The Parent Trap

Toward the end of Medea, history's most infamous mother says, "We come from different worlds." If only that were true. What keeps us entranced through this eternally shocking drama is that Medea is part of our world; the passage of 2,400 years has done nothing to distance her from us.

The uncanny relevance of Euripides' tragedy is clear in Robin Robertson's bracing new translation (Free Press, $16). A Scottish poet, Robertson preserves the play's ancient Greek context but never lets it sound antique. His efficient introduction lays out the Athenians' attitudes about virtue, women and foreigners, while helping us understand the psychological acuity that makes this ghastly marital battle "feel utterly modern."

Almost no one approaches "Medea" without anticipating its climax. Indeed, Medea herself complains, "My reputation, yet again! It goes before me like a curse." But in this energetic version, the arguments between Medea and her faithless husband bristle with tension and even suspense. As the deadly logic of her rage progresses, you can't help but hope that this passionate woman will abandon her plans to exact the ultimate revenge.

By the blood-soaked finale, when she's turned all her enemies and her beloved sons "into corpse-meat," the play's banal opening line reverberates with sorrow: "If only it had never happened like this." -- R.C.