An edition of Menander's Samia with introduction and commentary
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: Classics
Abstract
The objective of this research is to complete an edition of Menander's comedy Samia (The Woman from Samos), which will contain a completely revised text of the play, an introduction explaining its principal themes and setting it in its literary, social and historical context, and a commentary which will, among other things, explain the meaning of the text, seek to determine how the play was performed, and establish, so far as possible, what was said and done in those sections of the play that have not been preserved in papyri (about half of the first act, and half of the second act, of this five-act play).
Planned Impact
This project is expected to have primarily research, educational and cultural impacts/benefits, as explained below; for particulars of the plans for creating these, see the Pathways to Impact document.
Research and Educational:
(1) for students, especially undergraduates, in Classics, through facilitating the study, and encouraging the teaching, of Greek New Comedy in the original
(2) for researchers in Classics and Ancient History, through new insights contained especially in the Introduction and Commentary, including connections between the play and other earlier, contemporary and later texts, and between the play and its social and historical background (see also Academic Beneficiaries)
(3) for students and researchers in the art and history of drama and the theatre, through making available an up-to-date English introduction to, and commentary on, one of the best preserved examples of a genre that was the source of a 2400-year tradition of light drama, and also through the planned production and any publication (e.g. an adapted translation) arising therefrom
(4) for sixth-formers (and their equivalents in other countries), by facilitating the study of Menander as part of A level (or equivalent) syllabuses
(5) for sixth-form (and equivalent) teachers, including those teaching classical literature in translation, by enlarging their understanding of Menandrian comedy
The research benefits will be felt throughout the world. The educational benefits can be expected to be felt in all English-speaking countries in which the subjects mentioned above are taught: of my previous volume in the same series (Aeschylus, Eumenides (1989)), almost 70% of sales have been outside the UK, without counting sales of the Modern Greek translation of the volume.
Cultural:
(1) for all concerned with the theatre in whatever capacity, by adding a new ancient drama to the current theatrical repertoire through the planned production
(2) for the general public, by making this drama available both through performance and through publication of the adapted translation used for it
These impacts too should be felt in other English-speaking countries besides the UK, especially in view of Peter Meineck's residence in the USA and his many contacts there.
Research and Educational:
(1) for students, especially undergraduates, in Classics, through facilitating the study, and encouraging the teaching, of Greek New Comedy in the original
(2) for researchers in Classics and Ancient History, through new insights contained especially in the Introduction and Commentary, including connections between the play and other earlier, contemporary and later texts, and between the play and its social and historical background (see also Academic Beneficiaries)
(3) for students and researchers in the art and history of drama and the theatre, through making available an up-to-date English introduction to, and commentary on, one of the best preserved examples of a genre that was the source of a 2400-year tradition of light drama, and also through the planned production and any publication (e.g. an adapted translation) arising therefrom
(4) for sixth-formers (and their equivalents in other countries), by facilitating the study of Menander as part of A level (or equivalent) syllabuses
(5) for sixth-form (and equivalent) teachers, including those teaching classical literature in translation, by enlarging their understanding of Menandrian comedy
The research benefits will be felt throughout the world. The educational benefits can be expected to be felt in all English-speaking countries in which the subjects mentioned above are taught: of my previous volume in the same series (Aeschylus, Eumenides (1989)), almost 70% of sales have been outside the UK, without counting sales of the Modern Greek translation of the volume.
Cultural:
(1) for all concerned with the theatre in whatever capacity, by adding a new ancient drama to the current theatrical repertoire through the planned production
(2) for the general public, by making this drama available both through performance and through publication of the adapted translation used for it
These impacts too should be felt in other English-speaking countries besides the UK, especially in view of Peter Meineck's residence in the USA and his many contacts there.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Alan Herbert Sommerstein (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |