Laura Swift
I am Senior Lecturer in Classics at the Open University, and my research interests are in the field of archaic and classical Greek poetry and drama.
I have recently completed a commentary on the seventh-century BC poet Archilochus. In antiquity, Archilochus was considered one of the most important poets and rated second only to Homer, but the fragmentary state of his text has led to his being neglected by modern scholars. However, the discovery of new Archilochus poems throughout the latter half of the twentieth century (and most recently a major new fragment in 2005) has reaffirmed his importance in the development of Greek poetry.
My other major research interest is Greek tragedy, and in particular on the relationship between the tragic chorus and other types of choral song performed in Greek society. My book The Hidden Chorus (2010) argued for the central importance of choral song as a cultural tool in Greek society, and suggested a reading of tragedy that placed as much weight on the musical contexts of fifth-century Athens as much scholars have traditionally placed on historical or political ones. I have also published more broadly on tragedy, including a book on Euripides' Ion (2008)
I teach most areas of archaic and classical Greek literature, especially Homer, lyric, and tragedy. I also teach Latin and Greek languages and several areas of Latin literature. A full list of my publications is available at http://oro.open.ac.uk/view/person/ls9939.html
I have recently completed a commentary on the seventh-century BC poet Archilochus. In antiquity, Archilochus was considered one of the most important poets and rated second only to Homer, but the fragmentary state of his text has led to his being neglected by modern scholars. However, the discovery of new Archilochus poems throughout the latter half of the twentieth century (and most recently a major new fragment in 2005) has reaffirmed his importance in the development of Greek poetry.
My other major research interest is Greek tragedy, and in particular on the relationship between the tragic chorus and other types of choral song performed in Greek society. My book The Hidden Chorus (2010) argued for the central importance of choral song as a cultural tool in Greek society, and suggested a reading of tragedy that placed as much weight on the musical contexts of fifth-century Athens as much scholars have traditionally placed on historical or political ones. I have also published more broadly on tragedy, including a book on Euripides' Ion (2008)
I teach most areas of archaic and classical Greek literature, especially Homer, lyric, and tragedy. I also teach Latin and Greek languages and several areas of Latin literature. A full list of my publications is available at http://oro.open.ac.uk/view/person/ls9939.html
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Books by Laura Swift
This volume is the first ever complete commentary on Archilochus, filling a substantial gap in scholarship on archaic Greek poetry and playing an important and timely role in re-establishing him as a major author and in locating the recent discoveries in the broader context of his oeuvre. Presenting the fragmentary texts alongside brand new translations, the volume also contains a comprehensive introduction offering an accessible guide to Archilochus' work and context, and a detailed commentary providing textual, literary, and historical analysis of all of his surviving poetry and discussing broader questions of performance and genre in early Greek poetic culture. The scope and depth of the analysis not only highlights the diversity and sophistication of Archilochus' work, but also sheds new light on our understanding of Greek iambus and elegy, while his influence on later writers means that the commentary will be of significance to scholars and students of Hellenistic and Roman literature, and the later lyric tradition, as well as archaic and classical Greek literature.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Chapter One: Tragedy as a Genre
Chapter Two: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides
Chapter Three: Myth
Chapter Four: Heroes
Chapter Five: The Gods
Chapter Six: Contemporary Thought
Chapter Seven: Gender and the Family
Chapter Eight: The Chorus
Chronology
Glossary of Greek and Technical Terms
Suggestions for Further Reading
Index
Reviews:
Luigi Battezzato in JHS: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8441573
Andromache Karanika in AJP: http://staging01.muse.jhu.edu/journals/american_journal_of_philology/v132/132.3.karanika.html
Anna Uhlig in BMCR: http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2011/2011-01-02.html"
Papers by Laura Swift
This volume is the first ever complete commentary on Archilochus, filling a substantial gap in scholarship on archaic Greek poetry and playing an important and timely role in re-establishing him as a major author and in locating the recent discoveries in the broader context of his oeuvre. Presenting the fragmentary texts alongside brand new translations, the volume also contains a comprehensive introduction offering an accessible guide to Archilochus' work and context, and a detailed commentary providing textual, literary, and historical analysis of all of his surviving poetry and discussing broader questions of performance and genre in early Greek poetic culture. The scope and depth of the analysis not only highlights the diversity and sophistication of Archilochus' work, but also sheds new light on our understanding of Greek iambus and elegy, while his influence on later writers means that the commentary will be of significance to scholars and students of Hellenistic and Roman literature, and the later lyric tradition, as well as archaic and classical Greek literature.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Chapter One: Tragedy as a Genre
Chapter Two: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides
Chapter Three: Myth
Chapter Four: Heroes
Chapter Five: The Gods
Chapter Six: Contemporary Thought
Chapter Seven: Gender and the Family
Chapter Eight: The Chorus
Chronology
Glossary of Greek and Technical Terms
Suggestions for Further Reading
Index
Reviews:
Luigi Battezzato in JHS: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8441573
Andromache Karanika in AJP: http://staging01.muse.jhu.edu/journals/american_journal_of_philology/v132/132.3.karanika.html
Anna Uhlig in BMCR: http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2011/2011-01-02.html"