The Fables of Phaedrus

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book The Fables of Phaedrus by Phaedrus, University of Texas Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Phaedrus ISBN: 9780292727458
Publisher: University of Texas Press Publication: March 7, 2014
Imprint: University of Texas Press Language: English
Author: Phaedrus
ISBN: 9780292727458
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Publication: March 7, 2014
Imprint: University of Texas Press
Language: English

Animal fables are said to have originated with Aesop, a semilegendary Samian slave, but the earliest surviving record of the fables comes from the Latin poet Phaedrus, who introduced the new genre to Latin literature. This verse translation of The Fables is the first in English in more than two hundred years. In addition to the familiar animal fables, about a quarter of the book includes such diverse material as prologues and epilogues, historical anecdotes, short stories, enlarged proverbs and sayings, comic episodes and folk wisdom, and many incidental glimpses of Greek and Roman life in the classical period. The Fables also sheds light on the personal history of Phaedrus, who seems to have been an educated slave, eventually granted his freedom by the emperor Augustus. Phaedrus' style is lively, clean, and sparse, though not at the cost of all detail and elaboration. It serves well as a vehicle for his two avowed purposes—to entertain and to give wise counsel for the conduct of life. Like all fabulists, Phaedrus was a moralist, albeit on a modest and popular level. An excellent introduction by P. F. Widdows provides information about Phaedrus, the history of The Fables, the metric style of the original and of this translation, and something of the place of these fables in Western folklore. The translation is done in a free version of Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse, a form used by W. H. Auden and chosen here to match the popular tone of Phaedrus' Latin verse.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Animal fables are said to have originated with Aesop, a semilegendary Samian slave, but the earliest surviving record of the fables comes from the Latin poet Phaedrus, who introduced the new genre to Latin literature. This verse translation of The Fables is the first in English in more than two hundred years. In addition to the familiar animal fables, about a quarter of the book includes such diverse material as prologues and epilogues, historical anecdotes, short stories, enlarged proverbs and sayings, comic episodes and folk wisdom, and many incidental glimpses of Greek and Roman life in the classical period. The Fables also sheds light on the personal history of Phaedrus, who seems to have been an educated slave, eventually granted his freedom by the emperor Augustus. Phaedrus' style is lively, clean, and sparse, though not at the cost of all detail and elaboration. It serves well as a vehicle for his two avowed purposes—to entertain and to give wise counsel for the conduct of life. Like all fabulists, Phaedrus was a moralist, albeit on a modest and popular level. An excellent introduction by P. F. Widdows provides information about Phaedrus, the history of The Fables, the metric style of the original and of this translation, and something of the place of these fables in Western folklore. The translation is done in a free version of Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse, a form used by W. H. Auden and chosen here to match the popular tone of Phaedrus' Latin verse.

More books from University of Texas Press

Cover of the book Barrio-Logos by Phaedrus
Cover of the book Grasses, Pods, Vines, Weeds by Phaedrus
Cover of the book Journey to Texas, 1833 by Phaedrus
Cover of the book Supplement to the Handbook of Middle American Indians, Volume 3 by Phaedrus
Cover of the book Subterranean Struggles by Phaedrus
Cover of the book Filming Difference by Phaedrus
Cover of the book The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One by Phaedrus
Cover of the book The Individuality of Portugal by Phaedrus
Cover of the book Mount Sinai by Phaedrus
Cover of the book Fernández de Oviedo's Chronicle of America by Phaedrus
Cover of the book Science in Medieval Islam by Phaedrus
Cover of the book The Ranger Ideal Volume 2 by Phaedrus
Cover of the book The Black Death in Egypt and England by Phaedrus
Cover of the book Tomorrow We're All Going to the Harvest by Phaedrus
Cover of the book Aspects of English Sentence Stress by Phaedrus
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy