Greek vase with muse

 TRANSLATION 
 WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?

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Soldiers fighting  
THE ILIAD (Page 3)

 MAKING SENSE  After accuracy, the second thing a translator has to consider is making sense of what is being translated. As you could see in reading the literal translation on the previous page, a word-for-word translation of a work created in the 8th century B.C. will probably not be meaningful -- or pleasurable -- for  readers of the 21st century.  So the translator's goal is to stay as close as possible to the original meaning while also using the words and style that a modern reader will understand and enjoy reading. 

To illustrate how differently this can be accomplished, let's look at two translations of the lines in Book I of the Iliad where Achilles is expressing his anger at Agamemnon. One of these translations was made over two centuries ago; the other was made in the 1990's. See if you can tell which of them is the more recent.

O Monster, mix'd of Insolence and Fear,
Thou Dog in Forehead, but in Heart a
       Deer!
When wert thou known in ambush'd Fights
       to dare,
Or nobly face the horrid Front of War?....
By this I swear, when bleeding Greece
       again
Shall call Achilles, she shall call in vain...
Then shalt thou mourn th'Affront thy
     Madness gave,
Forc'd to deplore, when impotent to save:
Then rage in Bitterness of Soul, to know
This act has made the bravest Greek thy
      foe.

  You bloated drunk,
With a dog's eyes and a rabbit's heart!
You've never had the guts to buckle on
      armor in battle   
Or come out with the best fighting Greeks 
On any campaign!...
     By this scepter I swear:
When every last Greek desperately misses
     Achilles,
Your remorse won't do any good then....
And you will eat your heart out
Because you failed to honor the best
      Greek  of all.
          

If you guessed that the translation in the right-hand box is the more recent, you're right. This translation -- by Stanley Lombardo -- was made in the 1990's, while the one in the left-hand box -- by Alexander Pope -- was first published in 1715. The differences are immediately apparent in the first line when Pope says:
                    O Monster, mix'd of Insolence and Fear,
in contrast to Lombardo's:
                     You bloated drunk!
If you think about Achilles' character in modern terms -- he's like a super-star athlete with a very short temper -- Lombardo's words seem closest to what he would actually say today. Also, Pope uses words like wert (for were), thou (for you), and shalt (for shall), word forms that were commonly used in poetry (although not in spoken English) of the eighteenth century but which few poets nowadays would use. Although it's certainly possible to prefer Pope's version because his wording sounds more impressive and more heroic, it's worth remembering that the Iliad was originally created to appeal to a contemporary audience. So, the language of the poem probably reflects (although  there are no written records to prove this) the language typically used in poetry of that time. Modern English translations of the poem are simply trying to create, for audiences of this time, the same experience that Homer conveyed to his original audience.

Both translators communicate the anger that Achilles is feeling here, but in order to do so effectively, they must use words that the readers of their time will understand. This is why there have been so many translations of the Iliad -- and there will be many more in the future -- as changing styles of language will require new translations.

The following exercise will give you the chance to imagine yourself as the "translator" of this passage.

EXERCISE C.
You've just  read two translations of the passage in the Iliad where Achilles expresses his anger at Agamemnon.  Now write your own version of this passage. Imagine that you're writing  to a present-day reader, telling him or her what Achilles said to Agamemnon. You can use any style that you feel would be understood by a reader like yourself, including slang words. Don't worry about following the original passage exactly;  just concentrate on communicating the main feelings that Achilles is expressing. 

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When you're done, please go to Page 4.

  comments to: vpoulakis@nvcc.edu
                                                  

03/28/05