“In traversing the eternal pull between what humans call reason and what that reason deems primal, Carson’s trademark simplicity allows this work to feel simultaneously ancient and contemporary.”
—Publishers Weekly
I received some interesting comments and questions in response to the last episode on Dionysus. I’ll take them up next week in a new episode.
In the meantime, this poem by Anne Carson is an elegant summary of the god, as seen through the eyes of the ancient Greek playwright Euripides.
Click here to find Carson’s 2017 translation of “The Bacchae” by Euripides.
“The Bacchae” is the most famous story about Dionysus, and I think the message it conveyed to the ancient Greeks is one that hyper-rational Western societies should heed today….
until next week!
“Dionysus does not
explain or regret
anything. He is
pleased
if he can cause you to perform,
despite your plan,
despite your politics,
despite your neuroses,
despite even your Dionysian theories of self,
something quite previous,
the desire
before the desire,
the lick of beginning to know you don’t know.
If life is a stage,
that is the show.
Exit Dionysus.”
― Anne Carson, The Bacchae
Click here to read review of Carson’s 2017 translation of Euripide’s play “Bakkhai.”
