One last pope comment on chapman because damn I love reading dead authors shit talk each other
But that which is to be allowed him, and which very much contributed to cover his defects, is a daring fiery spirit that animates his translation, which is something like what one might imagine Homer himself would have writ before he arrived at years of discretion.
I mean, for him, the stakes were much higher. If you’re a reader back then, it’s either Chapman or Greek.
or Ogilby (lol)
I’ll probably see the Nolan movie since my dad is a lifelong fan of the Odyssey. Would be a fun watch with him so we can talk shit about it
huge misunderstanding… nolan is actually adapting Abe’s Oddysee
I just had a hunch this Wilson translation would take this kind of attitude towards translation, but I am happy to read her spell it out so clearly in the translators note here
Makes me excited to read this version, and have it join the others as a unique way to experience this ancient text and perhaps connect with an ancient tradition!
I have tried to make my translation sound markedly poetic and sometimes linguistically distinctive, even odd. But I have aimed for a fresh and contemporary register. The shock of encountering an ancient author speaking in largely recognizable language can make him seem more strange, and newly strange. I would like to invite readers to experience a sense of connection to this ancient text, while also recognizing its vast distance from our own place and time. Homer is, and is not, our contemporary. (pg 87-8)
when translating classical or premodern works, i believe the translator’s goal should be to create a text that is even more bewildering and alienating than the original, to remind readers that if they had been living in the time of these texts’ authors they are statistically likely to have been illiterate
I keep misreading this thread title as Nobody’s Sorry
I will always stick with the borgesian perspective that if anything, the original is unfaithful to the translation
I’ve read one or two small things by Borges. Where does he say that? Sounds interesting.
Not coincidentally, the english translations of his short stories that were made in a collaboration between him and NT di Giovanni live up to the promise of that quote, they are so excellent that the originals are the secondary works
so glad i picked this version ahahah
It’s probably his least obnoxious film too!
o shit
also i came across some reddit post comparing translations and they don’t even mention most of the ones discussed itt? wild, i guess a lot of people have translated this work. they use the same passage Tulpa did tho!
started last night. i have no sense or control over meter when reading out loud. i fluctuate between reading things like a novel, eventually tripping over enjambed lines, and sometimes falling into a rhythm that sounds right on accident.
If only someone would render in English the original epic dactylic hexameter…
Has any English poem been written in dactylic hexameter?
