Medea by Euripides

Medea is another ancient Greek play by Euripides, and yet, it is completely different from the other play I read last year. I read the Rex Warner translation in The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces (seventh edition). As I haven’t read any other translations, all I can say is that this one was refreshingly easy to read. I loved it!

Part of what I loved was the character of Medea. She was a wronged woman, but ultimately a strong one. Medea had left her home to come to a foreign land, and now she was being cast aside.  Her husband Jason had not only cheated on her but had cast her away and married another, younger woman.

Medea’s reaction to the situation and her subsequent actions are extreme. Like Lady Macbeth, she casts aside her instincts of kindness and, particularly, her motherly love. She murders her own children. But unlike when I read about Lady Macbeth, I felt Medea was in the right. She is acting out of revenge, while Lady Macbeth had acted out of selfish desire for power. I was cheering for Medea as I read her story. Continue reading »

The Odyssey by Homer, trans. Robert Fagles

I thought that The Odyssey by Homer (trans. by Robert Fagles) was much more readable than The Iliad (also trans. by Fagles) was. It was driven by far more action, and the ending was happy.  I found it a delight to read, as I did The Iliad. And yet, I was surprised by how much I didn’t love The Odyssey.  I liked it, but since I loved The Iliad, I was expecting The Odyssey to be similar for me.

I found myself comparing the two ancient epics as I read, and so this review will compare them throughout. I loved The Iliad so much I wrote three posts about it here (the story), here (what I loved), and here (thoughts on Fagles). There may be spoilers below, but I highly encourage you to read the epic poem anyway; I doubt “spoilers” would spoil it for you. Continue reading »

The Odyssey by Homer: The Story

I read The Odyssey when I was in high school, but I didn’t recall much about it. If you aren’t familiar with it, here are some basic facts of the story. Please note that I’m not an expert, and these are only preliminary thoughts after having read the poem twice in the course of my life.

Tomorrow morning, I will share my thoughts on reading the Robert Fagles translation of The Odyssey. Continue reading »

Reading The Iliad by Homer, trans. by Robert Fagles

Reading The Iliad (trans. by Robert Fagles) isn’t like reading a modern-day novel: I think it did take a level of concentration I’m not accustomed to. But that just proved to me that the “difficult pleasure” of reading is highly worth experiencing.

The Robert Fagles translation was poetic and rhythmic. Once I became accustomed to reading poetry, I felt it was highly readable. Continue reading »

The Iliad by Homer, trans. Robert Fagles: Love and Hate But Mostly Love

I thought reading The Iliad by Homer (translated by Robert Fagles) would be a chore. Even after I reviewed four different translations and chose one I felt was “best,” I told myself I would have to read at least one chapter a day, just to get through it before it was due at the library. I thought The Iliad would be horribly boring.

I was wrong.

I admit that the first few chapters were hard to get into – I wasn’t used to the characters, and because it began in medias res, I felt a little lost; also, it is a poetic style I am not accustomed to reading. Besides, the second chapter included a list of the boats and characters (a back story) that seemed to drag on and on.

But by the fourth or fifth chapter, I found myself immersed in the story: not only did I empathize with the characters and enjoy the somewhat morbid action-packed battle scenes, but I loved the lilt and feel of the poetry. And while I can’t say whether or not Fagles’ translation was the most accurate of all translations, I certainly found the poem to be beautifully poetic as well as highly readable.

All of that said, I feel I have a love/hate relationship with this book. Continue reading »

The Iliad by Homer: The Story

When I decided to read The Iliad, I knew essentially nothing about it.

All I knew was that it was Greek, it was written by Homer, and that it was somehow a precursor to The Odyssey (which I read in high school). Having read The Iliad, I can say now that while it certainly is Greek, the author is officially unknown, and the characters, setting, and plot are completely different from those in the The Odyssey. The Iliad is its own story. It also has a different feel than I expected, focusing on anger, war, and revenge, as well as virtue and honor.

These thoughts are only from my one read of the poem; I don’t promise that they are accurate. Now I see why studying the classics is a life-long endeavor! Continue reading »

Fun Facts about Homer

Image by mharrsch via Flickr

I thought I’d participate in Weekly Geeks this week. In the wake of rethinking my “book blog goals,” as I talked about yesterday, I’ve decided I’m going to not do these weekly memes unless I already was going to post something like this anyway. (I haven’t been participating for weeks anyway; I have had so much else going on.)

For Weekly Geeks #24, we are to share some fun facts about an author. I’m just going to go with the author I’m currently reading: Homer.  I wanted to share these things anyway, and so it will fit right in to my review of The Iliad that will come.

It’s interesting to note that my chosen author may not really have existed. Does that still count? Continue reading »

Iliad in Translation

What am I looking for when I read the Iliad this month? I’ve been wondering that, especially now that I have four translations before me. As I mentioned when I wrote about Aesop’s writers last week, a translation can make a big difference in how a story is portrayed.

I’m not against a literal translation, but does it really matter to me if what I read is exactly how Homer wrote it? At the same time, I’m not afraid of Greek literature and I want to get the most accurate, but readable, experience of the Iliad.

So, what’s the difference between these four translations? I decided to read the translator’s notes and the first few pages and determine which one(s) are worthwhile for me. Continue reading »

Hippolytus by Euripides

What would a young man say or do if he learned that his step-mother had fallen in love with him?

In the play Hippolytus by Euripides, Hippolytus finds out that his step-mother has fallen for him. But what he doesn’t know is that the goddess Aphrodite has had her hand in these matters. Continue reading »