The Odyssey (Wordsworth Classics) [Unabridged] [Paperback]

Homer (Author), George Chapman (Translator), Adam Roberts (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2002

With an Introduction and Notes by Adam Roberts Royal Holloway, University of London Homer's great epic describes the many adventures of Odysseus, Greek warrior, as he strives over many years to return to his home island of Ithaca after the Trojan War. His colourful adventures, his endurance, his love for his wife and son have the same power to move and inspire readers today as they did in Archaic Greece, 2800 years ago. This poem has been translated many times over the years, but Chapman's sinewy, gorgeous rendering (1616) stands in a class of its own. Chapman believed himself inspired by the spirit of Homer himself, and matches the breadth and power of the original with a complex and stunning idiom of his own. John Keats expressed his admiration for the resulting work in the famous sonnet, 'On first looking into Chapman's Homer': 'Much have I travelled in the realms of gold...'

Editorial Reviews

Review

Mr. Fagles has been remarkably successful in finding a style that is of our time and yet timeless. -- Richard Jenkyns, The New York Times Book Review

Robert Fagles is the best living translator of ancient Greek drama, lyric poetry, and epic into modern English. -- Garry Wills, The New Yorker

Wonderfully readable... Just the right blend of roughness and sophistication. --Ted Hughes

About the Author

HOMER is thought to have lived c.750-700 BC in Ionia and is believed to be the author of the earliest works of Western Literature: The Odyssey and The Iliad. E. V. RIEU was a celebrated translator from Latin and Greek, and editor of Penguin Classics from 1944-64. His son, D. C. H. RIEU, has revised his work. PETER JONES is former lecturer in Classics at Newcastle. He co-founded the 'Friends of Classics' society and is the editor of their journal and a columnist for The Spectator.

Product Details

• Paperback: 488 pages
• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions; 2nd edition (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1853260258
• ISBN-13: 978-1853260254
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #955,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #35 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Epic
  • #38 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Single Authors > Continental European

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Poetry, Though Not Always Easy to Understand, October 27, 2008

By 

Jacob Schriftman - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Odyssey (Wordsworth Classics) (Paperback)

Any rating of "The Odyssey" has to be primarily a rating of the translation, not of the work as such. Obviously "The Odyssey" does not measure up to the expectations of a modern novel, as it was probably written in the 8th century BCE.

As such, it is *the* cornerstone of Western literature. Homer was for the Greeks what the Bible was for the Hebrews: "The Iliad" and its sequel, "The Odyssey," gave the loose Greek tribes a common identity in a semi-mythical history. Homer, in a way, gave *birth* to Greece, and Greece contributed significantly to the birth of Western culture.

For this reason alone, anyone who lives in or identifies with the West should read "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey." We wouldn't be here without them.

Now as far as modern taste and entertainment value goes, "The Odyssey" is actually much more satisfying than "The Iliad." One feels much more with the characters, it includes entertaining fantasy, and its ending is much more gratifying than in "The Iliad."

The latter tells the war at Troy with its principle heroes Achilles and Hector, but the story ends anti-climactically with the burial of Hector. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in it, nor is the city conquered.

For the retrospective account of the Trojan Horse and the fall of Troy, one has to turn to Virgils "Aeneid" - or to this book, "The Odyssey."

Now to this particular translation, made around 1600 CE by English poet George Chapman. To correct another reviewer, this is *not* a simple prose translation of Homer, but in fact one of the most poetic renderings of Homer in the English tongue. However, it is also one of the most difficult to read for the modern reader and should probably not be recommended as an introduction to Homer. It can be better appreciated if you already know the story well and want to relish the beauty of Chapman's English version of the Greek poetry.

For a more straight-forward and easier-to-understand prose translation, the reader may turn to the version by English novelist Samuel Butler, published in 1898. Butler's version lags far behind in terms of beauty, however. Furthermore, Butler uses the Roman names for the gods and other characters (e.g., Jove instead of Zeus), which I found unfortunate (though Chapman does the same).

For another prose translation that uses the Greek names, I recommend the one by W.H.D. Rouse. The advantage of the Butler translation, however, is that it is in the public domain, which means that you can get it as an e-text on the internet and also as a free audio book at librivox.org.

To summarize: Buy this Wordsworth edition if you want to relish the *poetry* of Homer"; buy a newer prose translation if you want to be introduced to the *story* of the Odyssey.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A true classic, January 10, 2004

By 

Frikle - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Odyssey (Wordsworth Classics) (Paperback)

The Odyssey is considered the world's first novel. Of Homer's two works (the other being the Iliad) the Odyssey is the more modern one, often reading like an action/adventure movie. If hase been the source of limitless inspiration in western art/literature.

The story is simple - Odysseus has a ten year journey to return home from the siege of Troy (which is the subject for the Iliad). He has many encounters (the most well-known in popular culture being the sea sirens, Charbrides and Scylla) and returns home to find his estate in disorder and his wife plagued by suitors, the general opinion being that he's dead. Revenge follows.

This is a great story as it winds through so many twists and turns and changes of scene that you're left with the feeling of having travelled through the ancient Mediterranean. The translation, while probably not idea, is good at rendering this as a story - the prose form and language make this easy to read.

Thoroughly recommended!

0 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Idyssey (Wordsworth Classics, September 18, 2010

By 

Ike - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Odyssey (Wordsworth Classics) (Paperback)

The good news . . . priced at $1.61 plus postage.
The bad news . . . This translation was made in 1616 in good old King James English. I found it almost impossible to read and after a few dozen pages bought another translation done in the 1990's. It was excellent!

Vendor did a good job of quick delivery.