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The Iliad Homer Robert Fagles Bernard Knox Books

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The Iliad Homer Robert Fagles Bernard Knox Books

The Iliad is a story of passion. In its sweep lies war and death, honor and pettiness, mortality, domesticity, gods and men.
In his excellent introduction to this edition, Bernard Knox tells us that the Iliad probably was written down between 725 and 675 B.C. It tells a story that was archaic even for its time that is set around 1200 B.C. The story of the Iliad covers a matter of days in the tenth and final year of the Trojan War. It is allusive to the entire mythology of that ancient struggle. The tale is deliberately mythical, with characters and emotions that, Homer tells us many times, are larger than those of men today. For too many, the Iliad comes encrusted as a "classic". People read it, or portions of it, in high school or college and inevitably miss much of the grandeur and wisdom of the work.
When I came back to the Iliad recently (after not having read the work in many years) in Fagles' translation, I was swept away. I accompanied my reading of the Iliad with an excellent series of lecture tapes on the poem and its background. I thought the translation, written in a modern colloquial free verse helped me to understand and read the poem. The translation, for me, gives the reader a sense of the repetitions, formulas and phraseology of the original. It has a sweep to it, and the style and translation does not get in the way of understanding the work. This is important in a modern translation of an ancient work. The translation was easy to follow and got me involved in the tale. I am sure the poem works differently in the ancient Greek than in this translation. But this is largely irrelevant to the virtue of Fagles's work which makes the Iliad come alive and roar in a manner which encourages the nonclassicist modern reader to approach it.
There are a mulitude of themes in the Iliad. At the beginning of the work, Homer invokes his muse and announces that the work will deal with the "rage of Achilles." The work is about human anger and rage on a grand scale and about the waste, but strange grandeur of war. In his introduction, Bernard Knox quotes approvingly from Simone Weil, writing in France during World War II, who described the Iliad as the West's leading work on the use and nature of Force. The Iliad speaks deeply about the human condition, about the tragedy and heroism that human mortality makes possible, and about how people may learn to change and to understand others.
I found Bernard Knox' introduction and notes helpful in understanding the controversies surrounding the writing of the Iliad and in giving the reader some of the basic tools to think about the work. Whether the reader is approaching the Iliad for the first time or after many times, there is much to be gained from reading this basic text of the West. Fagles translation will help bring the reader to the Iliad.


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The Iliad Homer Robert Fagles Bernard Knox Books Reviews

REVISED 11/07/16 Homer's ILIAD should be read by every literate person who strives to be well-educated, and Caroline Alexander's 2015, modern translation is an excellent way to read it. It is sound, solid, clear and direct, and respectful of Homer's original. Her English syntax is natural and flowing, understandable but not (as in some other recent, modern versions) flippant or too colloquial. I rate the translation 5-stars, though I was initially tempted to rate this ebook edition of it at least one star lower because of its formatting.

As very good as Alexander's translation is, this ebook edition doesn't do it justice with regard to its textual formatting. Between indents and long-line carry-overs, the left margin unevenly zig-zags in-and-out on a screen. Just when I thought I had it figured out some double-indents appeared to add to the confusion. Sadly, downloading a sample won't reveal this; the sample will only provide pages from the Introduction, whose modern prose is quite properly and comfortably presented. It is the poetry of the ILIAD itself whose indented lines are so annoyingly erratic, and this will only be evident to those who actually purchase it and read beyond the sample. Interestingly, in the very first few screens of this ebook (which do appear in the sample), a note from the publisher appears concerning this matter, apparently recognizing it as a possible source of confusion but essentially saying (in effect) that's how it is on a small-screen device, it's the nature of the beast, and readers must try to get used to it. And so I am trying, mollified somewhat by the fact that I paid only $.99 for it -- rather than $14.99 (its original price) -- during a special sales-promotion period. But more importantly, I have since discovered the formatting is IDEAL if the text is viewed in wider-screen, landscape mode on one's device. If you are able to make that adjustment (something my Paperwhite could not do until the last upgrade), the formatting problem is virtually solved and the long lines appear comfortably normal.

I have read dozens of different translations of the ILIAD, and though I find Alexander's translation to be highly commendable, there ARE other great ones available (even one or two good FREE ones), many of them identified under FYI at the end of this review. Nevertheless, because this one is particularly well-done and desirable, you may even wish to obtain a hardcovered ($39.99) or paperback ($19.99) edition of it as a "keeper copy." (I intend to seek a less expensive used copy.)

There have been numerous translations of the ILIAD in recent years, but while I suspect in time many of them will fall by the wayside, this one may not. Caroline Alexander's stands a good chance to remain, not only because it is THE best among most recent ones, but because it is ONE of the best among ALL translations of the ILIAD. But great though it is, it will survive in the economic marketplace only if it is competitively priced with those others. Happily, its ebook price has come down from $14.99 to $12.99 and more recently to $8.99 (making it a strong contender).

Caroline Alexander is also the author of THE WAR THAT KILLED ACHILLES THE TRUE STORY OF HOMER'S "ILIAD" AND THE TROJAN WAR (Viking Penguin, 2009). Those who enjoy her ILIAD may wish to read it.

FYI The first translation of the ILIAD was by George Chapman (1611), a formal and majestic Elizabethan English version in verse that is of interest today mainly in connection to its role in literary history. Two, free, public domain versions by Edward George Geoffrey Smith Stanley Derby (1862) and by Theodore Alois Buckley (1873) are pretty unpleasant to read; skip them. It's probably best to also steer clear of one by William Cowper (1791). Two old translations that remain popular, are easy to obtain in public domain editions, and ARE worth reading are by Alexander Pope (1715-20, in verse) and Samuel Butler (1898, in very readable prose). A once highly regarded one by Andrew Lang, Walter Leaf, and Ernest Myers (1883) was used by the Modern Library until replaced by Ennis Rees' wonderful translation (1963), my favorite. The best ILIAD translation is arguably by Richmond Lattimore (1951) with Robert Fitzgerald's (1974) being a strong contender for second-best. A 1938 one by W.H.D. Rouse is serviceable and generally okay. Likewise, Robert Graves offers a novelized version (1959) that is very readable but not a strict translation. Three excellent newer ones are by Robert Fagles (1990), Peter Jones (a superb 2003 revision of E.V. Rieu's popular 1950 version), and this one by Caroline Alexander (2015). Peter Green's highly literate translation (2015) is technically excellent but not as readable as the three just mentioned. Several other good, recent ones are by Michael Reck (1994, but now hard-to-find), Ian Johnston (2006), and A.S. Kline (2009). Three recent ones that I don't particularly care for are by Stephen Mitchell (2011, who omits too much textual content), Stanley Lombardo (1997), and Barry B. Powell (2013). These are just SOME of the other translations available.
The Iliad is a story of passion. In its sweep lies war and death, honor and pettiness, mortality, domesticity, gods and men.
In his excellent introduction to this edition, Bernard Knox tells us that the Iliad probably was written down between 725 and 675 B.C. It tells a story that was archaic even for its time that is set around 1200 B.C. The story of the Iliad covers a matter of days in the tenth and final year of the Trojan War. It is allusive to the entire mythology of that ancient struggle. The tale is deliberately mythical, with characters and emotions that, Homer tells us many times, are larger than those of men today. For too many, the Iliad comes encrusted as a "classic". People read it, or portions of it, in high school or college and inevitably miss much of the grandeur and wisdom of the work.
When I came back to the Iliad recently (after not having read the work in many years) in Fagles' translation, I was swept away. I accompanied my reading of the Iliad with an excellent series of lecture tapes on the poem and its background. I thought the translation, written in a modern colloquial free verse helped me to understand and read the poem. The translation, for me, gives the reader a sense of the repetitions, formulas and phraseology of the original. It has a sweep to it, and the style and translation does not get in the way of understanding the work. This is important in a modern translation of an ancient work. The translation was easy to follow and got me involved in the tale. I am sure the poem works differently in the ancient Greek than in this translation. But this is largely irrelevant to the virtue of Fagles's work which makes the Iliad come alive and roar in a manner which encourages the nonclassicist modern reader to approach it.
There are a mulitude of themes in the Iliad. At the beginning of the work, Homer invokes his muse and announces that the work will deal with the "rage of Achilles." The work is about human anger and rage on a grand scale and about the waste, but strange grandeur of war. In his introduction, Bernard Knox quotes approvingly from Simone Weil, writing in France during World War II, who described the Iliad as the West's leading work on the use and nature of Force. The Iliad speaks deeply about the human condition, about the tragedy and heroism that human mortality makes possible, and about how people may learn to change and to understand others.
I found Bernard Knox' introduction and notes helpful in understanding the controversies surrounding the writing of the Iliad and in giving the reader some of the basic tools to think about the work. Whether the reader is approaching the Iliad for the first time or after many times, there is much to be gained from reading this basic text of the West. Fagles translation will help bring the reader to the Iliad.