description: This critical edition of Ezra Pound's Elektra marks the most significant appearance in 20 years of a "new" work by the controversial poet. Composed in the early months of 1949, while Pound was under indictment for treason &amp; hospitalized by court order in Washington, D.C., this hitherto unpublished version of Sophocles' play documents a critical stage in the poet's writing career: with his subsequent rendition of Sophocles' Trachiniae &amp; his ongoing translations from the Chinese classics, it signaled his return to sustained composition &amp; his eventual decision to resume his life work, the Cantos. The success of Carey Perloff's Classic Stage Company debut of Pound's play in 1987 has already demonstrated the interest of the theatrical community in the work, &amp; this presentation of the text, with critical apparatus, is a major event in Pound studies. The edition serves as a kind of practical workshop in translation, particularly in its exposition of Pound's discussions with his collaborator, Rudd Fleming. Richard Reid demonstrates in his introduction that Pound's choice of the Elektra was of crucial significance. In the play Sophocles confronts many of our most deeply held cultural assumptions: those concerning the family, the community, the claims of religion &amp; justice, &amp; language itself. As anyone familiar with the works of Pound will readily recognize, these issues are central in his own writings. The Elektra clarifies the formal, thematic &amp; psychological dilemmas seen in his work following the achievements recorded in the Pisan Cantos. This play &amp; Pound's version of the Trachiniae can lead to a reassessment of his entire oeuvre in the context of this century's history. It will be essential reading for admirers of Pound's poetry, for students of the art of translation &amp; for directors &amp; actors interested in performing the drama of ancient Athens on the modern stage.
language: English
title: Elektra
titlecomplete: Elektra
characters: Electra, Clytemnestra (wife of Agamemnon), Orestes, Aegisthus, Chrysothemis
genres: Mythology, Theatre, Tragedy, Classics, Drama, Ancient, Plays, Fiction, Literature, Poetry
ratings_count: 12431
places: Greece
publisher: New Directions