Overview
By considering women's voices in performance, Anne Klinck provides a new perspective on women's "writing." She shows that our understanding of femininity in ancient Greece can be expanded by going beyond poetry composed by women poets like Sappho to explore girls' and women's choral songs from the archaic period, songs for female choruses and characters in tragedy, and lyrical representations of women's rituals and cults.
Through a balanced discussion of poetry as performance, relevant kinds and genres of poetry, the definition and scope of "woman's song" as a mode, partheneia (maidens' songs) and the girls' chorus, lyric in the drama, echoes and imitations of archaic woman's song in Hellenistic poetry, and inferences about the differences between male and female authors, Klinck demonstrates that woman's song is ultimately best understood as the product of a male-dominated culture but that feminine stereotypes, while refined by skilful male poets, are interrogated and shifted by female poets.
Arranged in more-or-less chronological order, the chapters contain three sections: an introduction to the author(s), poems or passages in the original Greek accompanied by line-for-line translations in free verse, and notes elucidating the text, its provenance, allusions, and textual difficulties. Beginning with Alcman, going on to Sappho, Corinna, Pindar, other lyric poets, lyric in the drama, and then the Hellenistic poets Nossis, Theocritus, and Bion, Woman's Songs in Ancient Greece traces the evolution of female-voice lyric from 600 to 100 BCE.
While major retailers like Amazon may carry Woman's Songs in Ancient Greece, we specialize in bulk book sales and offer personalized service from our friendly, book-smart team based in Portland, Oregon. We’re proud to offer a Price Match Guarantee and a streamlined ordering experience from people who truly care.
We’re trusted by over 75,000 customers, many of whom return time and again. Want proof? Just check out our 25,000+ customer reviews—real feedback from people who love how we do business.
Prefer to talk to a real person? Our Book Specialists are here Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST and ready to help with your bulk order of Woman's Songs in Ancient Greece.