The Iliad: (The Stephen Mitchell Translation)
“Stephen Mitchell’s magnificent new translation of theIliadreminds us that there is always a new and different way to read and interpret the great classics, and that they need to be reinvigorated from generation to generation, just as we need to be reminded that they are, however venerated, above allstories: exciting, full of life and great characters, in short great entertainment, not just great monuments of culture or the Western canon. Mr. Mitchell has accomplished this difficult feat wonderfully well, and produced a book which is a joy to read and anIliadfor this generation.” —Michael Korda, D. Litt., author ofHero, Ike,andUlysses S. Grant“Stephen Mitchell has done a marvelous thing here: he has given fresh energy and poetic force to a work that perennially repays our attention. Without theIliadthe West would be a vastly poorer place; Homer’s achievement speaks to every successive generation with its unflinching understanding of the essential tragic nature of life. Mitchell’s translation is a grand accomplishment.”-- Jon Meacham, author ofAmerican Lion“Mitchell’s wonderful new version of theIliadis a worthy addition to his list of distinguished renditions of the classics.” —Peter Matthiessen“A sturdy, muscular, and nuanced translation that will surely bring many new readers to this great work.”—John Banville, author ofThe Sea“Mitchell’s translation is a brilliant accomplishment. It captures the fierce energy, rhythms, and powerful narrative of Homer’s Greek in vivid and compelling English.” —Elaine Pagels, author ofThe Gnostic Gospels“Mitchell’s five-beat line is a startlingly strong alternative to other translators’ attempts to capture the inimitably mellifluous flow of Homer’s Greek. Mitchell fits a meter to the poem, but also the poem to the meter, paring away words that could not work in English, aiming always to preserve the uncanny aesthetic distance and moral neutrality of the original at its full, thrilling, and horrifying depth. Read three pages,anythree pages, and you’ll realize that, no, you are not yet done with Homer.” —Jack Miles, author ofGod: A Biography”A strange, almost forgotten feeling overtook me as I first dipped into this new translation. I felt compelled to recite aloud! The poetry rocks and has a macho cast to it, like rap music. It’s overtly virile stuff, propelled from the time when music, language, information, and politics were not yet distinguished.” —Jaron Lanier, author ofYou Are Not a Gadget