New translation of the Iliad

[susan]

Penguin Classics have just published a new translation of the Iliad - just in time for the war ! It looks to be a treat for us all.Susan

[marcus]

Hi Susan,Yes, I heard about that a little while ago.Apparently it's very good and, actually, a lot more accurate than the last one, by Rieu or whoever it was. I haven't read it for some time, but apparently the old translation used a lot of terms that made it very medieval, 'cos that's what people were more able to identify with... or something like that.All the bestMarcus

[Nicator]

Hi Marcus,How've you been? It's been a while, but just found some time to check in and make a few comments. I still haven't been able to get all the way through Alexander Popes version, but still look forward to it some day when time alots. The Fitzgerald translation still awaits after that.
later Nicator

[marcus]

Hi Nick,I have to confess that I've never read Pope's translation. I do have a copy - a very, very old copy that I have a sneaking suspicion is actually a first or second edition; but someone re-bound it at some point. I've been too scared to open it!I don't know the Fitzgerald translation, but I'd love to find a copy of Chapman's translation, that which was immortalised in Keats' ode...All the bestMarcus

[Nicator]

...WOW!!!, that's awesome. I haven't heard of the Chapman translation, but that's not saying much. I had an english professor in college that introduced me to both Pope and Fitzgerald. He seemed to think Fitzgerald was the one to read, or at least one of the best translations...reading more like a novel instead of the greek hexameter of an original translation. I did make some headway into the Pope translation, but kept losing interest. The main point for me was to get a feel of how Pope did his iambic pentameter couplets...how close he kept them to the pentameter and how honest his rhymes. What I discovered was that he occasionally drifted off into a 11-16 count instead of the strict 10 count of the pentameter. But in general, this was a rare occurence, rather than the rule.
later Nicator