Aeneid and Metamorphoses

[Hoggirl]

Which version? Translation? Editor? Not sure the correct way to ask this! We will be doing these in the spring after completing Lattimore's Iliad and Odyssey if that makes a difference.

[stephanier.1765]

:bigear:

[Lori D.]

Here is a web article that may help you decide on a translation for The Metamorphoses by Kafka. And in case you meant Ovid's Metamorphoses, this past thread may help.

 

 

Well, since we were heartily tired of those pesky Ancient Greeks :tongue_smilie: by the time we finished The Illiad, The Odyssey, the Oedipus cycle, and selected Greek myths -- AND because The Aeneid is even LONGER than The Iliad -- AND since the Aeneid IS still about more of those pesky ancient Greeks (even though it is written by an ancient Roman) -- we went with a very simple prose abridged version: "The Aeneid For Boys and Girls", Alfred Church.

 

However, if you are enjoying full translations, you might like the Fitzgerald translation; it will be more similar to the Lattimore than the Fagles translation. Here's an excerpt from a Wikipedia article on The Aeneid about some of the better-known translations:

 

"The first full and faithful rendering of the poem in an Anglic language is the Scots translation by Gavin Douglas—his Eneados, completed in 1513, which also included Maffeo Vegio's supplement. Even in the 20th century, Ezra Pound considered this still to be the best Aeneid translation, praising the "richness and fervour" of its language and its hallmark fidelity to the original.[5][6] The English translation by the 17th-century poet John Dryden is another important version that can be said to retain the power and flow of the original, although Dryden took numerous, significant liberties with the text.[neutrality is disputed] Most classic translations, including both Douglas and Dryden, employed a rhyme scheme, a very non-Roman convention that is not usually followed in modern versions.

 

Recent English verse translations include those by British Poet Laureate C Day Lewis (1963) which strove to render Virgil's original hexameter line, Allen Mandelbaum (honoured by a 1973 National Book Award), Library of Congress Poet Laureate Robert Fitzgerald (1981), Stanley Lombardo (2005), and Robert Fagles (2006)."

 

 

BEST of luck, and enjoy your Great Books adventures! Warmly, Lori D.

 

 

PS -- some past threads that may be of help, too:

 

Poll: Favorite Aeneid translation?

Which version of the Aeneid?

The Aeneid -- anyone know of a film (DVD) version?

Edited November 2, 2010 by Lori D.
added links to past threads on same topic

[Hoggirl]

I went with Fitzgerald. Sounds like Humphries is the best for Metamorphoses. Yes, Lori - Ovid!

[NeonCat]

I see you've already decided, but will post for those who may be looking for alternative translations... We are reading and enjoying Stanley Lombardo's Aeneid. So far we've found it to be a very fluid and readable translation. Enjoy!

[ereks mom]

We're going to read an abridged version--already on hold at the library. What parts should we read just to get a taste of "the real thing" alongside the abridged?

[ereks mom]

Thank you so much. I had no idea which parts to pick. :)