Alexander Pope (1726)
As with his translation of the Iliad, Pope changed the metre from the dactylic hexameter used by the Homeric Greek text into heroic couplets, rhyming pairs of lines in iambic pentameter.
Robert Fitzgerald (1961)
For decades, Fitzgerald’s translation was widely regarded as the literary standard: elegant, lyrical, and deeply attentive to the poem’s beauty. His Odyssey feels reflective and musical rather than fast-paced.
Richmond Lattimore (1965)
Long favored in academic circles, Lattimore’s translation attempts to remain structurally close to the Greek, including its repetitions and formulaic qualities. His six-beat line echoes Homeric rhythm more directly than most modern literary translations.
Robert Fagles (1996)
Still one of the most commonly assigned translations, Fagles leans toward contemporary free verse and emphasizes narrative energy, drama, and accessibility. For many readers, this is the most cinematic Odyssey.
These are the four translations I’ve read of Homer’s Odyssey. All four have their strengths and weaknesses, but if I had to pick my favorite, I would go with Robert Fagles.
That being said, let’s turn to Christopher Nolan’s “translation” of the Odyssey now in cinemas across the land. I attended the 2:00 p.m. showing at our local AMC Theaters. The theater I was in was about half full. The three hour movie lagged in parts–which gave me the opportunity to run to the Men’s Room–and yet held my attention with the vivid scenes on the screen. When I think of Odysseus, the man who is credited with winning the Trojan War with his sneaky Trojan Horse trick, I think “cunning.” When Christopher Nolan thinks of Odysseus, he thinks Jason Bourne (aka, Matt Damon).
In my readings of the Odyssey, I don’t remember Odysseus being a great fighter. I remember Odysseus being clever and brilliant. In Nolan’s Odyssey there’s a lot of fighting. And I was getting sea-sick from all the scenes on boats. At the end of Nolan’s Odyssey, there was a smattering of applause. But not from me. GRADE: B
Not the biggest fan of Christopher Nolan and it’s hard to imagine the scope and the power of THE ODYSSEY squeezed into a three-hour timeframe. Still, it has a great cast and a lot of ambition. This may be one of the cases where CGI enhances a film rather than distract from it. Maybe. I know I’ll watch it some time in the future, but I won’t be spending money to see it.
Jerry, the AMC price for a “Senior Citizen” ticket is $11.19. THE ODYSSEY was worth it. But some people bought the movie theater popcorn bucket…for $17.99! Not me!
Ouch. I’m suddenly reminded how long it’s been since I’ve been in a non-art theater (and not too recently in any of those).
Todd, the people at the AMC Theater were either going to see THE ODYSSEY or the Minions movie.
Wow. No popcorn is worth that. We want to see it. Hope my amc gift cards are accepted
Maggie, several people walked into THE ODYSSEY with those big buckets of popcorn.
I don’t think this movie would be for me, but I do find it interesting that in Dante’s Inferno, in the eighth circle of Hell, Odysseus shares a single tongue of fire with Diomedes—because he (Odysseus) was a trickster and a conniver, evidenced by the Trojan Horse but also by leading his men (and, ultimately, sacrificing all of them) on a meandering 20-year journey home. Only Judas resides in a deeper circle of Hell.
I have the Fitzgerald translations of the Iliad & the Odyssey which I’ve had since college and like very much. For a more contemporary view, I recommend Madeline Miller’s SONG OF ACHILLES and CIRCE.
Deb, I love Madeline Miller’s CIRCE (http://georgekelley.org/circe-by/) and I have SONG OF ACHILLES in my Read Real Soon stack. You’re right about Odysseus’s men all dying. And a goodly number of the Suitors. Instead of Matt Damon–who does not come off as a trickster or conniver–I would have cast Ryan Reynolds as Odysseus.
Reynolds is always a good casting option. Did they pause for intermission?
Maggie, no intermission.
That’s a pass from me too. My favorite Nolan movie remains MEMENTO.
As I read the NYT rave I couldn’t help but think, she’s trying to hard to convince us (and herself?) how great it is, despite her obvious qualms about some of it. I guess it’s this year’s “must see” BARBIE for the FOMO crowd, another turn off for me.
Jeff, the WALL STREET JOURNAL move critic gave THE ODYSSEY a very positive review (with some reservations). Some people in California (where else) were paying $2000 for a ticket to THE ODYSSEY! Madness!
Thanks for your notes on the various translations. I’ve yet to tackle the doorstop but someday hope to do so and will keep this in mind.
I’m going to avoid the film. I’ve seen a few Nolan flicks and find his work clumsy, unoriginal and uncinematic. The clips for this look like nothing more than a seventies made-for-TV movie and I can’t imagine a cast less appealing than this one, starting with Damon who is ridiculously miscast. Nolan seems hellbent on making this movie an Odyssey for your average American and sadly, as Mencken might have observed, it worked.
I’d highly recommend Sarah Kirkland Snider’s song cycle, “Penelope,” if you haven’t heard it. It’s a modern reimagining on the poem from Penelope’s perspective and successfully does what I love most about music, take the big emotional swings with some beautifully rapturous vocals by Shara Worden.
Byron, I’ll check out Sarah Kirkland Snider’s PENELOPE. Thanks for the heads up!
Hm. I read the Rouse prose translation when I was about 12yo. Not recommended. Preferred Butler’s ILLIAD, read at about the same time. How cheap paperbacks can lead us astray…
Todd, there are some excellent translations of THE ILLAD, too. I prefer Robert Fagles’ version.
Robert Fagles
Richmond Lattimore
Stanley Lombardo
Samuel Butler
George Chapman
Alexander Pope
E. V. Rieu
Stephen Mitchell
Robert Fitzgerald
Caroline Alexander
A. T. Murray
Peter Green
Anthony Verity
Ian Johnston
Emily Wilson
Rodney Merrill
Michael Reck
Herbert Jordan
W. H. D. Rouse
Robert Graves
And I loved the Rouse prose translation of The Odyssey when I was 12. I reread it often — that, and Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. (I didn’t like The Iliad.)
Jeff, Edith Hamilton’s MYTHOLOGY was one of my favorite books back in the Sixties. I wore out three paperback copies over the years.
Never picked up the Hamilton, having been reading the Greco-Roman Mythos from almost my earliest literate years (surely usually sanitized, but not by any means always–particularly the violence). I don’t. a half century later, remember what specifically put me off Rouse’s.
And there’s a curse on attempts to type ILIAD correctly here. Only Jeff has survived to tell the tale…
Todd, obviously the WORDPRESS spell-checker prefers the ODYSSEY to ILIAD.
We saw The Odyssey today. And WE applauded when it was over. We both loved it!