Since this was the way it was originally experienced, I think that would be an excellent way to experience it! A reader commented that she listened to it.Of course, now I also want to reread the poem… Because Knox details many detailed aspects of the poem and expands upon them, I highly recommend doing the same. I didn’t know any of the plot before reading it. I read Bernard Knox’s introduction after I read the poem.Some others commented that it took them 4 or 5 books to get into it, as well! So it’s not just me. I suspect if I read more books like this, it will become easier. So don’t give up, especially with Book Two, which seemed to drag on. By the end, the different language didn’t seem so hard to understand I had gotten used to it.As it was, the reader just has to remember to turn back occasionally. The back of the book also has line by line notes however, I wish there was some indication in the text when a line had a note so I could have known when to turn back and get the information. I did reference Edith Hamilton’s Mythology a few times to get some background on the gods and goddesses.(I really did enjoy learning the background of all the people who were killed in battle.) These are books where the feel of the language and the sense of the battle is more important. I don’t think memorizing the details of characters is essential. I’m also currently reading The Silmarillion, which also has a huge number of (unpronounceable) names and places, and I found letting go of the details makes it much more fun. As I read, I didn’t let myself stop and try to figure out all the relationships and characters as I read The Iliad.I’m not accustomed to reading epic poetry, but I thought I’d collect some of my thoughts about how I found it to be most fun.Īs I have said, I don’t believe it’s possible to write about The Iliad with containing some “spoilers”: the gods give up the ending from the beginning. Once I became accustomed to reading poetry, I felt it was highly readable. The Robert Fagles translation was poetic and rhythmic. But that just proved to me that the “difficult pleasure” of reading is highly worth experiencing. by Robert Fagles) isn’t like reading a modern-day novel: I think it did take a level of concentration I’m not accustomed to. If the Iliad is the worlds greatest war epic, then the Odyssey is literatures grandest evocation of everymans journey though life.Reading The Iliad (trans.
So begins Robert Fagles magnificent translation of the Odyssey, which Jasper Griffin in The New York Times Review of Books hails as a distinguished achievement. You'll get so swept up Odysseus' awesome adventures that we bet you won't even notice that you're reading a 3,000-year-old epic poem. And once you get past all the unfamiliar gods and goddesses (maybe with the help of our handy-dandy 'Minor Characters' list), the poem is super accessible. Every line in Lattimore's version matches up exactly to its counterpart in the original Greek, so you get a good sense of what the original feels like. Yeah, it's a little harder, but we think it's worth it. On Shmoop, we quote from the 1950s version by Richmond Lattimore. (And we're not even asking you to read it in Ancient Greek.) If you're really struggling, you could check out some up-to-date translations by Robert Fagles and Stanley Lombardo Lombardo's version is especially close to modern spoken English.
For the first-time reader, probably the hardest thing about Homer's Odyssey is its language. (10 = Toughest) (3) Base Camp The Odyssey Robert Fagles Translation With the Tough-O-Meter, you'll know whether to bring extra layers or Swiss army knives as you summit the literary mountain. Homer The Odyssey Robert Fagles Pdf Editor 4,3/5 361 reviews