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jon_mckenney's review against another edition
5.0
Enjoyed the book a huge amount, particularly his discussions of Republic and Poetics. A lot went over my head, but in a great way. I won't think of catharsis in the same way.
colinandersbrodd's review against another edition
3.0
A philosophical look at the nature of ancient Athenian tragedy and how we interact with it (and how it interacts with us?). A rather dense text, delightful at times, but at others a bit of a slog. A lot of the emphasis is rather on philosophy than tragedy. There are extensive bits about Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, among others, and their thoughts on tragedy (among other things). There are some odd assertions (like that Socrates admired craftsmen and craftsmanship, but had no practical skills himself - was he not a stonemason?). There are sections on comedy that seem beyond what might be a reasonable comparison and contrast with tragedy. Indeed, the book feels like it meanders in topic and scope a bit, and while it is often well-written enough that sections of the book are enjoyable, I felt the book lacked coherence, and this made it harder to enjoy the book as a unified whole, or indeed to say definitively what the author was trying to say about ancient Greek tragedy.
breadandmushrooms's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
paulataua's review against another edition
3.0
I really respect Simon Critchley. I appreciate his work in the area of the philosophies of Heidegger and Levinas. I expected a lot and was excited by a glimpse of some central claim here about the possibility of a different approach to philosophy that reflects the moral ambiguity of tragedy. Sadly, I felt it never really delved deep enough into that possibility and the whole book remained a rambling introduction that covered a lot of area but did so only superficially.
zachhois's review against another edition
challenging
informative
3.0
This book is an absolute wealth of knowledge. Deep dive into Greek tragedies with hundreds of explicit references to reinforce his points. This factor was so enlightening to me, especially in reference to different interpretations of Socrates or Aristotle. I similarly enjoyed the references to philosophical GOATs Hegel, Nietzsche, Kant (ick but W). Incredibly smart dude. Also a bit of a mind F at times 😂 but it was perfect for my Greek itch atm
thombeckett's review against another edition
4.0
Critchley mentions in this epilogue that despite not being a classicist, he has an interest in ancient Greek theatre. This book is primarily a work of a philosopher, however. It looks at theatre ("the spectacle of politics looking at itself") from the perspective of Plato and Aristotle, but with multiple other views thrown in.
Plato chooses to reject theatre from his Republic, but Aristotle's Poetics goes into some detail on what theatre is, what effect it's supposed to have and its value.
Critchley takes all of these various perspectives and creates a work that skirts the ground between a full academic work and pop philosophy. It's entirely accessible, regardless of your knowledge of classics or philosophy, but Critchley doesn't shy away from pulling in views from Hegel or Nietzsche.
Each chapter explores an element of Greek theatre and each is challenging and provoking. It's probably not a great introduction to classics or Greek theatre but it's a great read.
Plato chooses to reject theatre from his Republic, but Aristotle's Poetics goes into some detail on what theatre is, what effect it's supposed to have and its value.
Critchley takes all of these various perspectives and creates a work that skirts the ground between a full academic work and pop philosophy. It's entirely accessible, regardless of your knowledge of classics or philosophy, but Critchley doesn't shy away from pulling in views from Hegel or Nietzsche.
Each chapter explores an element of Greek theatre and each is challenging and provoking. It's probably not a great introduction to classics or Greek theatre but it's a great read.