R. B. Rutherford

Greek tragedy is widely read and performed, but outside the commentary tradition detailed study of the poetic style and language of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides has been relatively neglected. This book seeks to fill that gap by providing an account of the poetics of the tragic genre. The author describes the varied handling of spoken dialogue and of lyric song; major topics such as vocabulary, rhetoric and imagery are considered in detail and illustrated from a broad range of plays. The contribution of the chorus to the dramas is also discussed. Characterisation, irony and generalising statements are treated in separate chapters and these topics are illuminated by comparisons which show not only what is shared by the three major dramatists but also what distinguishes their practice. The book sheds light both on the genre as a whole and on many particular passages.

Greek tragedy is widely read and performed, but outside the commentary tradition detailed study of the poetic style and language of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides has been relatively neglected. This book seeks to fill that gap by providing an account of the poetics of the tragic genre. The author describes the varied handling of spoken dialogue and of lyric song; major topics such as vocabulary, rhetoric and imagery are considered in detail and illustrated from a broad range of plays. The contribution of the chorus to the dramas is also discussed. Characterisation, irony and generalising statements are treated in separate chapters and these topics are illuminated by comparisons which show not only what is shared by the three major dramatists but also what distinguishes their practice. The book sheds light both on the genre as a whole and on many particular passages.

The fascination of Plato's dialogues rests not only on the range of arguments and opinions expressed by the participants, but also on the richness of his literary style. He captures the imagination and stimulates the curiosity of his readers through his expert use of techniques devised by the rhetoricians and even the poets of his time; Plato, the critic of art and poetry, shows himself a consummate artist. This book is not a study of Plato's philosophy, but a contribution to the literary interpretation of the dialogues, through analysis of their formal structure, characterization, language and imagery. The dialogues considered in these interrelated essays include the "Gorgias", the "Symposium", the "Republic" and the "Phaedrus". Special attention is paid to the personality of Socrates, Plato's remarkable mentor, and to his interaction with other characters in the dialogues. The book includes discussion of particular problems such as the sources for our knowledge of Socrates, the origins of the dialogue form, Plato's use of myth and the "totalitarianism" of the "Republic".

Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor from AD 161 to 180, is renowned for his just rule at home and for his long frontier wars. But his lasting claim to fame rests on the work known as the Meditations - a bedside book of reflections and self-admonitions composed in Greek (the language of philosophy) during his last years and partly while on campaign. These sparse notes, intended for the author's eyes alone, give unique access to the mind of an ancient ruler; they also contain many passages of pungent epigram and poetic imagery. In this study, Dr Rutherford seeks to make the Meditations more approachable to the modern reader by explaining the historical and philosophical background, charting the main themes and tendencies of Marcus' thought, and relating stylistic detail to the intellectual and moral outlook of the author.