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Description for The Comedies Of Terence
paperback. Presents translations, in rhyming couplets, of all six extant plays by this Latin author, dating from the period 166-60 BC. This title offers a literary translation, the versions remain very close to Terence's texts; consequently they can be enjoyable to the general reader, and also great value to the student of classics. Translator(s): Clayton, Frederick. Num Pages: 320 pages. BIC Classification: 2ADL; DSBB; DSG. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational. Dimension: 149 x 229 x 19. Weight in Grams: 503.
'The Comedies of Terence' presents entirely new translations, in rhyming couplets, of all six extant plays by this Latin author, dating from the period 166-60 BC. An excellent literary translation, the versions remain very close to Terence's texts; consequently they will be not only enjoyable to the general reader, but also great value to the student of classics. The Introduction is in itself a major contribution to our understanding of Terence. Matthew Leigh, who has written the Introduction to this volume, first became interested in Terence while serving as Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Exeter. He is currently Fellow and Tutor in Classics at St Anne's College, Oxford. He is author of 'Lucan: Spectacle and Engagement' (Oxford, 1997) and 'Comedy and the Rise of Rome' (Oxford, 2004).
Product Details
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2006
Publisher
Liverpool University Press United Kingdom
Number of pages
320
Condition
New
Number of Pages
320
Place of Publication
, United Kingdom
ISBN
9780859897631
SKU
V9780859897631
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 7 to 11 working days
Ref
99-50
About
Frederick Clayton was Professor of Classics at the University of Exeter. Matthew Leigh, who has written the Introduction to this volume, first became interested in Terence while serving as Lecturer in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Exeter. He is currently Fellow and Tutor in Classics at St Anne’s College, Oxford. He is author of Lucan: Spectacle and Engagement (Oxford, 1997) and Comedy and the Rise of Rome (Oxford, 2004).
Reviews for The Comedies Of Terence
Clayton keeps up a terrific pace and energy throughout, with varied rhythms and ingenious rhymes. It is translated into an English that is not far from modern speech, but with a dramatic distance imposed by the verse form.
Journal of Classics Teaching, 10
...the likeable introduction by Matthew Leigh... ... the tone is lively and readable.
Times Literary Supplement, August 24 & 31 2007
This is a respectable, plain version, which tells you what the Latin is about. But Clayton does more. He reminds us that we can find in Terence an ancestor for English comic verse, ranging from Ralph Roister Doister through Pope to Bernard Shaw and Ogden Nash. Clayton’s Demea sounds like a strangely laid-back, Byronic version of Prospero at the end of the Tempest.
London Review of Books
Fred Clayton was a man in love with literature, and with the English and Latin languages. He was immensely learned, but hopeless at putting together the sort of connected argument that scholarly articles or monographs need, and in any case he wasn't interested in reading what other scholars had written. What he did was read the texts (and teach them, of course); his memory was simply full of them, and he could hear echoes and spot allusions that no-one else had suspected. His translations of Terence's plays, with no attempt at scholarly apparatus, are done in brilliantly deft rhyming couplets with the fluency and elegance you'd expect from someone who had most of the English poets in his head." ( …an enjoyable way to get to know one of the founders of European comedy.
Journal of Classics Teaching, 10
If I had to choose a recent translation of Terence, I would favour Clayton's, in amazingly lively and readable couplets (it also has a good introduction by Mathew Leigh, but no notes or full bibliography). In Clayton's version, the Don Juan-ish rhymes sometimes call the shots and the language is inevitably not much like modern spoken English. But at least he does not let you forget that Terence was a poet, a clear-minded, writerly writer. Sometimes Clayton's Terence actually seems funny, even in our enlightened day and age.
Journal of Classics Teaching, 10
...the likeable introduction by Matthew Leigh... ... the tone is lively and readable.
Times Literary Supplement, August 24 & 31 2007
This is a respectable, plain version, which tells you what the Latin is about. But Clayton does more. He reminds us that we can find in Terence an ancestor for English comic verse, ranging from Ralph Roister Doister through Pope to Bernard Shaw and Ogden Nash. Clayton’s Demea sounds like a strangely laid-back, Byronic version of Prospero at the end of the Tempest.
London Review of Books
Fred Clayton was a man in love with literature, and with the English and Latin languages. He was immensely learned, but hopeless at putting together the sort of connected argument that scholarly articles or monographs need, and in any case he wasn't interested in reading what other scholars had written. What he did was read the texts (and teach them, of course); his memory was simply full of them, and he could hear echoes and spot allusions that no-one else had suspected. His translations of Terence's plays, with no attempt at scholarly apparatus, are done in brilliantly deft rhyming couplets with the fluency and elegance you'd expect from someone who had most of the English poets in his head." ( …an enjoyable way to get to know one of the founders of European comedy.
Journal of Classics Teaching, 10
If I had to choose a recent translation of Terence, I would favour Clayton's, in amazingly lively and readable couplets (it also has a good introduction by Mathew Leigh, but no notes or full bibliography). In Clayton's version, the Don Juan-ish rhymes sometimes call the shots and the language is inevitably not much like modern spoken English. But at least he does not let you forget that Terence was a poet, a clear-minded, writerly writer. Sometimes Clayton's Terence actually seems funny, even in our enlightened day and age.