Germanicus Read online

Recommendations

  “Professor Claassen is an internationally acknowledged expert on the relationship between Roman history and culture and the concerns of writers today. Her translation marks an important extension of the availability of Afrikaans texts to anglophone readers ...”

  Prof. Lorna Hardwick: Open University, United Kingdom

  “This translation is exciting, thorough and very readable. Its language is as gripping as the original. Jo-Marie Claassen’s Introduction has taught me more about Germanicus and about Van Wyk Louw’s classical background than my many years of cursory skimming through the original without the contextualisation that she provides ...”

  Nico (P.N.) Muller: Online Editor Fairfax Sundays, Auckland, New Zealand

  “I believe that the publication of this play in English will attract the attention of scholars in the booming field of classical reception ...”

  Prof. William J. Dominik: University of Otago, New Zealand

  GERMANICUS

  A drama in verse

  by NP Van Wyk Louw

  Translated and

  with an Introduction

  by Jo-Marie Claassen

  First edition 2013

  Copyright © N.P. van Wyk Louw

  (Originally published in Afrikaans by Tafelberg, an imprint of NB Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa in 1956)

  Cover design © Jo-Marie Claassen

  www.dragonflyebooks.co.uk

  This is the first translation into English of the verse drama Germanicus by the Afrikaans poet N.P. Van Wyk Louw. The work was based on the first three chapters of the Annales of the Roman historiographer Tacitus. After the death of Emperor Augustus, his successor Tiberius’ adopted son Germanicus recoils from the cruelty inherent in imperial rule. In the end he helplessly acquiesces, finally welcoming his own death as a means of escape from the burden of empire.

  The drama has been considered a highlight in Afrikaans literature since its publication in 1956. Its interest lies in its amazing sweep of words, Louw’s sense of history and his portrayal of the inevitability of the corruption inherent in power. Louw’s great monologues dominate the debates between his main protagonists. His poetic Afrikaans had a grand eloquence that swept his audience along in a torrent of densely-argued meaning. Such conciseness offered severe challenges to the translator. Claassen’s colloquial translation manages to capture both the essence of Louw’s dramatic dialogues and the rhythmic cadences of the original poetry.

  The translator provides a lengthy Introduction, aimed at both a classical and a theatre-going readership, explaining the historical background and discussing Louw’s interpretation of Tacitus’ narrative and the constraints under which a translator works. A brief overview of the contents of the drama’s eight scenes is followed by a select bibliography.

  Table of Contents

  Foreword

  Translator’s Preface

  Simplified Family Tree of the Julio-Claudians

  Introduction

  Historical background

  Patronage and obligation

  Tacitean antecedents of Louw’s drama

  The origins and reception of the drama

  Dominant themes in the drama

  The character of Germanicus as presented by Tacitus and by Louw

  Louw’s characterization of the three male protagonists

  The women

  Historicity of the drama

  On Translating Louw’s Afrikaans

  Conclusion

  Notes

  Brief Overview of the Contents of the Drama

  Translation

  Part I: Roman Encampment Near the Rhine Border

  Scene 1 Roman camp in northern France, evening

  Scene 2 Piso’s tent, that same night

  Scene 3 Agrippina’s tent, that same night

  Scene 4 Germany: Germanicus’ official tent, one week later.

  Part II: Rome

  Scene 5 Livia’s palace, some months later

  Scene 6 Palace of Tiberius, a few days later