Clouds, Wasps, Birds (Aristophanes): 1: Clouds, Wasps, Birds (Hackett Classics) - Softcover

Storey's contributions are solid, and conduct the beginner clearly and logically through the various minefields of Aristophanic scholarship, without oversimplification. . . . The particular virtue of Meineck lies in the fact that he is a theatre director who has worked with these texts in an attempt to realize them for modern audiences. . . . His aim of producing translations 'that are understandable, performable, accessible, and entertaining' has clearly been fulfilled. --Keith Sidwell, Classical Review Peter Meineck has produced a lively, idiomatic translation of Aristophanes that should be eminently accessible to the modern student. With a fine ear trained by years of practical experience as Director of the award-winning Aquila Theatre Company, Meineck knows exactly what works on stage before a contemporary audience, yet sacrifices none of the allusive subtlety and satirical vigor of the plays in their original historical context. The translations are accompanied by detailed footnotes and endnotes, as well as balanced introductions and bibliographies by a first-rate scholar, Ian Storey, which ably survey the major critical issues raised by each play. This volume is ideally suited for adoption as a course text. --Thomas K. Hubbard, University of Texas at Austin . . . lively and entertaining. It conveys the astonishing vigor of the original Greek, while keeping close to the text. The notes would be useful in the classroom. --Margaret E. Reesor, Queen's University

Originally adapted for the stage, Peter Meineck's revised translations achieve a level of fidelity appropriate for classroom use while managing to preserve the wit and energy that led The New Yorker to judge his Clouds The best Greek drama we've ever seen anywhere," and The Times Literary Supplement to describe his Wasps as "Hugely enjoyable and very, very funny. A general Introduction, introductions to the plays, and detailed notes on staging, history, religious practice and myth combine to make this a remarkably useful teaching text.