Discussion, Anne Carson's "Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Euripides," part II

This work is Anne Carson's translation of four plays by Euripides, an ancient Athenian tragedian. The texts are of the tragedies Herakles, Hekabe, Hippolytus, and Alkestis.

Ancient tragedies were produced in a 3+1 format: a trilogy, often with related themes or narratives, along with a satyr play, or, in some rare instances, a tragicomedy (as was the case of Alkestis). Usually, the trilogy followed a through-line. In this case, Carson has taken as her though-line grief and its pedagogy, stitching together a patchwork quilt of three tragedies and a tragicomedy to make something new. In true Carsonian style, there's more than "just" translation going on here.

We'll read Grief Lessons in two parts. For the second meeting, we'll continue our conversations about grief, death, dying, revenge, and the most "tragic" elements in tragedy. Please read the second two plays (Hippolytus and Alkestis).

We'll discuss the plays themselves, the form, the stories, Carson's unique style, and what comes next.