The Seven Against Thebes (I.) Torrance Aeschylus: Seven Against Thebes. Pp. 174, ills. London: Duckworth, 2007. Paper, £12.99. ISBN: 978-0-7156-3466-0. (D.W.) Berman Myth and Culture in Aeschylus' Seven against Thebes. (Filologia e critica 95.) Pp. 214, ills, maps. Rome: Edizioni dell'Ateneo for ... (original) (raw)

The Classical Review, 2009

Abstract

female characters. R.’s main diversion from structuralism occurs at the end of each analysis. Here, she turns to the endings of the plays and highlights the multiplicity of interpretations allowed for by their inherent ambiguity. R. uses this ambiguity in two ways. First, to argue for the universality of Greek tragedy that allows for its relevance to today’s audience, a relevance R. explores further in the epilogue that gives fascinating insights into modern productions of the plays. Secondly, R. utilises this ambiguity to demand a response from her readers to the multiplicity of interpretations, insisting they form their own opinion. Indeed, throughout her monograph R. asks questions that compel readers to re·ect upon the analysis or debate that has been presented (e.g. pp. 117, 143 and 165–6). In Part 1, R. reveals how modern scholars are in·uenced by their own socio-historical circumstances (pp. 33–4); in Part 2, she turns that observation back to her reader and asks them to re·ect upon their own opinions and how these may be moulded by their own cultural and political backgrounds. In so doing, R. introduces her audience to a self-awareness essential to critical thinking. Unfortunately, this attention to readership does not extend to R.’s referencing. Whilst supplying guides to further reading at the ends of Chapters 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8, R. often mentions debates, such as that on the role of the tragic chorus (p. 27), or claims ‘to some x is clear, to others y’ (e.g. p. 107) without elaborating upon this mysterious ‘some’ or indicating where the debates may be pursued. Intended as the book is for a student audience, such indications would have been invaluable. Despite these limitations and omissions, R.’s book fulμls its goals of introducing the web of Greek tragedy to a general and student population and of revealing the relevance of the genre to a modern audience. Her intended readership is re·ected in R.’s use of translations, her succinct summaries of the plays, and the extensive and functional index with which the book ends. It is re·ected, too, in R.’s readable and friendly prose that demands a rare active participation from its readers and forces them to question their assumptions and analyses. For these reasons, this monograph would be useful for anyone attempting to come to grips with or introduce others to Greek tragedy.

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