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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 809
EAN num: 9780198721598
ISBN number: 0198721595
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 376
Printing Date: October 26, 1995
Publishing house: Oxford University Press, USA
Sale Popularity Level: 592833
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Aristophanes' comedies are famous for their comic characters and earthy humor. But they are also highly topical, with many contemporary political allusions easily missed today. This book provides students with a long needed accessible and essential introductory guide to the plays, focusing particularly on information about the Athens of the day.
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Rated by buyers -
Professor MacDowell here gives a play by play breakdown of the works of Aristophanes. Included are short summaries, or surmises on the missing plays when there is some evidence - extracts, period refernces, etc. Professor MaDowell writes clearly and his thoughts are easy to follow - something I cannot say for a majority of his tribe. He can also be quite blunt about views not in accord with his own conclusions! A great deal of his attention focuses on Aristophanes' efforts to sell his ideas - with special emphasis on the political - to the Athenian audience through his plays, a valid and persuasive starting point for examination of the works as well as one which gives a strong immediacy to the discussion. The reader receives a steady stream of up-to-date information as to the how and the where and the why for each play's production. MacDowell's approach does not categorically eschew topicality; he makes an apt and enlightening analogy between the younger Aristophanes' plays and the films of Hitchcock and the differing roles of producer and artist. Overall this book represents much diligent and careful thought: MacDowell is as well versed as anyone in the literature and it shows. While I differ on several points, his overall conception shows much distinction. The Chapters vary in quality, but all are thoroughly discussed and several, such as the essays on the Akharnians and Wasps, are very fine indeed.
A thought-provoking book; not only a good overview of the works for someone who wishes to further and more closely examine this most perplexing of comic masters, but also an excellent addition to a classical library of critical works.
Rated by buyers -
For anyone who is new to the crude and seemingly inaccessible humour of Aristophanes, this book should come as a blessing. Not only does it give detailed analysis of the political background necessary to appreciate the clever allegories, but acquaints the general reader with the overall messages of Aristophanes' plays that can be outrageously funny and clever. Arisophanes and Athens is very accessible, and sheds light on literature over 2000 years old that is surprisingly relevant to our society today.
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