IIs it really? I know people love to meme her Odyessy here but apparently the rest of her translations aren't bad. I've especially seen some praise for her translation of Seneca's plays.
Besides the point, you could probably point to a dozen different shit translations that get published every year, but this is the only one that gets mentioned every other day here. Therein lies the difference between it just being shit and being 'memed'.
Wilson: >Goddess, sing of the cataclysmic wrath of Peleus’ son Achilles, >cause of so much suffering for the Greeks, >that sent many strong souls to Hades, >making men a feast for birds and prey for dogs: >the plan of Zeus was moving to its end – >beginning when those two argued first: >lord Agamemnon and glorious Achilles.
Edward Smith-Stanley: >Of Peleus’ son, Achilles, sing, O Muse, >The vengeance, deep and deadly; whence to Greece >Unnumbered ills arose; which many a soul >Of mighty warriors to the viewless shades >Untimely sent; they on the battle plain >Unburied lay, a prey to rav’ning dogs, >And carrion birds; but so had Jove decreed, >From that sad day when first in wordy war, >The mighty Agamemnon, King of men, >Confronted stood by Peleus’ godlike son.
I can already tell whoever the frick this Smith-Stanley moron produced a worse translation than Wilson with these lines alone. I swear, anything with fancy words in this board is like jiggling keys to a baby.
>The vengeance, deep and deadly; whence to Greece >Unnumbered ills arose; which many a soul >Of mighty warriors to the viewless shades >Untimely sent;
This reads completely unlike Homer and even tiptoes into inaccuracy with no mention of the souls crossing into Hades. Disregarding faithfulness aside this is just bad poetry. Wilson may not be an exemplar poet but there is a charm to how direct and accurate her pentameter rendition of the Iliad is. Better, although much less accurate to the original, poetry can be found in Fitzgerald:
>Anger be now your song, immortal one, >Akhilleus' anger, doomed and ruinous, >that caused the Akhaians loss on bitter loss >and crowded brave souls into the undergloom, >leaving so many dead men--carrion >for dogs and birds; and the will of Zeus was done. >Begin it when the two men first contending >broke with one another-- > the Lord Marshal >Agamémnon, Atreus' son, and Prince Akhilleus.
I have a soft spot for Fitzgerald, although I wouldn't use him for critical study of Homer. Lattimore- to a lesser extent Wilson- is what I'd use for analysis if you don't read ancient Greek. For casual readers, Wilson and gayles do just fine.
is she one of those angloids who don't even know the language that well anymore but kinda waddle through other people's translations and dictionaries or has she a demonstrably good command of Homeric Greek?
I’m invading this b8 thread to tell the truth about Lattimore: his translation is shit, doesn’t capture the soul of Homer, does so without the translation being good poetry in itself, and all of this under the guise of being closer to the original by using, for example, shit hexametrical verses in a language where such kind or verse just doesn’t work.
The last one was Caroline Alexander's, right?
That is so cap
Caroline Alexander is a much better author. Not good, but for women it’s above acceptable considering her biological handicap
>That is so cap
IIs it really? I know people love to meme her Odyessy here but apparently the rest of her translations aren't bad. I've especially seen some praise for her translation of Seneca's plays.
Her Odyssey is shit. This is a fact, not a 'meme'
Besides the point, you could probably point to a dozen different shit translations that get published every year, but this is the only one that gets mentioned every other day here. Therein lies the difference between it just being shit and being 'memed'.
moron
Her translation is somehow praised. Therein lies the difference.
Actually it's better than the original.
Bait used to be believable.
>pentameter
Pentameter isn't bad per se, but Wilson's is.
Wilson:
>Goddess, sing of the cataclysmic wrath of Peleus’ son Achilles,
>cause of so much suffering for the Greeks,
>that sent many strong souls to Hades,
>making men a feast for birds and prey for dogs:
>the plan of Zeus was moving to its end –
>beginning when those two argued first:
>lord Agamemnon and glorious Achilles.
Edward Smith-Stanley:
>Of Peleus’ son, Achilles, sing, O Muse,
>The vengeance, deep and deadly; whence to Greece
>Unnumbered ills arose; which many a soul
>Of mighty warriors to the viewless shades
>Untimely sent; they on the battle plain
>Unburied lay, a prey to rav’ning dogs,
>And carrion birds; but so had Jove decreed,
>From that sad day when first in wordy war,
>The mighty Agamemnon, King of men,
>Confronted stood by Peleus’ godlike son.
I can already tell whoever the frick this Smith-Stanley moron produced a worse translation than Wilson with these lines alone. I swear, anything with fancy words in this board is like jiggling keys to a baby.
>The vengeance, deep and deadly; whence to Greece
>Unnumbered ills arose; which many a soul
>Of mighty warriors to the viewless shades
>Untimely sent;
This reads completely unlike Homer and even tiptoes into inaccuracy with no mention of the souls crossing into Hades. Disregarding faithfulness aside this is just bad poetry. Wilson may not be an exemplar poet but there is a charm to how direct and accurate her pentameter rendition of the Iliad is. Better, although much less accurate to the original, poetry can be found in Fitzgerald:
>Anger be now your song, immortal one,
>Akhilleus' anger, doomed and ruinous,
>that caused the Akhaians loss on bitter loss
>and crowded brave souls into the undergloom,
>leaving so many dead men--carrion
>for dogs and birds; and the will of Zeus was done.
>Begin it when the two men first contending
>broke with one another--
> the Lord Marshal
>Agamémnon, Atreus' son, and Prince Akhilleus.
I have a soft spot for Fitzgerald, although I wouldn't use him for critical study of Homer. Lattimore- to a lesser extent Wilson- is what I'd use for analysis if you don't read ancient Greek. For casual readers, Wilson and gayles do just fine.
>Wilson may not be an exemplar poet but there is a charm to how direct and accurate her pentameter rendition of the Iliad is.
>Wilson
>Accurate
>and even tiptoes into inaccuracy with no mention of the souls crossing into Hades.
>which many a SOUL
>Of mighty warriors to the viewless shades
>Untimely sent;
Wilson's version is too dumbed down for analysis. Lattimore is much, much better.
is she one of those angloids who don't even know the language that well anymore but kinda waddle through other people's translations and dictionaries or has she a demonstrably good command of Homeric Greek?
I’m invading this b8 thread to tell the truth about Lattimore: his translation is shit, doesn’t capture the soul of Homer, does so without the translation being good poetry in itself, and all of this under the guise of being closer to the original by using, for example, shit hexametrical verses in a language where such kind or verse just doesn’t work.
I bought her Odyssey translation and that was just awful so I won’t be picking this one up.
Rieu and Fitzgerald are my favorite. Wilson’s Euripides was fine. These threads are becoming /misc/ dog whistles