AlcestisAlcestis is one of Euripides' richest and most brilliant - as well as most controversial - plays. But, apart from D. J. Conacher's student text, no annotated edition in English has appeared for more than fifty years. The present work is designed to aid close reading and to serve as an introduction to the serious study of the play in its various aspects. The introduction covers the background to the story in myth and folktale, its treatment by other writers from antiquity to the present, the critical reception of Euripides' play, and its textual transmission and metres. The notes are designed in particular to help readers who have been learning Greek for a relatively short time. More advanced matter, such as discussion of textual problems, is placed in square brackets at the end of the note. |
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accept accusative Admetus Aeschylus Alcestis anapaests answer Apollo appears Aristophanes Attic audience beginning belongs called century character chorus cited close codd comes common Compare context contrast correspondence Dale dead death Denniston Diggle drama edition Euripidea Euripides example expression fact father further future gives gods Greek hand Heracles Hipp Homer iambic idea introduced later least less live look lyric meaning metre metrical natural offer passage person Pheres play poet position possible present produces proposed question reading reason received references scene seems sense short shows song Sophocles speak speech stage story suggests things tragedy true verb whole wife woman word