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Japanese No Dramas Penguin Classics Various Royall Tyler Books

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Japanese No Dramas Penguin Classics Various Royall Tyler Books

I appreciate that no plays are supposed to be seen in performance rather than read, and I've never had the opportunity to see one. Still, I enjoyed this book and found it really useful to my understanding of Japanese art. Each play is short and easy to take in, and Tyler's translation is very readable. The explanatory notes provided context and understanding without overwhelming the reader with detail, and the performance directions went some way towards conveying what each play would be like on stage. Some line drawings of typical costumes would have been helpful, as with Tyler's translation of the Tale of Genji, but this is a very minor point. Four stars because I lack the specialist knowledge to make a truly informed judgement here.


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Japanese No Dramas Penguin Classics Various Royall Tyler Books Reviews

Tyler is known as an authority on Japanese Literature and this volume serves an excellent introduction to No drama which is quite philosophical and religious in background. Tyler includes several plays which are interesting from both an academic and asthetic viewpoint. I would like to make the suggestion to readers to look up some of Tyler's academic papers in titles such as "The Noh play Matsukaze as a transformation of Genji Monogatari" in Monumenta Nipponica. You can search in Jstor.com at your university library for his articles by author. His work in academic journals is top-notch.
The significance and effect of Noh drama is roughly equivalent to that of the plays of the great tragedians of ancient Greece. Noh combines the spiritual influences of the Buddhist and Shinto religions and the Japanese flair for densely woven, yet elegantly simple, verse in haunting allegories of enlightenment. Every detail, from set construction to the ritual motions of the actors on stage, heightens the poignancy of the plots. While the text of many of the plays are only a few pages long; a performance of a Noh play can last several hours. These plays are not only touching and intensely spiritual, but also provide a valuable resource for westerners who want to understand the roots of Japanese culture.
As previous reviewers have observed, Royall Tyler's scholarship is always top-notch, and his efforts in "Japanese No Dramas" are no exception. Yet equally impressive in this volume is the translator's ability to so richly present the depth of the No theater in clear, concise introductory essays that preface each play while locating them within a broader historical and literary context. This feature makes the text perfect for casual readers and devoted students alike. Tyler's general introduction to the No provides a solid theoretical background for complete beginners, explaining the foundations of the art, its prevalent symbolism and themes, and text- and performance-related terminology, while the aforementioned play-specific introductions offer perceptive critical analyses that follow and expand upon current Japanese No scholarship. Also worth mentioning in this respect are the footnotes. As readers of Tyler's "The Tale of Genji" translation will recall, the author supplies a great deal of explanatory notes to the text, both clarifying less-than-obvious intended meanings and pointing out references to other works. Since intertextuality forms such a vital aspect of classical Japanese literature, Tyler's decision to document each allusion proves invaluable for readers who are familiar with Japanese canonical texts or who seek to better appreciate the literary resonance of certain recurrent images and phrases. Furthermore, considering that a few of the No plays featured in this collection are nearly impossible to understand without basic knowledge of their social, religious, or historical background, readers will find themselves most grateful for Tyler's eminently helpful (yet never intrusive) explanations.

Of course, as impressive as the scholarship is here, it would mean little if the translations of the selected plays were substandard. Thankfully this is by no means the case. Tyler's renderings of each work compare favorably with the various other translations I've stumbled across, and the language he has chosen is simple yet elegant--doubtless an apt reflection of the No theater itself. As Tyler explains, although No is essentially a performance art and as such must be experienced live to be fully grasped, this certainly does not deprive the texts of their literary value. The poetry of "Matsukaze" alone is enough to convince one of this fact, and several other plays are equally lyrical and profound in their expression.

On a personal note, I have never been fortunate enough to attend an actual performance (which are rather difficult to find outside Japan), and my interest in the No is a product of reading volumes such as this; and yet, in spite of such apparent limitations, I can claim that multiple No plays rank among the greatest literature I have ever studied. Surely Royall Tyler's fine translations and careful attention to detail are in large part responsible for this occurrence. Five stars without hesitation.
In college I picked up a copy of no dramas and started thumbing through. The plays really caught my attention. The plays are mostly short, and have an emotional impact. The funny thing is, in my opinon, even though these plays are ancient an canonized in Japan, to me, they seemed really off the wall and funky. These plays are easy to read and sympathetic. Not what you might be expecting if you have any prejudgements...
In college I never had the chance to study Japanese No Dramas, and I'm glad that I took the time to purchase this book and go through it. The writing and the scholarship are quite impressive, and the "literary" element entailed in No Dramas has increased my desire to see another live performance someday.
I appreciate that no plays are supposed to be seen in performance rather than read, and I've never had the opportunity to see one. Still, I enjoyed this book and found it really useful to my understanding of Japanese art. Each play is short and easy to take in, and Tyler's translation is very readable. The explanatory notes provided context and understanding without overwhelming the reader with detail, and the performance directions went some way towards conveying what each play would be like on stage. Some line drawings of typical costumes would have been helpful, as with Tyler's translation of the Tale of Genji, but this is a very minor point. Four stars because I lack the specialist knowledge to make a truly informed judgement here.