The Iliad (Signet Classics) [Paperback]

Homer (Author), W. H. D. Rouse (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1999

Focusing on the closing days of the Trojan War, this novel incorporates the same epic cast of gods and warriors from The Odyssey. From the kidnapping of Helen from her Greek home to the death of Achilles's companion, the battle rages between two warring nations and the gods which protect both sides. Thrilling in content, but literate and subtle in its meaning, The Iliad remains a classic among classics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Signet Classics (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451527372
• ISBN-13: 978-0451527370
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #297,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best first read, June 10, 2001

By 

Gerald L. Trett - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Iliad (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

I am a retired high school and college instructor who taught the Iliad many times at both levels. The Rouse version was always my translation of choice, and it was enormously successful. The complaints (or halfhearted commendations here) miss the point. Most seem to think that Rouse's "plain English" version is a diminution of the original. All translations are! Rouse merely eliminated many epithets and repetitions (necessary in the meter of the poem and unnecessary in prose). But Rouse is extremely accurate within his chosen limits and the result is a brilliant achievement: a fast-moving text (as is the original) that is colloquial where appropriate, noble sithout being stuffy when nobility is called for; the result is an always ongoing, rapidly moving narrative told in vivid, sinewy prose that simply hurtles you along. It does not attempt to give the more complex reading experience that Fitzgerald and Lattimore and Fagles achieve in their superb verse translations; but these are best reserved for second . . .or 17th readings, once the complex story and relations between characters are mastered. And indeed, none of the more famous verse translations (Pope's is to be avoided: it's a beautiful Augustan poem, not Homer)--none come close to Rouse's focused and frightening rendering of Achilles' on the battlefield, once he goes into action. In short, Rouse is in spirit thoroughly "Homeric"--by turns racy and funny, savage, noble, ultimately tragic as, e.g., the dreadful Victorian versions of Butler and Lang, Leaf, & Myers are not and should be avoided). Even with the small point-size in which the text was set, Rouse's Homer is not just a bargain: it's a treasure bought at a small price.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Homer for Dummies, January 7, 2002

By 

Brett (South Dakota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Iliad (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that as a junior literature major, this is the first time I have ever read The Iliad all the way through. Though I can't compare the Rouse translation to others, I can say a few words based on my perception of it. First, you'll notice that it is a prose, not poetry. This did not hinder the experience for me, but individual readers may wish to experience this classic the other way. I found it to be much easier reading than I expected, with the central characters easy to remember and follow. The story clips along rapidly and is rarely boring. The introduction states that much of the repetition that would be necessary for oral storytelling has been removed for the benefit of the reader, which I found to be a positive. However, there is still plenty of repetition of certain phrases ("and darkness covered his eyes" or "rattling armor" come to mind) and there is no shortage long lineages or lists of previously anonymous characters killed in battle. Still, it is worthwhile to get to know Homer and this seems like a reasonable translation to begin with.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but no Fitzgerald . ., September 21, 2000

By 

"mr_nasty" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Iliad (Signet Classics) (Paperback)

A well-done prose version of Homer's classic; however, I didn't like it as well as the Fitzgerald version. If you're a fan of Homer, he's still the best . . and it's a shame, too, because for pure reading pleasure I would actually prefer prose to poetry. But Rouse's constructions are awkward at times; it's almost as though he fed the original Greek into a computer and let the computer translate the words. Sometimes the sentences don't flow as fluently as I felt they should. And this may be a little thing, but in the paperback version I received, the font is MINISCULE . . so you may want to think before purchasing this particular edition. But it's an OK translation . . if, like me, you would prefer the story in prose form, then this is a good choice.