
Great Britain has a long and grand tradition of poets translating classical authors. Virtually every great poet from Chaucer on has tried his or her hand at translation, with the results often rivalling or even excelling the ancient original. This unique anthology presents the best of these translations, ranging from King Alfred, Alexander Pope, and Ben Jonson, to Alfred Lord Tennyson, Ezra Pound, and Ted Hughes. The book offers a vast array of responses to the song, verse, and drama of ancient Greece and Rome, and to poets themselves as varied as Homer, Sappho, Euripides, Virgil, Ovid, and Juvenal. Organized by classical author and text, the book gathers and juxtaposes English versions, sometimes of the same passage or poem, to dramatize the endless renewal of one great poetic tradition in and through another.
This anthology investigates the historical and stylistic evolution of English translations of Greek and Roman classical literature from the medieval period to the twentieth century. Editors Jeremy Maule and Adrian Poole curate a comprehensive collection of verse to demonstrate how English-language poets have engaged with, adapted, and reinterpreted the foundational texts of antiquity. By juxtaposing multiple translations of the same classical passages, the authors argue that the act of translation serves as a dynamic, ongoing dialogue between two distinct literary traditions.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Scholars and critics frequently cite this volume as a definitive resource for understanding the history of classical reception in English poetry. Readers often note the academic rigor of the editorial selection, which provides a clear view of how translation styles have shifted across centuries.
Page Count:
656
Publication Date:
2000-05-18
ISBN-10:
0192825283
ISBN-13:
9780192825285
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