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Seneca's Agamemnon: A Literary Translation with Annotations

Clay, Jason
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1491308000521512

Abstract Details

2017, MA, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Classics.
This project is a literary translation of Seneca the Younger’s Agamemnon. As the only extant Latin tragedian, Seneca’s work is invaluable to the history of drama. In the past, Seneca’s tragedies were understudied, yet they are now steadily gaining critical attention following a renewed interest in Silver Latin. This project aims to fill one of the gaps that previous inattention has caused: there are not many modern translations of Seneca’s tragedies, with the exception of Fitch’s Loeb, and A.J. Boyle’s translations and commentaries on Senecan tragedies. In my translation and annotation, I hope to underscore what makes Seneca’s tragedies so fascinating and worthy of study. With regards to translation, I tried to remain close to the original Latin, but I also recognize that Seneca’s style can be a bit clunky if one tries to adhere too closely. A major component of Seneca’s style is the influence of rhetoric and declamation, including frequent alliteration and wordplay that I tried to include in my translation. I wanted to highlight the intense emotion these characters feel. These are characters who are struggling to control their heightened emotions, and I hope to catch their struggle. Particular attention was paid to the messenger speech by Eurybates in Act III, which describes the destruction of the Greek fleet on their return from Troy. It is bizarre, otherworldly, and eerie, and I wanted the fear of the sailors to be palpable. With regards to annotation, I wanted to emphasize two primary elements: the ways in which Seneca develops his characters in relation to Aeschylus’ Agamemnon, which also details Agamemnon’s fatal return to Argos, and the use of Silver Latin motifs. While the plays share similarities in their casts of characters, the ways in which they act are remarkably different, especially the figures of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. Additionally, Seneca highlights what differs Silver Latin from its Gold predecessor. Among these include a high degree of intertextuality, metatheatrical components, and awareness of one’s literary past. My annotations elaborate upon these motifs.
|Lauren Ginsberg, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Valeria| Sergueenkova|, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
48 p.
Classical Studies
Seneca; Agamemnon; Translation; Literature

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Clay, J. (2017). Seneca's Agamemnon: A Literary Translation with Annotations [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1491308000521512

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Clay, Jason. Seneca's Agamemnon: A Literary Translation with Annotations. 2017. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1491308000521512.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Clay, Jason. "Seneca's Agamemnon: A Literary Translation with Annotations." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1491308000521512

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1491308000521512
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© 2017, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Seneca's Agamemnon: A Literary Translation with Annotations by Jason Clay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.