Synopses & Reviews
ENDURING LITERATURE ILLUMINATED BY PRACTICAL SCHOLARSHIP
The story of the Trojan War, an epic tale of men and gods, of the heroes and horrors of war.
THIS ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES:
- A concise introduction that gives readers important background information
- A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context
- An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations
- Detailed explanatory notes
- Critical analysis and modern perspectives on the work
- Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction
- A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience
Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential.
SERIES EDITED BY CYNTHIA BRANTLEY JOHNSON
Review
“Stephen Mitchell’s magnificent new translation of the Iliad reminds us that there is always a new and different way to read and interpret the great classics, and that they need to be reinvigorated from generation to generation, just as we need to be reminded that they are, however venerated, above all stories: exciting, full of life and great characters, in short great entertainment, not just great monuments of culture or the Western canon. Mr. Mitchell has accomplished this difficult feat wonderfully well, and produced a book which is a joy to read and an Iliad for this generation.” —Michael Korda, D. Litt., author of Hero, Ike, and Ulysses S. Grant
Review
“Stephen Mitchell has done a marvelous thing here: he has given fresh energy and poetic force to a work that perennially repays our attention. Without the
Iliad the West would be a vastly poorer place; Homer’s achievement speaks to every successive generation with its unflinching understanding of the essential tragic nature of life. Mitchell’s translation is a grand accomplishment.”
-- Jon Meacham, author of American Lion
Review
“Mitchell’s wonderful new version of the Iliad is a worthy addition to his list of distinguished renditions of the classics.” —Peter Matthiessen
Review
“A sturdy, muscular, and nuanced translation that will surely bring many new readers to this great work.”—John Banville, author of The Sea
Review
“Mitchell’s translation is a brilliant accomplishment. It captures the fierce energy, rhythms, and powerful narrative of Homer’s Greek in vivid and compelling English.” —Elaine Pagels, author of The Gnostic Gospels
Review
“Mitchell’s five-beat line is a startlingly strong alternative to other translators’ attempts to capture the inimitably mellifluous flow of Homer’s Greek. Mitchell fits a meter to the poem, but also the poem to the meter, paring away words that could not work in English, aiming always to preserve the uncanny aesthetic distance and moral neutrality of the original at its full, thrilling, and horrifying depth. Read three pages, any three pages, and you’ll realize that, no, you are not yet done with Homer.” —Jack Miles, author of God: A Biography
Review
”A strange, almost forgotten feeling overtook me as I first dipped into this new translation. I felt compelled to recite aloud! The poetry rocks and has a macho cast to it, like rap music. It’s overtly virile stuff, propelled from the time when music, language, information, and politics were not yet distinguished.” —Jaron Lanier, author of You Are Not a Gadget
Review
“The verse is well-forged and clean-limbed, and achieves a powerful simplicity. Mitchell has re-energised the Iliad for a new generation.” —The Sunday Telegraph (London)
Review
“A daring new version of the epic poem.” —The Wall Street Journal
Review
“Mitchell’s Iliad is slimmer and leaner than anything we have seen before.... His strong five-beat rhythm is arguably the best yet in English.” —The New Yorker
Synopsis
ENDURING LITERATURE ILLUMINATED BY PRACTICAL SCHOLARSHIP
The story of the Trojan War, an epic tale of men and gods, of the heroes and horrors of war.
THIS ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES:
- A concise introduction that gives readers important background information
- A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context
- An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations
- Detailed explanatory notes
- Critical analysis and modern perspectives on the work
- Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction
- A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience
Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential.
SERIES EDITED BY CYNTHIA BRANTLEY JOHNSON
Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction
Historical Context of The Iliad
The Iliad
Notes
Interpretive Notes
Critical Excerpts
Questions for Discussion
Suggestions for the Interested Reader