The Thebaid, a Latin epic in twelve books by Statius (c. 45-96 C. E.) reexamines events following the abdication of Oedipus, focusing on the civil war between the brothers Eteocles, King of Thebes, and Polynices, who comes at the head of an army from Argos to claim his share of royal power. The poem is long-each of the twelve books comprises over eight hundred lines-and complex, and it exploits a broad range of literary works, both Greek and Latin. Severely curtailed though he was by the emperor Domitian and his Reign of Terror, Statius nevertheless created a meditation on autocratic rule that is still of political interest today.
Popular in its own time and much admired in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance-most notably by Dante and Chaucer-the poem fell into obscurity and has, for readers of English, been poorly served by translators. Statius composed his poem in dactylic hexameters, the supreme verse form in antiquity. In his hands, this venerable line is flexible, capable of subtle emphases and dramatic shifts in tempo; it is an expressive, responsive medium. In this new and long-awaited translation the poet Jane Wilson Joyce employs a loose, six-beat line in her English translation, which allows her to reveal something of the original rhythm and of the interplay between sentence structure and verse framework.
The clarity of Joyce's translation highlights the poem's superb versification, sophisticated use of intertextuality, and bold formal experimentation and innovation. A substantial introduction and annotations make this epic accessible to students of all levels.
简·威尔逊·乔伊斯翻译的《底比斯地区》是一项惊人的成就。长长的线条,流畅的韵律,比我所见过的任何译本都更准确、更生动(也更有造诣)地代表了斯塔提乌斯的风格。其结果是一首复杂而又极具挑战性的诗,在某些方面引人注目,甚至是朴素的,几乎不现代,也不像其他形式那么过时,但在其方式上很新。”——William Levitan, Grand Valley State University
"Jane Wilson Joyce's translation of the Thebaid is a stunning achievement. The long lines of loosely flowing rhythms represent Statius' manner more accurately and vividly (and in more accomplished verse) than any translation of the poem I have seen. The result is a sophisticated and very challenging poem, striking and even austere in some ways, hardly modern yet less old fashioned than other fashioned, and in its way quite new." -- William Levitan, Grand Valley State University "
作者简介
Jane Wilson Joyce 是中央学院的 Luellen 文学(经典)教授。 她是同样来自康奈尔大学的 Lucan's Pharsalia 的翻译。
Jane Wilson Joyce is Luellen Professor of Literature (Classics) at Centre College. She is the translator of Lucan's Pharsalia, also from Cornell.
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