Janie Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 I'm stuck in a hard place. While I personally prefer Lattimore's or Fagle's translation of The Iliad, I'm up against the wall with having to use Samuel Butler's translation. Essentially, from what I gather, Butler has reshaped the poetry into prose. That's probably good for poetry-phobic teens, but I love the flow of the poetry. The reason that I'm in a hard place is price. I can find the Butler books for an extremely reasonable price (new $2.99) compared to Lattimore or Fagle's ($9+). Anyone with more knowledge of the Butler translation, please weigh in!! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 (edited) Free options: - What about using the Fagles or Fitzgerald by checking out of your local library? - Any local homeschooler from whom you could borrow the translation of your choice? Cheap options: - Your local used bookstores, Good Will stores, yard sales, library book sales? - Paperback Swap online? - Borrow/buy from a lcoal college student who just finished using their version? Amazon used: - Fitzgerald from $.01 +$3.99 shipping -- OR, for $2.64 with free shipping if you order $25 or more. - Fagles $3.83 + $3.99 shipping -- OR, just $.99 if you have Kindle. Abe Books used: - Fitzgerald $3.64 with FREE shipping, or $1 +$2.99 shipping - Fagles $3.15 + $3.99 shipping And, if none of those are an option, in response to your original question, my first exposure to The Odyssey (not the The Iliad) was Butler's poetic-prose retelling. It does retain a lot of the poetry, re-orders the story into a chronological narrative, and cuts out the lists. It's definitely a level above abridged retellings and maintains some of the poetic language, but is also not the entire original. To judge for yourself, below is a brief comparison (first 24 lines) from my two versions of The Odyssey (sorry, not The Iliad!). BEST of luck in finding what works best for your family at a reasonable price! Warmest regards, Lori D.BUTLER, opening of the Odyssey "Tell me, O Muse, of that ingenious hero who traveled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy. Many cities did he visit, and many were the nations with whose manners and customs he was acquainted; moreover, he suffered much by sea while trying to save his own life and bring his men safely home; but do what he might he could have his men, for they perished through their own sheer folly in eating the cattle of the Sun-god Hyperion; so the god prevented them from ever reaching home. Tell me, too, about all these things, O daughter of Zeus, from whatsoever source you may know them. So now all who escaped death in battle or by shipwreck had got safely home except Odysseus, and he, though he were longing to return to his wife and country, was detained by the goddess Caylpso, who had got him into a large cave and wanted to marry him. But as years went by, there came a time when the gods settled that he should go back to Ithaca; even then, however, when he was among his own people, his troubles were not yet over. Nevertheless, all the gods had now begun to pity him except Poseidon, who still persecuted him without ceasing and would not let him go home." FAGLES, opening of the Odyssey "Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy. Many cities of men he saw and learned their minds, many pains he suffered, heartsick on the open sea, fighting to save his life and bring his comrades home. But he could not save them from disaster, hard as he strove -- the recklessness of their own ways destroyed them all, the blind fools, they devoured the cattle of the Sun and the Sungod wiped from sight the day of their return. Launch out on his story, Muse, daughter of Zeus, start from where you will -- sing for our time too. By now, all the survivors, all who avoided headlong death were safe at home, escaped the wars and waves. But one man alone... his heart set on his wife and his return -- Calypso, the bewitching nymph, the lustrous goddess, held him back, deep in her arching caverns, craving him for a husband. But then, when the wheeling seasons brought the year around, that year spun out by the gods when he should reach his home, Ithaca -- though not even there would he be free of trials, even among his loved ones -- then every god took pity, all except Poseidon. He raged on, seething against the great Odysseus until he reached his native land." Edited June 18, 2022 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Posted May 14, 2011 Author Share Posted May 14, 2011 Thanks, Lori! I'm a classroom teacher now, so I'm trying to get book purchase prices as low as I can for my students. The upside of using Butler's version is that Memoria Press has a student guide available now for both Iliad and Odyssey that uses Butler. This is my first time teaching these books to a classroom (who have had no intro to any classical lit) and I need all the help via guides as I can! Didn't have a problem with my own kids but a classroom full poses a whole new set of unique adventures! I love the sound and flow of the poetry and would love to use Fagles, Lattimore or Fitzgerald. Might just have to settle on Butler for now though. Any other thoughts appreciated! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 (edited) Oops! ::blush:: Didn't realize you were looking for a classroom option. The one other possible "plus" for using Butler is that it is shorter, which might make tackling a number of classic works over the year more do-able... re: any other thoughts I HIGHLY recommend the Garlic Press publishers' Discovering Literature guide for The Odyssey! It is very meaty, and for a classroom use, it has a chapter summary for EVERY chapter; GREAT discussion questions; lots of GOOD writing assignment ideas; teaching text on lots of topics, all with examples from The Odyssey, but sometimes with additional examples to other classics: - the Epic Genre - Translations - Historical Background: Troy - Homer's Mythology - Strategies for How to Begin the Book - Background info on the Fitzgerald, Fagles, Lattimore and Rouse translations - Plot - Allusion - Setting - The Hero's Journey - Simile & Metaphor - Characterization - Cross-Cultural Parallels (an Irish folktale/character similar to Odysseus/The Odyssey) - Plot Elements - Theme - Irony - Foreshadowing and Flashback - Character Traits What a great adventure you are on, Janie! I'm sure it's a bit nerve-wracking, but also how exciting to embark on this undertaking with students who have never had classic lit.! I was public-schooled, and never had any of this until I hit college, and so with our own DSs, we just plunged ahead, with none of us really thinking, "Oh, this might be too hard for us." And DSs have loved many of the The Great Books, never realizing that they are "hard" (lol!). So my only suggestion is -- go for it fearlessly, and your students won't have any hesitations, either! 🙂 BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D. Edited June 18, 2022 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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