Reviews for Wasps, Clouds, Birds, Vol. 1

The average rating for Wasps, Clouds, Birds, Vol. 1 based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-07-03 00:00:00 Kiva Bolton I don't think anybody cares how I rate Aristophanes: people have been enjoying his plays for two millennia, so it's safe to say the verdict is in. Instead I'm going to rate the modern Aristophanes translations, the quality of which is highly variable. Slang and bawdry seem to be the hardest things to translate, more on account of the people who tend to become translators, I think -- especially translators of ancient Greek -- than of the difficulties inherent in approximating lively foulness. In English Aristophanes has suffered pretty badly; you have to really dig for a translation that conveys why the ancients enjoyed this guy so much. Disclaimer: I don't know Greek, so I can only judge how these translations read in English - and make no mistake, these are all in English English: it's 'bloody' this and 'bugger' that, with 'poofters' and 'bumboys' galore, which sound to this American like the sort of imprecations you let fly when the waitstaff at Gordon Ramsay serves you some ill-blackened swordfish. But I didn't deduct points for Britishness -- not even for all the 'arses', which I have no idea what to do with -- only for stuff that'd be lousy in any dialect. Meineck: A Bartlett & Sommerstein: B Theodoridis: B Einhorn (Lysistrata): C+ (his Lampito is straight out of 'Bamboozled') Halliwell: C Arrowsmith, Parker, and Lattimore: D- Henderson: F Ruden: Oof. In the words of Dean Vernon Wormer - "Zero point zero." Meineck only did these three plays, so until he gives us an "Aristophanes II" we're stuck with the OK Bartlett & Sommerstein and the slightly unhinged Theodoridis ("Because, by Salty Poseidon, we are so piss-weak ourselves!"). Feel free to take a crayon and a sense of humor to their pages, however: I've found that if you tune up the B&S or give the Theodoridis some Ritalin, they both read decently well. And they are worth reading: Aristophanes is great!

Review # 2 was written on 2008-09-30 00:00:00 Malaika Dracu Great translations. These aren't the historical versions, however; all have been somewhat tampered with in an attempt to make them acting versions. Strangely, however, it seems that the translator's ad libs and changes in a way DO make it more historical- they're hilarious. Even the Wasps, one of Aristophanes' least enticing plays becomes great! The translators have a great knack for bringing the playwright's absurdity to life.