Description

Octavia is a work of exceptional historical and dramatic interest. It is the only surviving complete example of the Roman historical drama known as the fabula praetexta. Written shortly after Nero's death by an unknown author, the play deals with events at the court of Nero in the decisive year 62 CE, for which it is the earliest extant (almost contemporary) literary source; its main themes are sex, murder, politics, power and the perceptions and constructions of history. It is a powerful, lyrical and spectacular play. This is the first critical edition of Octavia, with verse translation and commentary, which aims to elucidate the text dramatically as well as philologically, and to locate it firmly in its historical and theatrical context. The verse translation is designed for both performance and serious study.

Features

• Verse translation, with its high level of verbal, stylistic and dramatic accuracy and rhetorical power, is suitable both for performance and for serious study
• The first critical edition, with verse translation and commentary, of this exceptionally interesting work
• A comprehensive Introduction sheds light on the play's historical and theatrical contexts, as well as its later reception in drama and opera

Product Details

420 pages; ISBN13: 978-0-19-928784-0ISBN10: 0-19-928784-8

About the Author(s)