This book brings together fourteen studies by Alan Sommerstein on Aristophanes and his fellow comic dramatists, some of which have not previously appeared in print. The studies cover almost all the major topics of Sommerstein's work - the nature and functions of comedy in Aristophanes' time, its connections with the society and politics of its day, the question of Aristophanes' own political stances, the light comedy can throw on classical Athenians' perception of basic social divisions (age, gender, citizen/alien, free/slave), comedy's exploitation of the expressive resources of the Greek language, the composition and production history of individual plays, and the history of the genre as a whole.

Talking about Laughter: And Other Studies in Greek Comedy

Literature & Fiction

Sommerstein, Alan H.

Dramas & Plays

Oxford University Press

The Tangled Ways of Zeus is a collection of studies written over the last twenty years by the distinguished classicist Alan Sommerstein about various aspects of ancient Greek tragedy (and, in some cases, other related genres). It complements his recent collection of studies in Greek comedy, Talking about Laughter (OUP, 2009). Some of the essays have not been published previously, others have appeared in books or journals hard to find outside major academic libraries. Each chapter deals with its own topic, but between them they build up a multifaceted picture of the dramatists (especially Aeschylus and Sophocles), the genre, and its interactions with the society, culture, and religion of classical Athens.

The Tangled Ways of Zeus: And Other Studies In and Around Greek Tragedy

Greek Drama and Dramatists

The history of European drama began at the festivals of Dionysus in ancient Athens, where tragedy, satyr-drama and comedy were performed. Understanding this background is vital for students of classical, literary and theatrical subjects, and Alan H. Sommerstein's accessible study is the ideal introduction. The book begins by looking at the social and theatrical contexts and different characteristics of the three genres of ancient Greek drama. It then examines the five main dramatists whose works survive - Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes and Menander - discussing their styles, techniques and ideas, and giving short synopses of all their extant plays. Additional helpful features include succinct coverage of almost sixty other authors, a chronology of significant people and events, and an anthology of translated texts, all of which have been previously inaccessible to students. An up-to-date study bibliography of further reading concludes the volume. Clear, concise and comprehensive, and written by an acknowledged expert in the field, Greek Drama and Dramatists will be a valuable orientation text at both sixth form and undergraduate level.

Routledge

215p hardback, green jacket faded slightly and large corner cut from endpaper otherwise very good copy indeed

The sound pattern of ancient Greek, (Publications of the Philological Society, 23)

Basil Blackwell

Modern phonology (Theoretical linguistics)

Reference

Foreign Language Study & Reference

Edward Arnold

Aeschylus was the dramatist who made Athenian tragedy one of the world's great art-forms. In this completely revised and updated edition of his book Alan H. Sommerstein, analysing the seven extant plays of the Aeschylean corpus (one of them probably in fact the work of another author) and utilising the knowledge we have of the seventy or more whose scripts have not survived, explores Aeschylus' poetic, dramatic, theatrical and musical techniques, his social, political and religious ideas, and the significance of his drama for our own day. Special attention is paid to the "Oresteia" trilogy, and the other surviving plays are viewed against the background of the four-play productions of which they formed part. There are chapters on Aeschylus' theatre, on his satyr-dramas, and on his dramatisations of Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey", and a detailed chapter-by-chapter guide to further reading. No knowledge of Greek is assumed, and all texts are quoted in translation.

Aeschylean Tragedy

History & Criticism

Bristol Classical Press

University Park Press

The earliest comic drama to survive, it is a highly committed play, its message being that Athens war with the Peloponnesians can and should be ended, and that peace will mean the restoration of normal life after six years' separation of the country people from their land. This volume also contains the general introduction to the series.

Aristophanes: Acharnians (Aris & Phillips Classical Texts)

Liverpool University Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Sommerstein, Alan H.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Sommerstein, Alan H.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Sommerstein, Alan H.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Talking about Laughter: And Other Studies in Greek Comedy

The Tangled Ways of Zeus: And Other Studies In and Around Greek Tragedy

Greek Drama and Dramatists

Greek Drama and Dramatists

The sound pattern of ancient Greek, (Publications of the Philological Society, 23)

Modern phonology (Theoretical linguistics)

Modern phonology (Theoretical linguistics)

Aeschylean Tragedy

Modern phonology (Theoretical linguistics)

Aristophanes: Acharnians (Aris & Phillips Classical Texts)