The Bacchae of Euripides [Paperback]

From the renowned contemporary American poet C. K. Williams comes this fluent and accessible version of the great tragedy by Euripides.

This book includes an introduction by Martha Nussbaum.

C. K. Williams(19362015) published twenty-two books of poetry including,Flesh and Blood, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award;Repair, which won the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry; andThe Singing, winner of the National Book Award. Williams was awarded the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize in 2005. He wrote a critical study,On Whitman; a memoir,Misgivings; and two books of essays,Poetry and ConsciousnessandIn Time: Poets, Poems,and the Rest.

Williams's fine translation ofThe Bacchaeachieves something of what Longinus (inOn The Sublime) admires in Euripides, 'sobriety in the midst of the Bacchic revels.' Williams convinces us of Dionysus' power to make a man slip into madness, but in language that never forgets its form and control. Martha Nussbaum's subtle, wide-ranging, and well-informed introduction does justice to the disturbing, transgressive energy of the play. It is an excellent study of the psychological, religious, and moral issues that Euripides raises. Charles Segal, Princeton University

This new version ofThe Bacchaeshould allow English readers to appreciate some of the rich qualities of Euripides' masterpiece. C. K. Williams handles the spoken poetry of the original in a flexible verse that encompasses a wide range of tone. His treatment of the lyrics uses a rhythmically bold form whose accents would particularly lend themselves to effective choral acting. The translation is accompanied by a striking essays from Martha Nussbaum, who offers both a well-shaped approach to the play for new readers and many challenging thoughts for those seeking to deepen their appreciation of the work. Stephen Halliwell, University of Birmingham

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