Though it is not just the story that is delightful but this is a gorgeously crafted physical book as well, with handwritten dialogue and abstract art pieces by Bianca Stone (I adored her poetry collection What is Otherwise Infinite) on thin translucent sheets between the text. It is better to learn too late, she implies, than never at all, yet the body count is now high, Kreon has abandoned himself entirely (‘ he no more exists than someone who does not exist’) and yet Nick--or time--goes on unbothered, always measuring. He makes certain changes, some lines and scenes are dropped, the play is prefaced with an inserted great dialogue between two unnamed sisters in Berlin in the final days of WW2, but nonetheless Sophocles' text is very much recognizable, showing what a great adaptation is about, something in which Carson fails. The drawings force the reader into deeper contemplation in an effort to connect the two (I did not, for the most part, succeed in finding a connection but still enjoyed the visuals).

The language of the translation is vivid, even racy, and will certainly engage a modern audience, though there are some mis-steps, or things which may or may not be mis-steps: for instance, Antigone's address to Ismene as "O one and only head of my sister .Her testament that “I am born for love not hatred” is a response to his “Enemy is always enemy, alive or dead. She later offers an overview of Antigone's childhood – "we got her the bike we got her a therapist". There are occasional grim felicities, but the effort still struck me as wilful and contrived, a knowing revenge on both Sophocles and his admirers. Maybe the idea is for the illustrations to work against expectation by not meeting the reader's expectations of what illustrations should do, reflecting the way the text works against the reader's expectations of what a translation of Sophocles should be; if so, I for one found that the technique didn't work. The beauty of the tragedy is that you can read it on various levels, you can find multiple meanings in it – and Anne Carson aware of it (we get Hegel references for instance).

No seré la que juzgue si hizo un buen o mal trabajo, porque no sé griego ni puedo aventurarme en la profundidad de las interpretaciones de aquellxs filósofxs que vieron en Antígona una oportunidad para analizar la naturaleza humana.He does not seem to hold himself fully accountable for the vast devastation his actions have unleashed, the human cost of his unjust wield of power. Carson's cast has known them all: "Remember how Brecht had you do the whole play with a door strapped to your back? And does the author really intend the bathetic potential of the lines given to various chorus members at a particularly poignant juncture of the action: "Here comes Creon . That "nick" is suggestive of a chipped ancient sculpture, a prison, a critical moment – or, as Carson's cast-list suggests, a ghostly presence: Nick is "a mute part [always onstage, he measures things].

know little and could not care less про античну літературу в цілому, це перекладацьке зухвальство – ця готовність простягнути тексту руку через століття (чи то потиснути, чи то дати ляпаса) – дуже підкуповує. When Antigone is caught pouring dust and water on her brother’s body, she is brought before the king.In contrast to Grief Lessons and Carson’s Oresteia translation, this one is far less literal, pulling in contemporary language and references to contemporary authors who have commented on Antigone. I was the fool, not you,” he cries out, addressing his dead son, “to trample out the thing I held most dear. What I didn’t notice was the disparity of pages – my slim edition of 44 pages is not a cheaper version of the hardback of 180 pages. She is a heroine who has been interpreted by critics in myriad ways: for Hegel, she represents the ethical value of the family against the state; for George Eliot, the strength of intellect against society; for Anouilh, during the French resistance, the rejection of authority. I agree it is problematic to have Antigone say things like "BINGO," despite Carson's clear intention to speak to a contemporary reader.

Other fun plays on words is Antigone mentioning she is lonely inside herself, poking at her fate of being sealed alone inside a cave. net, says the illustrations "lack the depth, in both subject and style, to dovetail with Carson's translation.I watched the BBC Four programme and actress Juliette Binoche undoubtedly gives a stupendous performance as Antigone. Even her beloved sister Ismene remarks, “You are a person in love with the impossible … although you go without your mind. But of course there is hope look here comes hope / wandering in / to tickle your feet // Then you notice the soles are on fire.