Theban Plays

This volume offers the fruits of Peter Meineck and Paul WoodruffÂ’s dynamic collaboration on the plays of SophoclesÂ’ Theban cycle, presenting the translatorsÂ’ Oedipus Tyrannus (2000) along with WoodruffÂ’s Antigone (2001) and a muscular new Oedipus at Colonus by Meineck. Grippingly readable, all three translations combine fidelity to the Greek with concision, clarity, and powerful, hard-edged speech. Each play features foot-of-the-page notes, stage directions, and line numbers to the Greek. WoodruffÂ’s Introduction discusses the playwright, Athenian theatre and performance, the composition of the plays, and the plots and characters of each; it also offers thoughtful reflections on major critical interpretations of these plays.