/lit/ - Literature

Nah. Matter of fact read an abridged kids version, with pictures. You can finish the story in 5 minutes.

>>11042101
hilarious ebin meme friend but im actually looking for answers here

>>11042130
You got the answer. Was the Iliad written in prose? Meant to be recited as prose?

Translating epic poetry as prose is a common practice and there's nothing wrong with reading such translations. They will generally try to present the meaning more precisely than a poetic translation, which will have to make more compromises for the sake of poetic form. So it's simply up to preference.

>>11042146
it was written in greek and meant to be recited in greek but im clearly not going to read it like that. how much does the translated verse really matter? stop thinking in memes and actually use your head

>>11042092
since you aren’t reading it in the OL. I’d say it doesn’t matter. Personally I wouldn’t want to read it in prose though.

>>11042092
nah, butler's based, he even included getting bullied about his latin by casual readers in his revised edition of erewhon. read his fiction once you're through with his iliad and odyssey

>>11042155
You have a 90-something IQ so I'll take it easy on you kiddo. Ask yourself why you are reading the Iliad. Is it to be close to Ancient Greece, to feel the rythyms and swells that listeners of epic poetry felt? Or do you just want to check the box and say you read it. Dont come to /lit/ begging us to excuse you for butchering what should be a musical, aesthetic experience.

Better than reading it as translated poetry. Translation is inaccurate enough already without additional constraints.

>>11042177
3/10 made me consider arguing

>>11042201
Go read the prose Iliad, fertilizer head.

>>11042092
if you're serious learn ancient greek, if you're not serious read whatever version you feel like reading. ignore the memers that think they're reliving the the experience of illiterate ancient pagans by muttering fagles under their breath.

>>11042309
i just bought fagles :(((((

>>11042309
>>11042337
fagles isn't the one that tries to recreate the sound and meter as closely, it's lattimore you're trying to diss (which is still the best choice if you want an english verse translation because it teaches to to recognise all the things the romans ripped off, and which translations and original poetry follow those forms in english thereafter too)

>>11042337
did you not just see me write that it's all fine? read your fagles and then try a different one next year or whenever and form your own opinon.

>>11042348
>teaches *you to

>>11042092
No, translating epics into prose is fine. As long as they don't omit shit like the catalogue of ships, the verbatim repeated messages or the epithets.

>>11042428
butler's rearrangement makes way more sense than what you'd try to do

>>11042092

Do you even Latin, filthy Anglo-Saxon barbarian?