Giving an introduction to ancient Greek drama, this book overviews 10 works of ancient Greek drama in their political, historical, and cultural context. It is designed for school students and undergraduates, with chapters including information about the playwright's life and dramatic style, the role of myth in the play, a plot summary, and more.
Aeschylus' Oresteia, Sophocles' Oedipus plays, Euripides' Medea and Bacchae, and Aristophanes' Birds and Lysistrata are discussed in this lively and scholarly volume. The author's experience teaching these plays to gifted high school students makes this volume particularly useful. The drama festivals, the adaptations of myth, the relevance of Aristotelian criteria, and the political and cultural background of each play are described fully, and the nature of tragedy and comedy, plot construction, stagecraft, theme, character, imagery and individual odes and speeches are analyzed in depth.
