Uncovering Writing

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an amazing translation of the Iliad. I’ve read many different translations, new and old, and this one wins hands down. It’s mind-boggling that this is the FIRST full translation published by a woman. I can’t believe it took so long but Caroline Alexander’s effort was worth the wait. This is not to say that all the other translations are bad (though some are), but hers brought this epic tale back to me again with new eyes and simply transformed it. As an added bonus, her introduction was excellent.

I took so long to read it since I savored each line. I pulled out a copy of the Iliad I had in classical Greek with a Latin translation and read it along with many of her lines. She often kept Homer’s repetitions. Some translators choose other words or try to change things around, since it can seem to be repetitive or cumbersome. But, looking at the Greek, the text backs her up. Hers is not a literal, simplistic translation. She adds her tone and flourish to the work, but she lets the original verses flow off the page. Homer was a storyteller, an oral one, and the repetition of lines, reuse of epithets and cadence are essential to sustaining understanding and building drama.

I have to say that I so enjoy Homer’s metaphors and similes. I smiled at some and was wowed by others. I was taken by the opening lines of Book 11: “Dawn from her bed arose by the side of good Tithonos, to bring light of day to deathless gods and mortal men.” And the concepts of guest friends and hospitality give one hope (6.212-231, 11.777-780, 18.385-390).

Someone once called the great poet Sappho the 10th Muse. I might go so far as to call Caroline Alexander the 11th.