Showing titles in Ancient, Classical & Medieval Literature

Aristotle's Poetics is best known for its definitions and analyses of tragedy and comedy, but it also applies to truth and beauty as they are manifested in the other arts. In our age, when the natural and social sciences have dominated the quest for truth, it is helpful to consider why Aristotle claimed poetry is more philosophical and more significant than history. Like so many other works by Aristotle, the Poetics has dominated the way we have thought about all forms of dramatic performance in Europe and America ever since.

Gripping tales that abound with fantastic characters and astonishing twists and turns, Greek myths confront what it means to be mortal in a world of powerful forces beyond human control. Little wonder that they continue to fascinate readers thousands of years after they were first told. Gods and Mortals is a major new telling of ancient Greek myths by one of the world's preeminent experts.

THE PARDONER’S TALE AND THE NUN’S PRIEST’S TALE FROM CHAUCER’S CANTEBURY TALES. It has been said that no translation, however studied and skilful, can do justice to the genius of Chaucer’s writing.

A classic performance of one of the Bard's classics.

The book is one of the most influential ethical treatises of all time. Written in 350 BC, it identifies happiness as life's goal. How do we achieve this goal? Not through the satisfactions that come from pleasure, wealth, or fame. According to Aristotle, the true path to happiness lies in contemplation of philosophic truth. This is the only action through which humans can exercise their distinctively unique trait: the ability to reason.

Sophocles' timeless drama is often considered the greatest of all surviving Athenian plays. Oedipus, king of Thebes, must save his ailing city by tracking down the murderer of its former king. Translation by F. Storr.

There is no other anthology that brings together similar stories of ancient women in power. All of these stories were written by men, and none of them can be interpreted as affirmations or celebrations of women in power. They are instead misogynistic tales that aim to shore up masculine authority by exposing the consequences when women rather than men wield it.

Las Rimas de Bécquer son hoy la más conocida de las colecciones poéticas del siglo XIX. Exponente de una lírica incómoda en el corsé romántico y casi modernista, estos poemas breves deben su liviandad a un esforzado trabajo de depuración estilística.

This tale of a man who, when tinkering with magic, becomes changed into an ass is one of the most entertaining and remarkable stories from classic Latin literature. It is funny, bawdy and completely approachable - but also shows life from the point of view of a beast of burden in the Roman Empire of the second century CE.

Christopher Marlowe's play about a man who sells his soul to the devil is not only one of the first of many works to explore this theme but also one of the most startling. Eschewing the usual division of the drama into acts, it presents the story of Faustus' fall in a series of apparently disconnected scenes. However, the integrity of the drama is maintained by the remorseless unraveling of Faustus' fortunes as he approaches his inevitable damnation.

The multi award-winning SmartPass study guide, with and without commentary options. This is a full-cast, unabridged performance with comprehensive commentary and analysis for any student to fully understand and appreciate the play. Soak up the atmosphere of ancient Rome. Decide for yourself whether Caesar's power and ambition was a threat to the Republic, and whether assassination can ever be justified.

Thyestes is a tragic rendition of the fraternal civil war within House Atreides. This 1st century A.D. play was written by the Stoic philosopher Seneca and has been translated into readable prose for a 21st century audience.

Though best known now for his collection of lively and vivid Parallel Lives from ancient Greece and Rome, Plutarch (c46 CD-120 CE) was, for centuries, more respected for his Moralia, a remarkable and wide-ranging collection of essays and speeches. No fewer than 78 in total, they range over a broad list of topics in which Plutarch observes, dispenses wisdom, admonishes, entertains and informs: covering social issues and politics, manners and religion - in short, life in general.

A versão em áudio desta descrição da Guerra de Tróia é rica em elementos sonoros ligados às batalhas, à natureza, às manifestações dos deuses e à musicalidade grega. Com a participação de 16 profissionais de voz, entre atores, narradores e dubladores, que interpretam 34 personagens.

A versão em áudio desta descrição da Guerra de Tróia é rica em elementos sonoros ligados às batalhas, à natureza, às manifestações dos deuses e à musicalidade grega. Com a participação de 16 profissionais de voz, entre atores, narradores e dubladores, que interpretam 34 personagens, além da voz do narrador.Vozes: Angela Couto (Atena); Barros Batista (Antíloco, Hermes, Dólon e Glauco); Carol Leiderfarb (Hera); Di Ramon (rei da Lícia, Menelau, soldado troiano e Príamo).

In this classic farce, a young man pretends to be a war hero to impress a pretty girl. As his lies progress, so do his troubles - with hilarious results. Playwright Pierre Corneille’s comedy of manners is considered a groundbreaking work that influenced contemporaries such as the young Molière. An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast production, starring Tara Lynne Barr, Janine Barris, Sue Cremin, Danny Mann, Christopher Neame, John Sloan, Mark Sullivan, and Matthew Wolf Includes a conversation about Corneille and French drama with Larry F. Norman of the University of Chicago.

Eugene O’Neill’s tale of Ephraim Cabot, greedy and hard like the stone walls that surround his farm, the family patriarch brings home his new young bride, Abbie. His grown sons dissaprove; one leaves but the other stays to fight for the family fortune. What follows is a tragedy of epic proportions.

Written by Susan Glaspell in 1916, Trifles is a one-act play about a woman accused of strangling her husband. Based on an actual murder case reported by Glaspell for the Des Moines News, the play represented an early exploration of gender relationships in a time when women often were considered to be mere trifles. A groundbreaking feminist play, Trifles is often included in anthologies of drama and literature.

This epic of the booming 20's captures the relentless culture of American business. A classic novel about conformity in small town America - celebrated for its comic tone, statire, and vivid dialogue. L.A. Theatre Works, then a fledgling radio theatre company, completed Babbitt in 1989. This production was so well received that L.A. Theatre Works has since become the world's premiere radio theatre company.

The Athenian court has found Socrates guilty and sentenced him to death. While he is waiting to be executed, his friend, Crito, comes to the prison to persuade him to escape and go into exile. Socrates responds by examining the essence of law and community, probing the various kinds of law and making distinctions that go far beyond the particular issue of whether or not Socrates should escape.