This is a collection of papers from an international group of scholars who engage with the seminal work of Oliver Taplin, one of the world's leading classicists. The focus is on the performative aspect of Greek poetry of the archaic and classical period as well as on material artefacts (especially vase paintings) that interact with this kind of literature.
Oliver Taplin's seminal study was revolutionary in drawing out the significance of stage action in Greek tragedy at a time when plays were often read purely as texts, rather than understood as performances. Professor Taplin explores nine plays, including Aeschylus' agamemnon and Sophocles' Oedipus the King. The details of theatrical techniques and stage directions, used by playwrights to highlight key moments, are drawn out and related to the meaning of each play as a whole. With extensive translated quotations, the essential unity of action and speech in Greek tragedy is demonstrated. Now firmly established as a classic text, Greek Tragedy in Action is even more relevant today, when performances of Greek tragedies and plays inspired by them have had such an extraordinary revival around the world.
This interdisciplinary study opens up a fascinating interaction between art and theater. It shows how the mythological vase-paintings of fourth-century B.C. Greeks, especially those settled in southern Italy, are more meaningful for those who had seen the myths enacted in the popular new medium of tragedy. Of some 300 relevant vases, 109 are reproduced and accompanied by a picture-by-picture discussion. This book supplies a rich and unprecedented resource from a neglected treasury of painting.
The visual effect of the staging of Aeschylus' plays was an essential part of their impact. And yet all that survives today are the scripts. Imagination, helped by anachronistic sources, has played the chief role for those dealing with the dramaturgy of Aeschylus' works, and the result hasusually been stages crowded with extras and equipment.In this book, the author approaches the subject from a completely different angle. He clears the stage and looks for clues of Aeschylus' stagecraft in the texts of the plays themselves. He concentrates his study in an analysis of the exits and entrances in Aeschylus' works with constant reference tothe practice of Sophocles and Euripides as well. His arguments and conclusions are fascinating and thought-provoking, and make the book indispensable for anyone interested in ancient Greek drama and its staging.
Oliver Taplin's seminal study was revolutionary in drawing out the significance of stage action in Greek tragedy at a time when plays were often read purely as texts, rather than understood as performances. Professor Taplin explores nine plays, including Aeschylus' agamemnon and Sophocles' Oedipus the King. The details of theatrical techniques and stage directions, used by playwrights to highlight key moments, are drawn out and related to the meaning of each play as a whole. With extensive translated quotations, the essential unity of action and speech in Greek tragedy is demonstrated. Now firmly established as a classic text, Greek Tragedy in Action is even more relevant today, when performances of Greek tragedies and plays inspired by them have had such an extraordinary revival around the world.
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