THe GReEk TRAGeDy in new TRanscTions 为 nIkon8 Sophocles Translated by Reginald gibbons and Charles Segal
THE GREEK TRAGEDY IN NEW TRANSLATIONS GENERAL EDITORS Peter Burian and Alan Shapiro SOPHOCLES: Antigone
THE GREEK TRAGEDY IN NEW TRANSLATIONS GENERAL EDITORS Peter Burian and Alan Shapiro SOPHOCLES: Antigone
SOPHOCLES Antigone Translated by REGINALD GIBBONS and CHARLES SEGAL OXFORD RSITY PRES 2003
SOPHOCLES Antigone Translate d by REGINALD GIBBONS and CHARLES SEGAL OXJORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 200 3
OXFORD UNIVBRSITYPRBSS ar es salaam Karachi Kolkata Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 1006 Www.oup. com All rights reserved. No part of this publi or by any means, tronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise thout the prior permission of Oxford University Press. [Antigone. English] (Greek mythology)-Drama. L Gibbons, Reginald. G53203 The translations of the odes on Man, on the House Labdakos, and to Eros Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
OXJORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Sao Paulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto Copyright © 2003 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sophocles. [Antigone. English] Antigone / Sophocles ; translated by Reginald Gibbons and Charles Segal. p. cm. ISBN 0-19-514373-6 1. Antigone (Greek mythology) —Drama. I. Gibbons, Reginald. II. Segal, Charles, 1936- III. Title. PA4414.A7 G53 2003 882'.01—dc2i 2002008966 The translations of the odes on Man, on the House of Labdakos, and to Eros were first published in Poetry magazine. 98765432 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
ED|TORS′ FOREWORD The Greek Tragedy in New Translations is based on the conviction that poets like Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides can only be prop- rly rendered by translators who are themselve is true, produce useful and perceptive versions. But our most urgent present need is for a re-creation of these plays -as though they had been written, freshly and greatly, by masters fully at home in the En glish of our With these words, the late William Arrowsmith announced the pur- pose of this series, and we intend to honor that purpose. As was true of most of the volumes that began to appear in the 197os-first under Arrowsmith's editorship, later in association with Herbert Golder those for which we bear editorial responsibility are products of close collaboration between poets and scholars. We believe(as Arrowsmith did) that the skills of both are required for the difficult and delicate task of transplanting these magnificent specimens of another culture into the soil of our own place and time, to do justice both to their deep differences from our patterns of thought and expression and to their palpable closeness to our most intimate concerns. above all, we poems that convey as avidly and directly as possible the splendor of language, the complexity of image and idea, and the intensity of emotion and originals. This meant for performance-as scripts for actors-to be sung and danced as well as spoken. It demands writing of inventiveness, clarity, musi- cality, and dramatic power. By such standards we ask that these trans- lations be judged This series is also distinguished by its of the need of nonspecialist readers for a critical introductio med by the best recent scholarship, but written clearly and condescension
EDITORS' FOREWORD "The Greek Tragedy in New Translations is based on the conviction that poets like Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides can only be properly rendered by translators who are themselves poets. Scholars may, it is true, produce useful and perceptive versions. But our most urgent present need is for a re-creation of these plays—as though they had been written, freshly and greatly, by masters fully at home in the English of our own times." With these words, the late William Arrowsmith announced the purpose of this series, and we intend to honor that purpose. As was true of most of the volumes that began to appear in the 19705 —first under Arrowsmith's editorship, later in association with Herbert Colder— those for which we bear editorial responsibility are products of close collaboration between poets and scholars. We believe (as Arrowsmith did) that the skills of both are required for the difficult and delicate task of transplanting these magnificent specimens of another culture into the soil of our own place and time, to do justice both to their deep differences from our patterns of thought and expression and to their palpable closeness to our most intimate concerns. Above all, we are eager to offer contemporary readers dramatic poems that convey as vividly and directly as possible the splendor of language, the complexity of image and idea, and the intensity of emotion and originals. This entails, among much else, the recognition that the tragedies were meant for performance—as scripts for actors—to be sung and danced as well as spoken. It demands writing of inventiveness, clarity, musicality, and dramatic power. By such standards we ask that these translations be judged. This series is also distinguished by its recognition of the need of nonspecialist readers for a critical introduction informed by the best recent scholarship, but written clearly and without condescension. V