Clouds (Meineck Edition)

"Since the appearance of Sommerstein’s very successful literal translation less than twenty years ago, there have been at least five further new published attempts at rendering the play into English. It is certainly a bold enterprise to introduce yet one more translation onto the scene, but Peter Meineck has risen well to the challenge. The translation is straightforward and idiomatic, as well as well-paced and funny. . . Ian Storey’s Introduction is perfect for undergraduates.” —Max Nelson, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

SKU
25908g

Aristophanes
Translated, with Notes, by Peter Meineck
Introduction by Ian C. Storey

2000 - 160 pp.

Grouped product items
Format ISBN Price Qty
Cloth 978-0-87220-517-8
$27.00
Paper 978-0-87220-516-1
$11.00
Instructor Examination (Review) Copy 978-0-87220-516-1
$1.00

eBook available for $8.50. Click HERE for more information.

This line-for-line translation of Aristophanes’ best-known comedy features an Introduction on Old Comedy, and the place of Clouds and Aristophanic comedy within it. Footnotes and more detailed endnotes further distinguish this edition of a play famous for its caricature of Socrates and of the “new learning.”

 

Reviews:

"Since the appearance of Sommerstein’s very successful literal translation less than twenty years ago, there have been at least five further new published attempts at rendering the play into English. It is certainly a bold enterprise to introduce yet one more translation onto the scene, but Peter Meineck has risen well to the challenge. The translation is straightforward and idiomatic, as well as well-paced and funny. . . Ian Storey’s Introduction is perfect for undergraduates.”
     —Max Nelson, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"An excellent translation, ideal for undergraduates. Readable and entertaining to a modern audience, Meineck doesn’t make the fatal mistake of translating the humor with modern cultural equivalents—a mistake that has dated within years other translations of Aristophanes. Excellent notes and an outstanding introduction to Greek Comedy, Aristophanes, and Clouds by Ian Storey coupled with the superb translation will make this the edition to use in teaching for many years to come.”
     —James A. Francis, University of Kentucky

"Ian Storey’s helpful 41-page introduction clearly introduces Greekless students to Old Comedy, to Aristophanes, to what is known of how it was produced, to the literary structure of Old Comedy, to problems of interpreting Aristophanes, and to the Clouds itself. The translation aims to serve ‘both as a tool for the effective execution of onstage comedy and as an accurate reflection of the Greek.’ With its excellent, well-chosen notes, helpful bibliography, and its affordable paperback format, the Meineck translation is clear, readable, appropriately accurate. It earns high marks also for cost-effectiveness.”
     —E. M. Macierowski, Benedictine College

 

About the Author:

Peter Meineck is Associate Professor of Classics at New York University, where he holds the endowed chair in Classics in the Modern World. He is the founder of Aquila Theatre.