The Odyssey: The Fitzgerald Translation | 
| Author: Homer
Creators: D. S. Carne-ross, Robert Fitzgerald
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Category: Book
List Price: $12.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  92 reviews
Sales Rank: 6256
Media: Paperback
Edition: Seventh
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 528
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.1
ISBN: 0374525749
Dewey Decimal Number: 883.01
EAN: 9780374525743
ASIN: 0374525749
Publication Date: November 5, 1998
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Condition: Visible shelf wear -- may have some notes/markings on pages
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Product Description
The classic translation of The Odyssey, now in a Noonday paperback.
Robert Fitzgerald's translation of Homer's Odyssey is the best and best-loved modern translation of the greatest of all epic poems. Since 1961, this Odyssey has sold more than two million copies, and it is the standard translation for three generations of students and poets. The Noonday Press is delighted to publish a new edition of this classic work.Fitzgerald's supple verse is ideally suited to the story of Odysseus' long journey back to his wife and home after the Trojan War. Homer's tale of love, adventure, food and drink, sensual pleasure, and mortal danger reaches the English-language reader in all its glory.
Of the many translations published since World War II, only Fitzgerald's has won admiration as a great poem in English. The noted classicist D. S. Carne-Ross explains the many aspects of its artistry in his Introduction, written especially for this new edition.
The Noonday Press edition also features a map, a Glossary of Names and Places, and Fitzgerald's Postscript. Line drawings precede each book of the poem.
Winner of the Bollingen Prize
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| Customer Reviews: Read 87 more reviews...
 Incredible June 30, 2008
The Odyssey will always be a classic of literature, and with good reason. With the intense battles, Odysseus's clever tricks, and Penelope and Telemachus's heart-wrenching plight, it's no wonder this poem has survived the centuries. This version goes above and beyond what should be required of a translation: the prose is beautiful and arranged, as it should be, in lines and stanzas. Hermes rhymes and Homer's memory tricks work to enrich the text rather than detract. The cover, featuring a watercolor over a contour of Athena, is a nice addition, and looks nice on your shelf. In conclusion, I would reccommend this whole-heartedly and tell you that anyone who hasn't read the Robert Fitzgerald translation of the Odyssey hasn't read the Odyssey at all.
 Fitzgerald's Homer June 27, 2008
I here consider not the story of the Odyssey itself, accounts of which abound, but rather Robert Fitzgerald's 1961 translation. Unlike recent more literal translations of the Odyssey such as Richmond Lattimore's (1962) and Albert Cook's (1967), which seek to reflect the original Greek with strict fidelity, Fitzgerald's does not confine itself to mirroring the Homeric line in syntax or parts of speech. Instead, he renders the verse of the Odyssey--which in the Greek averages roughly sixteen syllables per line--into English lines of ten or eleven syllables. His shorter line of course results in lenthening each of the original's twenty-four books. In the Greek, Book I, for example, consists of 444 lines; in Fitzgerald's version, 500 lines. He translates the first two lines of Greek into five lines of English; here the single Greek word polytropon, "much-turned" or "of many ways," becomes the rather full phrase "skilled in all ways of contending." This syntactically loose approach, while inconveniencing those readers curious enough to compare his version against a Greek text, allows Fitzgerald to amplify the original where he sees fit (though by no means to the extent of early translators like George Chapman and Alexander Pope) and to display here and there a poetical flourish not contained in the original.
Fitzgerald's liberality with the line extends to his choices with character epithets. At times they drop out of his version altogether - and these omissions occasionally conceal the subtlety of the original poem's design - but more often than not he deals with a commonly repeated epithet by varying his phrases, which helps to show the manifold nature of the Greek adjectives but may also lead Greek-less readers to think the original more manifold than is actually the case. He renders Telemakhos' epithet pepnymenos in a variety as diverse as it is colloquial : "kept his head," "cool enough," "clear-headed," "with no confusion," "thoughtfully," "seeing all clear." (Lattimore, by contrast, dutifully translates the epithet as "thoughtful.") Penelope's epithet, periphron, which means "circumspect" or "all-considering," becomes, depending on the context, "quiet," "wise," "careful," "watchful," "prudent," and even "most worn in love and thought." And finally, to take only one of Odysseus' numerous epithets, Fitzgerald renders polymetis as "the great tactician," "that sly and guileful man," "his ranging mind," "who had it all timed in his head," "the master of many crafts," "the great master of invention," "the master improviser," "ready for this," "the master of subtle ways and straight." (Lattimore more literally translates it as "resourceful.") While some readers may find such translational choices promiscuous, others will appreciate Fitzgerald's ability to showcase the many facets of Odysseus' character. Perhaps the best instance of this freedom comes at the start of Book 22 when, armed with his old bow, Odysseus finally discloses himself to the suitors: here Fitzgerald translates polymetis as "the wiliest fighter of the islands."
Readers seeking Homer's "pure serene," that is, an acquaintance with the unique concepts and syntax of Homeric Greek, may be frustrated by the loose relation of Fitzgerald's translation to the original. But those for whom the literalness of Lattimore is overly wooden may find themselves arrested by the vividness of Fitzgerald's verse and the vivacity which he gives Homer's characters. Fitzgerald's liberal approach frees him to reflect in his lines the sorts of stunning interpretations that more literal approaches entrust to the sensitivity of readers. Most telling along these lines is his choice in the opening of Book 21, when Penelope decides to try the suitors by bringing out at last the bow of Odysseus. The Greek is, roughly, "then the grey-eyed goddess Athena put it in the mind of / the daughter of Ikarios, all-considering Penelope. . . ." These lines Fitzgerald transmutes into "upon Penelope, most worn in love and thought, / Athena cast a glance like a grey sea / lifting her." As readers, the question is how high the translator must lift us in order for us to deepen our appreciation of the Odyssey; perhaps for some of us, Fitzgerald's alchemy will indeed provide the vessel which rides the utmost crest of the wave, bringing us within glimpse of that rare land which Keats wondered at above all other realms of gold.
Better Than I Remembered March 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I just read The Odyssey again for a literature class. Man, it was better than I remembered. I had read this back in high school in 1996 or 97, and at the time I didn't care for it all that much. However, I don't think it was the same translation. I don't know if that had anything to do with it, but this was a very enjoyable read. It has everything you could want in a heroic tale: monsters, gods, beautiful women, magic, and of course a trip into the underworld. Just make sure to look up characters while you read it. It really makes the text more enjoyable if you know who the various gods and demi-gods are.
The Odyssey. Homer/ Robert Fitzgerald, translator. October 2, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
"Odysseus rolled his head
to one side softly, ducking the blow, and smiled
a crooked smile with teeth clenched."
It's been a few years since I read Walden, but I recall Thoreau stating that Homer's epics should be read in no language but Greek. He may have been less inclined to this view if he'd had access to Robert Fitzgerald's translation, first published in 1961. It is said, by those who know these things far better than I, that heroic dactylic hexameter cannot be justly translated, and it is easy to imagine that there have been some artistically poor translations that have rendered Homer's works as generic prose. But Fitzgerald's acclaimed editions are quite artful indeed.
Odysseus' heroic trait is his `cunning intelligence'; he is admired by all mortal men that have heard his name, rulers and even the gods regard him highly; he is, for several years, the sexual prisoner of the immortal nymph, Calypso, before his epic, obstacle-riddled return to Ithaca and Penelope. [Odysseus' son] Telemakhos' heroic trait is his cool-headed, pragmatic discernment and patience. Penelope is the model of the faithful spouse, and a drove of [her] unscrupulous suitors are the leading antagonists.
There are many technical, source-critical, textual, and historical considerations concomitant to The Odyssey, and I am not qualified to speak to any of these. But the story is amazing, and in many ways `modern', certainly as to how its vignettes are structured. Twenty-six hundred years later, the heroic characters of literature, popular fiction and film/video continue to borrow the qualities and traits of Odysseus and Telemakhos.
"The Odyssey" review April 15, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
By Jove--this is something else.
Firstly, if you are interested in this book, get background information on Greek mythology, The Iliad, and The Odyssey. Familiarize yourself with Homer's style, the different spellings of names, etc. It's especially good to read this in school, which is where I read it first, because the teacher has knowledge of the epic and can help you in reading it.
The Odyssey is really, something else. It and its partner The Iliad have their own style of story-telling, characterization, and description.
Homer, the storyteller, possesses a powerful and confident voice. As my English teacher said, "Homer is the MAN of epics", and that could not be a lie. The text is hard to read at first, because it contains advanced language, some archaic words, and the reader needs to familiarize themselves with the cultural background of ancient Greece. However, the text becomes enjoyable and rhythmic as the story progresses, making the reader wanting to read NOTHING ELSE but Homer.
The storyline itself is AMAZING, but even more than that. It's chaotic, contains plot twists...it's possibly one of the IDEAL stories of all time.
Odysseus' journey to return home to Ithaka is filled with life themes such as despondency, peril, greed, and bravery. It's emotionally moving and thought-provoking as one reads of the lives Odysseus, Telemachus, and Penelope lead after the Trojan War, and awaiting the reunion of their family. Odysseus' own 'odyssey' is filled with dangerous monsters, promiscious nymphs, and sorrow-filled nights at sea.
Figuratively, The Odyssey parallels real life, because each life is an 'odyssey'. We all face our monsters, promiscious nymphs, and sorrow-filled nights, but also the rage of battle against suitors and the joy of finally returning home.
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