The Lost Plays of Greek Tragedy (Volume 1): Neglected Authors

Description

Numerous books have been written about Greek tragedy, but almost all of them are concerned with the 32 plays that still survive. This book, by contrast, concentrates on the plays that no longer exist. Hundreds of tragedies were performed in Athens and further afield during the classical period, and even though nearly all are lost, a certain amount is known about them through fragments and other types of evidence. Matthew Wright offers an authoritative two-volume critical introduction and guide to the lost tragedies. This first volume examines the remains of works by playwrights such as Phrynichus, Agathon, Neophron, Critias, Astydamas, Chaeremon, and many others who have been forgotten or neglected. (Volume 2 explores the lost works of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides.) What types of evidence exist for lost tragedies, and how might we approach this evidence? How did these plays become lost or incompletely preserved? How can we explain why all tragedians except Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides became neglected or relegated to the status of 'minor' poets? What changes and continuities can be detected in tragedy after the fifth century BC? Can the study of lost works and neglected authors change our views of Greek tragedy as a genre? This book answers such questions through a detailed study of the fragments in their historical and literary context. Including English versions of previously untranslated fragments as well as in-depth discussion of their significance, The Lost Plays of Greek Tragedy makes these works accessible for the first time.

Matthew Wright is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Exeter, UK. He has published widely on Greek tragedy and comedy, and his most recent book is The Comedian as Critic (Bloomsbury 2012).

Wright marshals a mass of references from the best part of a thousand years about a strong tragic tradition which lasted well into the Hellenistic period before declining from Greek into Latin. Numerous lost playwrights are identified, traced as far as maybe with a diligence that is admirable, even formidable. * Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics * What we have here is a very useful vade mecum to the legion of the lost dramatists and their pitiful remnants ... Recommended. * Classics for All Reviews * A unique and fascinating study of scores of dramatists whom time has treated badly, demonstrating that there is much more to Greek tragedy than Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. With its promised sequel, it will also enable us to see these three in a new light and against a far richer background. -- Alan Sommerstein, Emeritus Professor of Greek, University of Nottingham, UK In this extraordinary study, Matthew Wright has shone a brilliant light into a neglected corner of literary history, revealing the marvellously varied and surprising nature of Greek tragedy. With meticulous research and exemplary clarity, he presents a masterful survey of evidence from over eighty Greek tragic poets whose works survive only in fragments and demonstrates beyond any doubt that many of our assumptions about Greek tragedy have been formed through the blindfold of a small number of surviving texts. This book will be indispensable for anyone interested in literature, drama, and theatre history. -- Isabelle Torrance, Associate Professor of Classics, University of Notre Dame, USA This book is indispensable for the serious student of ancient Greek tragedy. Classicist often bemoan how few plays by still fewer tragedians survive, yet for too long we've largely ignored the precious fragmentary evidence for other plays by other poets. This book will change that. With lucid and expert essays, commentaries and chronologies, Matthew Wright opens up a whole new world of ancient Greek tragedy to the student and expert alike. -- Johanna Hanink, Associate Professor of Classics, Brown University, USA