Aeschylus' Agamemnon : a translation

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Dorothy J. Derkics (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Francis Laine

Abstract: My purpose in writing this translation has been twofold: to produce a work which can be easily comprehended when read or staged, and to experiment with various English meters in an attempt to retain the dramatic movement of the original. I have tried to maintain, as well as to clarify, the Greek meaning of each word as I rendered it in English, without attempting to produce a literal, line-by-line translation. I have translated the majority of this play into free verse, with two exceptions: in the Third Stasimon, lines 681 through 781, I have employed alternating Alcaic and Sapphic stanza patterns, while the meter for the Fourth Stasimon, lines 975 through 1033, is derived from the theme and variation of the second movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 9, Opus 14, in E Major. The strict, quantitative values of these meters are intended to contrast with the free verse of the other choruses, as well as to provide a musical unity for the Stasimons.

Additional Information

Publication
Honors Project
Language: English
Date: 1966

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