Medea (Hackett Classics)

This is a terrific translation overall. I won't use it for my class again, though, because of the excessive footnotes. I want my students to be able to come up with their own interpretations, not to have them handed to them in the footnotes.

Far darker and more modern than I had expected. I can see why this play lives and remains famous long after more traditional plays of its times have become obscure. Far more realistic in some way than Shakespeare, honestly. The argument between Jason and Medea at the very end feels incredibly true to life; bitter recriminations, neither side listening to what the other has to say, leading to absolutely no resolution; no sense of justice whatsoever, either from society or the Gods, and no sense of any to come, either. I mean, Jason paid for what he did, granted, but there's no sense that justice really figures into it. Of course, this is all in translation, so of course it seems more modern in that sense than Elizabethan theater, but the story itself contains so much less poetry in its structure that it's honestly hard to believe that this piece is 2,000 years older than, say, Hamlet. Not, of course, that that's everything; Hamlet is a masterpiece, too, but one of a very different sort. My point is more that there's considerably more to get out of at least this bit of Greek theater than you might think, if you've never read any...

I enjoyed the story very much, and it was nicely put together! Accurate!! I found myself reading more and writing notes for class in the margins. It may be an old story but it's definitely still intense!

Nice lyrical translation

Printed in a very good format for the play--the binding still survived after several uses.

The Kindle version was very good. Had the page numbers and hyperlinked footnotes. The tragedy itself was a very fun read, and the translation was done to be rich but accessible.

Anyone with an eye on producing or directing this play should use this translation. It's edgy and modern, yet it retains the sense of the original.

👍🏻

No expert, but the translation seemed to walk the line well between modern accessibility and adherence to the text. Really liked it. Have sought out more by this translator.