The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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The Aeneid
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I started this on Serial, but quit and bought the Fitzgerald translation instead. The version on Serial is an older English translation in rhyming verse. I found it hard to stay interested in. The flowery words and the emphasis on producing a rhyming translation detract from the poetry and imagery of the original, in my opinion. The Fitzgerald translation is far easier and more interesting to read, because it makes an effort to convey the original text as closely as possible, although the rhyme scheme is lost. Turns out, the original text is a lot better than I thought it would be! Still reading.For those who want a free version that's not in verse, it looks like you can access one right on Goodreads. On the full website, there's a link that takes you to a translation by H.R. Fairclough. I don't think it's quite as good as the Fitzgerald translation, but it's a lot better than the verse translation on Serial.
Anyone else reading this? How far along are you? I'm going slowly due to time constraints.
I'm listening to this, but seriously struggling with it. I'm listening, I guess, to an older rhyming version. I'm not much of a poetry fan, and the only reason that I chose this one was that the others were not available to me (too long of a wait list on Overdrive). I'm always willing to try something new (or old as the case may be) though.I'm listening to it on libravox, a section at a time. Maybe I should try the other version that's not in rhyming verse. I'm only an hour and a half into this one, and I'm honestly not sure how much I'm getting out of it.
I'm certainly planning to read it, but I'll see how it goes. Given that it was chosen as poetry, I feel I ought to at least try to read a verse translation of it (the free one on Amazon was translated by the poet John Dryden - Amy, Shanna, is this the one you tried?) - although that may change if I get really bogged down.
I must admit to finding this quite a slog to get through. I enjoy poetry so my hopes were high but ultimately the difficult language and sheer length of this epic impeded my enjoyment of this. The translation chosen does make a difference I agree. I read the Fitzgerald translation. Perhaps another would have been better.
I found the story thrilling and in places quite shocking, especially the violence of the battles. The language I found difficult but there were many moments where I was struck by the beauty and power of it.
I suspect some of the references were also lost on me as I am not especially knowledgeable about Classics. I hope to one day reread this when I can take more time over this and perhaps read a guide book that would enhance my appreciation of the work.
I'm actually not sure which translation I'm listening to. There's nothing noting the translator on the Librivox page
Shanna_redwind wrote: "I'm actually not sure which translation I'm listening to. There's nothing noting the translator on the Librivox page"Figured it out: John Dryden is the translator .
I think its one of the most famous ones, even though it dates from 1697. It seemed fair that having voted for it, I should read it, and read it as poetry. And FINALLY, I've made it through.
But classic or not, this was a struggle. I don't think it was the verse translation (Dryden), as I could get into the rhythm of that after a few minutes reading, and I don't have a problem with the likes of Shakespeare.
I think perhaps that it's just that I didn't really care what happened, and I just wanted Juno to get over herself. Plus, I get bored when books just seem to be one running battle sequence, and that's pretty much the case for the last half of the Aeneid.
The requirement for task 20.10: You must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.