The Bacchae of Euripides: A communion rite,

The Bacchae of Euripides: A communion rite, by Wole Soyinka. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780393043969.

A wholly fresh interpretation of the timeless play by a Nobel Prize-winning author. Wole Soyinka has translatedâ in both language and spiritâ a great classic of ancient Greek theater. He does so with a poets ear for the cadences and rhythms of chorus and solo verse as well as a commanding dramatic use of the central social and religious myth. In his hands The Bacchae becomes a communal feast, a tumultuous celebration of life, and a robust ritual of the human and social psyche. "The Bacchae is the rites of an extravagant banquet, a monstrous feast," Soyinka writes. "Man reaffirms his indebtedness to earth, dedicates himself to the demands of continuity, and invokes the energies of productivity. Reabsorbed within the communal psyche he provokes the resources of nature; in turn he is replenished for the cyclic rain in his fragile individual potency." The blending of two master playwrightsâ Euripides and Soyinkaâ makes for an unforgettable experience.