The Odyssey (Wordsworth Classics) - Softcover

Homer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1853260258 ISBN 13: 9781853260254

Publisher: Wordsworth Editions, 1992

Synopsis

This Wordsworth Edition includes an exclusive Introduction and Notes by Adam Roberts, Royal Holloway, University of London.

Homer's great epic describes the many adventures of Odysseus, Greek warrior, as he strives over many years to return to his home island of Ithaca after the Trojan War. His colourful adventures, his endurance, his love for his wife and son have the same power to move and inspire readers today as they did in Archaic Greece, 2800 years ago.

This poem has been translated many times over the years, but Chapman's sinewy, gorgeous rendering (1616) stands in a class of its own. Chapman believed himself inspired by the spirit of Homer himself, and matches the breadth and power of the original with a complex and stunning idiom of his own. John Keats expressed his admiration for the resulting work in the famous sonnet, 'On first looking into Chapman's Homer': 'Much have I travelled in the realms of gold...'

This new Wordsworth edition of Chapman's Homer contains accessible annotation, and a detailed introduction that places his masterpiece in the context of his own day, and discusses its influences on later poets.

About this title

Review:

With the Trojan war finally over after many long years, Odysseus wants nothing more than a swift journey home where his throne and beloved wife, Penelope, await him. But Poseidon, the sea god, bears a grudge against him and plans to prevent his return across the wine-dark sea to Ithaca. Many tests of strength and character ensue as Odysseus's journey stretches out over the years, taking in a multitude of strange and wonderful places and creatures. That's the basic plot of the epic poem Homer told nearly 3,000 years ago, but, even now, a new English translation is a true literary event. The ancient story is told in easy-going, beautiful poetry, the characters speak naturally and the action moves along briskly. Even the gods come across as real people, despite the divine powers they constantly exercise. The Odyssey really is a gripping, fast-moving read.

Review:

"A masterpiece . . . An "Odyssey worthy of the original."--William Arrowsmith, "The Nation
"Here there is no anxious straining after mighty effects, but rather a constant readiness for what the occasion demands, a kind of Odyssean adequacy to the task in hand."--Seamus Heaney
"A masterpiece . . . An "Odyssey" worthy of the original."--William Arrowsmith, "The Nation""Here there is no anxious straining after mighty effects, but rather a constant readiness for what the occasion demands, a kind of Odyssean adequacy to the task in hand."--Seamus Heaney

About this edition

• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 1853260258
• ISBN 13: 9781853260254
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 512