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Description
Oedipus, king of Thebes, is one of the giant figures of ancient mythology. Through the centuries, his story has inspired works of epic poetry, lyric poetry, tragedy, opera, a gospel musical and more. Famous today thanks to Sigmund Freud's famous phrase 'the Oedipus complex', the most famous version of the Oedipus myth from antiquity is the Greek play by Sophocles. But there is another version, the Latin drama by the Roman philosopher and politician Seneca.
Seneca's play reflects concerns special to the author and his Roman audience. Moreover, it exercised a much greater influence on European literature and thought than has usually been suspected. This book offers a compact and incisive study of the multi-faceted Oedipus myth, of Seneca as dramatist, of the play's distinctive characteristics and of the most important aspects of the reception of the play in European drama and culture to the current day. No knowledge of Latin or other foreign languages is required.
Table of Contents
1 Myth
2 Seneca in his Time
3 Structure, Themes and Issues
4 Reception and Influence of Seneca's Oedipus
Notes
Bibliography
Guide to Further Reading
Index
Product details

Published | 17 Dec 2015 |
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Format | Ebook (PDF) |
Edition | 1st |
Extent | 192 |
ISBN | 9781474234818 |
Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
Series | Companions to Greek and Roman Tragedy |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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What makes Braund's Companion stand out is the depth of her interpretation, the powerful section on the reception of this play, and her sure guidance through aspects of the play that are puzzling or difficult to explain. ... This is a fine introduction to Seneca's play and will benefit students and scholars alike.
Exemplaria Classica
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[Braund] has produced a clear and comprehensive companion to Seneca's Oedipus.
Classics For All Reviews
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In this short study of Seneca's Oedipus Susanna Braund has made a significant contribution to the steadily growing study of Senecan tragedy and its reception.
The Classical Journal
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[Braund] has made a valuable contribution towards raising the profile of this unconventional tragedy.
The Classical Review
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Braund's Oedipus not only introduces readers to the complexities of this distinctively Roman tragedy, but cuts a fascinating path through the remarkable story of its reception from earlier English and French drama through to Freud, Stravinsky and Ted Hughes and on to theatre and film in the twenty-first century.
P. J. Davis, Visiting Research Fellow, University of Adelaide, Australia, and Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Tasmania, Australia
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It is hard to imagine any study of Seneca's Oedipus of these dimensions that could match Susana Braund's highly readable style of presentation, her breadth of coverage in locating the drama in its Roman historical, cultural and sociological context, her insightful probing of the drama's thematic complexities, and the conciseness with which she relates the Oedipus both to the Greco-Roman literary past and to the drama's reception in later ages. Seneca's Oedipus has drawn significant scholarly attention in recent times, but Braund's individuality of vision and voice sets this volume apart.
Gareth Williams, Professor of Classics, Columbia University, USA

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