Atalanta in Calydon

Algernon Charles SwinburneProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 109K words
Chapters: 11

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Atalanta in Calydon by Algernon Charles SwinburneAuthor: Swinburne, Algernon Charles, 1837-1909,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Mar 16, 2005

Editor's review

Atalanta in Calydon is a verse drama Swinburne wrote in the form of a Greek tragedy, drawing on the myth of the Calydonian boar hunt and Atalanta. Its core value lies in its language: Swinburne pushes the sonic effects of Victorian poetry to the extreme, and the choruses are intensely musical in rhythm, alliteration, and refrain, while the classical conflict of fate voices a questioning of religion and the natural order. The point of reading this book is not to follow plot but to feel the vocal texture and lyrical density of the verse drama, and to observe how a Victorian poet rewrites Greek myth. It suits readers interested in English poetry, the classical tradition, or the form of verse drama; those expecting tight dramatic action or modern novelistic characterisation may find it slow-moving and over-rhetorical. Read the choruses and key dialogues selectively, and use a background in Greek myth to understand the relationships between characters.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Victorian English poetry and verse drama
Students and scholars studying the reception of classical myth in English literature
Language lovers who enjoy reading aloud and value poetic sound and rhythm
English literature students who need a representative Swinburne text for coursework

Not a good fit for

Readers of fiction who prefer fast-paced plots and realistic characterisation
Beginners wholly unfamiliar with classical myth who do not wish to look up background
General readers looking for a Chinese translation or an edition with detailed notes

Reading tips

First learn the outline of the Calydonian hunt and the myth of Atalanta, then enter the text.
Read the choruses first and read them aloud to appreciate Swinburne's sound design.
Use Althaea's curse and the conflict of fate as a thread to follow the drama's progression.
After reading, compare it with the form of Greek tragedy and note where the author rewrites or departs from it.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a play or poetry?

It is a verse drama written in the form of a Greek tragedy, with dialogue, a chorus, and dramatic structure, but the language is highly lyrical and the whole is closer to a poem meant to be read aloud. Read it attending both to character conflict and to the choruses as independent poems.

Can I understand it without a background in Greek myth?

You can read it at a basic level, but your grasp of character motives and the logic of fate will suffer. The story revolves around the Calydonian boar hunt, Althaea, and Meleager; knowing these mythic relationships beforehand helps you understand the curse, the family conflict, and the chorus's commentary.

Where does Swinburne's language become difficult?

The main difficulties are dense rhetoric, alliteration, refrain, and long sentences, along with many classical allusions. Sentences often move by sound rather than logic, and a first reading can be bewildering. Slow down, grasp the emotional tone of each passage first, then return to the allusions and syntax.

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About the author

Algernon Charles Swinburne Author · United Kingdom · 1837–1909

Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909) was an English poet, playwright and literary critic of the Victorian era. Born in London, he attended Eton and Oxford and was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites. He is known for lyric poetry of sumptuous sound and rich diction, combining sensuous colour with the gravity of classical subjects. His representative works include the verse drama Atalanta in Calydon, the collections Poems and Ballads, Songs Before Sunrise, A Midsummer Holiday and Other Poems and Astrophel and Other Poems, as well as The Triumph of Time and the critical study A Study of Shakespeare. Twenty-five of his works are held in the collection. Public information is limited, yet his style has had a lasting influence on British aestheticism and the lyric tradition.