The Bacchae of Euripides

"Williams's fine translation of The Bacchae achieves something of what Longinus (in On The Sublime) admires in Euripides, 'sobriety in the midst of the Bacchic revels.' Williams convinces us of Dionysus' power to make a man slip into madness, but in language that never forgets its form and control. Martha Nussbaum's subtle, wide-ranging, and well-informed introduction does justice to the disturbin

"This new version of The Bacchae should allow English readers to appreciate some of the rich qualities of Euripides' masterpiece. C. K. Williams handles the spoken poetry of the original in a flexible verse that encompasses a wide range of tone. His treatment of the lyrics uses a rhythmically bold form whose accents would particularly lend themselves to effective choral acting. The translation is

"Williams has done a fine version of The Bacchae in vigorous, plain language, and I think that the beautifully rendered choruses, if distributed in the manner he envisions, would have great power in performance."