The Iliad The Fitzgerald Translation [Paperback]

Anger be now your song, immortal one,
Akhilleus' anger, doomed and ruinous,
that caused the Akhaians loss on bitter loss
and crowded brave souls into the undergloom,
leaving so many dead men-carrion
for dogs and birds; and the will of Zeus was done.
-Lines 1-6

Since it was first published more than twenty-five years ago, Robert Fitzgerald's prizewinning translation of Homer's battle epic has become a classic in its own right: a standard against which all other versions ofThe Iliadare compared. Fitzgerald's work is accessible, ironic, faithful, written in a swift vernacular blank verse that makes Homer live as never before (Library Journal).

This edition includes a new foreword by Andrew Ford.

This teacher's guide is keyed to the Robert Fitzgerald translation ofThe Iliad. Striking a balance between traditional poetic artistry and immediacy of language, Fitzgerald gives students the full measure of the original epic's astonishing power.

Little is certain when it comes to the origins ofThe Iliador its partner epic and sequel,The Odyssey. Both epics circulated from the dawn of Greek literature under the name of Homer, but who this fabled poet was, and when and where he lived, remain riddles. Already some ancient critics doubted a single poet wrote both epics, and most modern scholars prefer to ascribe the creation and initial shaping
of both stories to oral tradition. As legends about heroes and their exploits were handed down from generation to generation over many centuries, bards developed highly formalized language to chant the stories in public performances. These singers had a large repertoire of tales from which they chose when aiming to satisfy a particular audience's demand, or more likely the request of the local lord. The material was familiar and the language traditional, indeed formulaic, so that a good singer could always perform a song in proper style and meter to suit thl³o