An Oresteia: Agamemnon by Aiskhylos; Elektra by Sophokles; Orestes by Euripides

This is not the Oresteia, but her artificial Oresteia that replaces Aeschylus's second and third plays with corresponding versions by Sophocles and Euripides. This is a very useful text for a survey of classical literature course because you can cover all three authors in a single textbook and with a continuous story.That said, there are some annoying things. Carson uses deliberately ungrammatical phrases and strange formatting in her effort to capture major moments in the Greek, but I find it on the whole distracting and convoluted.She includes minimal stage directions (omitting all the choral movement cues), which I think are important to help students visualize the staging of the places.Also, her translations at places introduce artificial themes or overemphasize her interpretation. For example, in Agamemnon she makes a big deal about Cassandra saying twice, "I know that smell" where in the Greek what she says is (1) not repetition in the two lines and (2) is nowhere close to "I know that smell". The choice to use the exact line twice in close proximity is an important poetic decision, and I think it is quite misleading for the translator to introduce repetition that the poet did not write.Finally, her using Greek transliterations of names instead of the standard Romanizations, while gradually coming into vogue, is I think distracting and confusing. There are a million resources on "Aeschylus" that students will want to look at as they read, and explaining that her "Aiskhylos" is the rest of the academic world's "Aeschylus" is just an extra frustration to students and makes searching for resource materials under two names a needless hassle.

We seem to live in an era that demeans the past, that is, anything older than last year. Thinking people will find this Oresteia contains significance that will haunt humankind as long as the species lasts. Anne Carson's translation and introduction captures the essence of these ancient Greek plays. Mindless slogans of today lack the depth to take seriously. We are in particular urged to embrace the concept of "If you want peace, you must have justice." The Greeks too wanted justice. But how to define "justice?" When and how does "justice" become "revenge" and when does it become a satisfactory remedy to past grievances? These plays leave the reader to decide and to think consequences. Is this relevant to today or not?Finally, we have an elegance of speech lacking in almost all communication of today. We can be thankful that the Greeks of old did not have Twitter to communicate their deepest thinking. Also, they had profundity in their drama rather than mindless live "celebrity" shows. "An Oresteia" should be part of any thinking person's library.

Truly an excellent translation from a legend in her field. I adored Agamemnon and like Elektra quite a bit. Did not care for Orestes, though that is no fault of Ms. Carson's translation.

Idiomatic poetic English makes the trilogy come alive. Carson is a great poet. Fully enjoyable and moving. The Sophocles and Euripides give it a fresh angle.

meet expectation

i LOVED IT. it was PETTY and DRAMATIC in a way normal people could understand but it still kept that classical style about it

For anyone who is a fan of "the originals", the Greeks - you will not find a more creative, or inspirational translation. Anne Carson is not only brilliant, but she is savagely courageous in her take on these plays. I dare you to read them from the outside. You must enter her work to experience her genius.

Ann Carson is a brillant writer, the Oresteia is a wonderful balancing act between adaptation and translation. Would recommend to individuals whom have had trouble with the classics in the past.

It's Anne Carson, so the translations are brilliantly done. I was teaching *Elektra* so I ordered this for myself as a paper copy, since the standalone edition of her *Elektra* translation is out of print.But this is *not* the same has having each of her three standalone translations in one place. Rather, you get a much shorter introduction (though still good, but only 7 pages, not 57 for *Elektra* for example) than you would from the standalone, so I'll assume that's true of each. And the text does have difference: she's changed the name of the Old Man to the Pedagogus, or vice versa, and while I don't know if there are other changes in the primary text, there may be, but I haven't noticed yet.The physical quality of this 3 in 1 set is also not great; cheap pulp paper, with obvious printing misalignment / missed register (there's a line almost off the bottom of the page in one instance). But this is why the price is good I guess.If you want her translation and don't mind the much smaller amount of apparatus, it's good to go. And you won't feel guilty for writing in it, given the cheap, slapped together feel of the book itself.

Reading something for its translation is definitely not something I usually do, but I’ve heard so much about Anne Carson and her fascinatingly modern attempt at the classic Greek tragedies that it was high time to remedy that. I chose the Oresteia because it’s what I know best, and although I will never be truly happy with reading something that belongs on a stage, I couldn’t have loved it more. Her Elektra literally jumps out of the page in a way that has never felt so real, and the same goes for the other characters, too. My pencil had lots of work to do, and at the same time I kept wondering why so many other translations still read as if the plays were written sometime in the 19th century.

Hat ihr beim Geschichtsstudium geholfen.

Love the translations. Love the Oresteia being rejigged with the three playwrights.

It has been said that women like charter development while men prefer plot development... I must say I (now) agree.