Robert Fagles Releases a New Translation of the Aeneid

Agrippa · Post by **Agrippa** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 8:40 pm

I really dug his translation of the Iliad and the Odyssey, so I'm definitely going to take a look at this. Fagles is awesome and that he taught himself the classics is inspiring.

bellum paxque · Post by **bellum paxque** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 4:41 am

The funny thing is that there's another translation of the Aeneid coming out - next year, I believe - translated by Sarah Ruden. It's being published by Yale Press, I believe.

Two translations in two years? I'm not questioning the poetic merits of either attempt, but rather the need for yet another translation of the Aeneid. I mean, after Mandelbaum's and Fitzgerald's and David West's and Sissoun's and Jackson-Knight's and, yes, Dryden's - to name only a fraction - what originality, which fresh phrases, remain?

-David

GlottalGreekGeek · Post by **GlottalGreekGeek** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 4:45 am

Perhaps not two translations in two years, but as the English language drifts, there is a point to re-translation (after all, we wouldn't want to be stuck with Chapman's Homer, would we?) ... and who knows, somebody might actually make a *better* translation.

Post by **thesaurus** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:08 am

I don't know if this topic has come up before, but how do you all feel about colloquial/contemporary translations?

I've really enjoyed Stanley Lombardo's Iliad, and I just bought his Odyssey. I've yet to acquaint myself with the Greek, but I liked the immediacy and livlieness of the work. Apparently some people really despise his translations, which puzzles me. I think a variety of translations is a treasure.

Favorite translations, anyone? (I know, I know, we're supposed to be reading it in the original!)

PS Nice avatar, GGG. Colorful!

GlottalGreekGeek · Post by **GlottalGreekGeek** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 4:29 pm

I have only read brief excerpts of Homer in translation, but that is largely my machismo coming through rather than a rational reason against reading the translations. From the excerpts I read, I prefer the Lattimore translation, but that opinion could easily change if I read longer sections from the various translations.

All of the productions I have seen of the ancient drama have, of course, been in translation, whether into English or Modern Greek (of course, lacking Modern Greek skillz, I rely on supertitles). However, the production itself has a more powerful interpretive effect than the translation itself, though they are tightly linked, so I cannot really say *which* translations of the ancient drama I prefer. I can say that the National Theatre of Greece is awesome, and if their shows ever tour your way, it is worth 40 USD to see.

Greece has taken up so much of my time/energy, I've only recently been able to dip into Roman literature, and that has, of course, been in translation.

P.S. My avatar is one of my favorite images of Agatha Clay - "Must he be a monster?"

tjnor · Post by **tjnor** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 9:13 pm

I enjoy the Lombardo versions very much. Those interested should check out his audio versions (unabridged). I may be prejudiced because Professor Lombardo frequents my bookstore on the KU campus. He is currently working on a version of the Divine Comedy. His Aeneid came out some years ago.

An excellent resource is Penguin's Homer in English, edited by George Steiner. It is a history of Homeric "englishings" over four centuries. Some of the entries are translations, some are "versions", and some use Homer as a starting point. Auden's poem on Achilles' schield must be read in conjunction with the Homeric reference in mind. It is astounding. This book, unfortunately, is out of print. Go to your libraries and check it out.

Perhaps my favorite version is not a translation or free-standing poem at all. It is Christopher Logue's utterly amazing re-invention of the entire Homeric enterprise in modern terms. Some of this is in the Homer in English anthology, but Logue must be read entire. He re-does famous scenes, but he also commits the sacrilege of inventing entire episodes. Yet, for all his manipulations, he manages to bring the starkness and immediacy of Homer to the fore in a way that more faithful translations simply cannot match. Read his War Music, All Day Permanent Red, and Cold Calls.

Tim

bellum paxque · Post by **bellum paxque** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 1:09 am

but as the English language drifts, there is a point to re-translation

To be sure - but I highly suspect that the drift of English today is not fast enough to warrant the flood of Vergilian translations. I guess it seems a shame to me that the Aeneid merits such attention when, one presumes, there are a lot of other classical works that haven't been translated in a long time.

(This makes me sound a lot like Judas: why waste that perfume on your feet, Christ? We could've sold it and given it to the poor!)

Auden's poem on Achilles' schield must be read in conjunction with the Homeric reference in mind. It is astounding.

I agree! It's one of my favorite poems.

-David