David Mulroy, UWM professor emeritus of classics, has completed translating “Agamemnon,” the first play in Aeschylus’ trilogy the “Oresteia.” The verse translation includes an introduction and notes.
“Agamemnon” was published by University of Wisconsin Press as a part of the Wisconsin Studies in Classics. Mulroy’s translations of “The Complete Poetry of Catullus and of Sophocles’ Theban trilogy,” “Oedipus Rex,” “Antigone,” and “Oedipus at Colonus” are also included.
According to the University of Wisconsin Press, Mulroy brings the ancient tragedy to life for modern readers and audiences. Using end rhyme and strict metrics, he combines the buoyant lyricism of the Greek text with a faithful rendering of its meaning in lucid English.
The play “Agamemnon” details the homecoming of Agamemnon, king of Argos, from the Trojan War. Waiting at home for him is his wife, Clytemnestra, who has been planning his murder, partly as revenge for the sacrifice of their daughter, Iphigenia.
Mulroy has taught classics at UWM for nearly 40 years, has published six books of translations of Greek and Latin poetry as well as “The War Against Grammar,” a popular history and defense of grammar.
