Synopses & Reviews
Specially written for students and enthusiasts, David Wiles introduces ancient Greek theatre and cultural life.
Review
"In the last decade David Wiles has published two brilliant studies on ancient drama in performance: The Masks of Menander (Cambridge University Press, 1991) and Tragedy in Athens (Cambridge University Press, 1997). His latest book is an even more significant contribution to this increasingly important field.... His study is informed by traditional scholarship in philology, history, metrics, and music; by a wide range of theoretical approaches including structuralism, psychoanalysis, and feminist theory; and by thoughtful, creative interpretations. Every page sparkles with ideas. The book is rigorously critical.... This is an indispensable book. In addition to its critical and practical insights, clear organization and lucid prose make its stimulating ideas accessible to students as well as scholars." Classical World
Synopsis
David Wiles introduces ancient Greek theatre and Athenian cultural life in a book specially written for students and enthusiasts. It assumes no prior knowledge of the ancient world and illustrates how the plays were performed and what can be learned from and achieved by performances of the plays today.
Synopsis
David Wiles introduces ancient Greek theatre to students and enthusiasts interested in knowing how the plays were performed. The book examines how the actor used the resources of story-telling, dance, mask, song and visual action to create large-scale events in Athenian cultural life. The book assumes no prior knowledge of the ancient world, and is written for those who want to know how the plays were performed, what they meant in their original social context, and what can be learned from and achieved by performances of Greek plays today.
Table of Contents
1. Myth; 2. Ritual; 3. Politics; 4. Gender; 5. Space; 6. The performer; 7. The writer; 8. Reception; Notes; Further reading; Chronology.