Phaedra (Masters of Latin Literature) - Softcover

"Ahl's translations reveal a genuineimaginative response to the playwright. His work has a coherent dramatic shape and the quality of lyrical fantasy characteristic of Senecan language. I do not think a translator can come closer to being 'Senecan.' Eleanor Winsor Leach, Department of Classical Studies, Indiana University" "In addition to proffering such supplementary information as is commonly found in translations aimed at the general public, Ahl argues that the Senecan tragedies were written for production...As for the translations themselves, they are excellent. They convey an impression of the Senecan poetic style rather than make an attempt to imitate it. Most important, the language is such that it can be clearly articulated and rendered at once comprehensible to an audience. Ahl rightly finds the style and texture of each play different and reflects such a difference in his translations. Classical World"

Ahl's translations of three Senecan tragedies will gratify and challenge readers and performers. With stage performance specifically in mind, Ah1 renders Seneca's dramatic force in a modern idiom and style that move easily between formality and colloquialism as the text demands, and he strives to reproduce the richness of the original Latin, to retain the poetic form, images, wordplays, enigmas, paradoxes, and dark humor of Seneca's tragedies. Here is a moving and accomplished translation of this complex play dealing the the violent passions stirred by innocence and beauty and the terrible power of ideology, hatred, and misunderstanding.