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The Burial at Thebes (Hardcover)

by Seamus Heaney (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 58 pages
  • Publisher: Faber and Faber (4 Mar 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0571223613
  • ISBN-13: 978-0571223619
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13 x 1.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 315,250 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description

Commissioned to mark the centenary of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 2004, The Burial at Thebes is Seamus Heaney's new verse translation of Sophocles' great tragedy, Antigone - whose eponymous heroine is one of the most sharply individualized and compelling figures in western drama. Faithful to the 'local row' and to the fierce specificity of the play's time and place, The Burial at Thebes honours the separate and irreconcilable claims of its opposed voices, as they enact the ancient but perennial conflict between family and state in a time of crisis, pitching the morality of private allegiance against that of public service. Above all, The Burial at Thebes honours the sovereign urgency and grandeur of Heaney's Sophoclean original, in which language speaks truth to power, then and now.


From the Back Cover

Commissioned to mark the centenary of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 2004, ‘The Burial at Thebes' is Seamus Heaney's new verse translation of Sophocles' great tragedy, ‘Antigone' - whose eponymous heroine is one of the most sharply individualized and compelling figures in western drama. Faithful to the 'local row' and to the fierce specificity of the play's time and place, ‘The Burial at Thebes' honours the separate and irreconcilable claims of its opposed voices, as they enact the ancient but perennial conflict between family and state in a time of crisis, pitching the morality of private allegiance against that of public service. Above all, ‘The Burial at Thebes' honours the sovereign urgency and grandeur of Heaney's Sophoclean original, in which language speaks truth to power, then and now.

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars a fine translation., 23 Jul 2004
By deadbeat (Tiptoe) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)      
Following a battle for supremacy, Eteocles and Polyneices, the two sons of Oedipus, kill each other, leaving Creon, the brother-in-law to Oedipus, as ruler of Thebes. Since Polyneices lead the attacking force against Thebes, Creon labelled him a traitor and denied him any funeral rites. Anyone who countermanded this law would do so on pain of death.

This is the backdrop to The Burial at Thebes, formerly know as Antigone, the last play in the Oedipus trilogy by Sophocles.

It is a play of desperate and wrenching simplicity. The eponymous Antigone, sister of Polyneices, is faced with a choice: to choose between obeying the dictates of family love, in giving burial to her slaughtered brother, or to obey the laws of the state, as represented by King Creon. Her choice is made without hesitation, to honour the dead and defy the state. This is done at a terrible cost. She not only relinquished her own life but also her betrothed's, Haemon son of Creon, who fell on his own sword when he saw her dead. Following Haemon's death, Creon's wife, Euripides, takes up Creon's sword and after cursing her husband kills herself. Creon ends the play a broken man. His pride, his stubbornness in refusing to rescind the death penalty, ultimately cost him his wife and only son.

Many elements of the play lend themselves to modern times and dilemmas, but unlike some other translators, Heaney has the sense to trust in the original, and adds little in the way of anxiously contemporary signposting. He keeps the lines taut and clear, making the effect of this play all the more powerful. Antigone contains some choruses which are among the most famous in all Greek tragedy, and Heaney gives a very impressive account of these, adding a kind of dark burnish to the verbal atmosphere of his translation.

If you are an admirer of Greek tragedy I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book. Also, if you enjoyed Heaney's Beowulf, you will like this too. It is another great reinvention of a classic.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars great, 9 Jun 2009
By Conor Murphy "ronoc" (ireland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Burial at Thebes: Sophocles' Antigone (Paperback)
A great translation of classic literature from a poet who himself will be considered as a classic writer.
The play itself is well known, but this translation manages to keep the classic language, and add a modern undertone. This tone never intrudes on the work, but enhances its constant rrelevance.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars OU set course book., 17 Aug 2009
By Mrs. L. Sidnell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Burial at Thebes: Sophocles' Antigone (Paperback)
This has been the most enjoyable part of my course so far. A great entry into the world of Greek Theatre and poetry.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Sent Promply when I needed it
Amazon UK sent this as soon as I had ordered it - almost - I shall want it for when I am starting University - you can rely on Amazon UK for delivery and you can rely on Seamus... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Patricia Enola

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