young hero Neoptolemos is one such theme. Just as the Odyssey portrays the coming of age of Telemachos and Sophocles Electra that of Orestes. so too in the "Philoctetes" Neoptolemos emerges from under the guardianship of Odysseus and the shadow of his father Achilles and becomes an adult capable of making his own decisions. The pity that Neoptolemos eventually feels for Philoctetes also deserves more than passing mention. not only because it is privileged by the playwright through verbal repetition but also because it provides such a stark contrast to the representation elsewhere of Neoptolemos as pitiless Pyrrhos and provides such an interesting pendant to Achilles eventual pity for Priam. Discussion of the plays stagecraft is particularly sparse. There is no mention of the significance to the plot of movements towards and away from the shore. Attention could also have been drawn to the key moments of physical contact between Neoptolemos and Philoctetes. and the rarity in Greek society of physical contact between unrelated adult men. in order to allow the reader to fully understand the bond that develops between these two new friends. In particular. the meaning and practice of the act of supplication need to be explained if the reader is to understand the moral constraints under which Neoptolemos operates once Philoctetes is his suppliant. Finally. brief consideration of the distinctive characteristics of Sophoclean dramaturgy as seen in the "Philoctetes" would have provided a useful overview for the student reading the play as part of a survey of ancient drama.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The current Kindle edition is NOT the new translation by ...By KornilovThe current Kindle edition is NOT the new translation by Carl Phillips with introduction by Diskin Clay. Instead it is a translation by Lewis Campbell with no introduction. So the Kindle edition is entirel different from the paperback.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy oceanwavThank you. Recommend~