Euripides Our Contemporary by Walton, J. Michael;

Long description:

In this accessible and beautifully written study of Euripides-the first to appear in thirty years-J. Michael Walton takes a thematic approach and provides a wide-ranging and thorough appreciation of the playwright's entire canon. Euripides Our Contemporary treats these ancient dramas as vital engagements with issues of a moral, social, psychological, and political nature, as significant today as when the works were first performed. Walton moves with expert familiarity through all the plays, emphasizing what Euripides might have to say to us as our "contemporary." The book is divided into three sections: "Domesticating Tragedy" considers the manner in which Euripides finds parallels to ordinary life in the world of myth. "Grand Passions" looks at characters who are under extraordinary pressure and the extent to which personal responsibility is absolved by circumstance. In part three, the book discusses the nature of Euripides's theater, the playwright's manipulation and acknowledgment of it, the great roles, and the playwrights of the last hundred years most influenced by his work.