Hanna Roisman

Nothing Is As It Seems: The Tragedy of the Implicit in Euripides' Hippolytus In this valuable book, Hanna M. Roisman provides a uniquely comprehensive look at Euripides' Hippolytus. Roisman begins with an examination of the ancient preference for the implicit style, and suggests a possible reading of Euripides' first treatment of the myth that would account for the Athenians audiences' reservations about his Hippolytus Veiled. She proceeds to analyze significant scenes in the play, including Hippolytus' prayer to Artemis, Phaedra's delirium, Phaedra's "confession" speech, and the interactions between Theseus and Hippolytus. Concluding with a discussion of the meaning of the tragic in the Hippolytus, Roisman questions the applicability in this case of the ideas of the tragic flaw. Nothing is as It Seems includes extensive comparisons of Euripides' play with the Phaedra of Seneca. This is a very important book for students and scholars of Greek tragedy, literature, and rhetoric.

“This monograph provides a convincing and thought-provoking interpretation and should be a 'must' for everyone who is seriously interested in Euripidean tragedy. It fully deserves its own place within the canon of other long established views. The author states in her preface: 'If mine [i.e. my study] contributes to our understanding of this formidable play or raises new questions and suggests new answers, I will have reached my goal' (p. xi). She has undoubtedly done so.”

Elke Steinmeyer, Scholia