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    The Poetry of Alexander Pope
    The Poetry of Alexander Pope
    The Poetry of Alexander Pope
    Audiobook34 minutes

    The Poetry of Alexander Pope

    Written by Alexander Pope

    Narrated by George Rylands

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    A selection of Alexander Pope's finest poetry read by George Rylands, Peggy Ashcroft and Emma Topping.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSaland Publishing
    Release dateJan 3, 2001
    ISBN9781907818882
    The Poetry of Alexander Pope
    Author

    Alexander Pope

    Alexander Pope (1688-1744) was an English poet. Born in London to a family of Catholics who were later expelled from the city during a period of religious persecution, Pope was largely self-educated, and struggled with numerous illnesses from a young age. At 23, he wrote the discursive poem An Essay on Criticism (1711), a manifesto on the art of poetry which gained him the admiration and acclaim of influential critics and writers of his day. His most famous poem, The Rape of the Lock (1712), is a mock epic which critiques aristocratic English society while showcasing Pope’s mastery of poetic form, particularly the use of the heroic couplet. Pope produced highly acclaimed translations of the Iliad and Odyssey, which transformed Homer’s ancient Greek dactylic hexameter into a contemporary rhyming English verse. His work The Dunciad (1728-1743), originally published anonymously in Dublin, is a satirical poem which lampoons English literary society and criticizes the moral and intellectual decay of British life. Second only to Shakespeare for the frequency with which he is quoted, Alexander Pope succumbed to his illnesses at the age of 56 while at the height of his fame and productivity.

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    • 3/5
      I'm sure this is a great book for those out there who love classics and stuff like this... but it just wasn't for me.
    • 5/5
      This translation is a must read for anyone interested in literature, classics, or history. The pace of the story is amazing with action and adventure mixed in with society and home life.
    • 5/5
      The Odyssey is well worth reading not only to experience a story that has so heavily influenced Western literature, but also because, as appalling of a hero as Odysseus may be, it's a fun story. In all its extravagance, it set the standard for epic adventures.I cannot recommend Emily Wilson's translation enough. It is beautiful and fluid. She maintains a poetic rhythm yet the language is modern and clear. It's worth the extra time to read it out loud so you can truly savor the language for both its flow and the way it captures the sentiments of the characters.For those with several Odysseys under their belt, I would still recommend this version, if for no other reason than to read her introduction. Her analysis of the story is brilliant.
    • 5/5
      It's good to meet classics in person after being distant acquaintances who know one another just well enough to nod in passing. Now I can shake The Odyssey heartily by the hand when I meet it in other stories, hail-well-met. And meet it in other stories I will, this revered grandfather of the revenge story and the travelogue. Besides being a classic, The Odyssey is a fascinating tale in its own right of strange wonders and awful dangers, of the faithful and the faithless, of wrongs committed and retribution meted out. Odysseus, Achaean hero of the Trojan War, has been ten years fighting at Troy and another ten making his way home. Imprisoned by a nymph, shipwrecked, lost, waylaid — Odysseus, beloved of some gods, is hated by others. Meanwhile at home in Ithaca, many have despaired of his coming, including his wife Penelope and son Telemachus, who now suffer at the hands of Penelope's suitors, leading men of the Achaeans who wish to possess her. Odysseus will never return, they say, as they sit in his house eating and drinking up all his wealth. Telemachus is just a young man and cannot prevent their ravages. The situation is indeed desperate, as Penelope, worn out with mourning Odysseus, begins to accept her fate to become another man's wife. Once I got used to it, I loved the repetition of certain phrases and descriptions: "long-tried royal Odysseus," "discreet Telemachus," "heedful Penelope," "clear-eyed Athena," "the gods who hold the open sky," "rosy-fingered dawn," "on the food before them they laid hands," and more. It reminded me that I was hearing a poem (I listened on audiobook) and that it was originally memorized by the bard, not read off the page. The repetition is comforting. It was easy to fall into the rhythm of the story and the archaic language, surrendering to the storyteller's art. I find the interplay between the gods and men so interesting. I don't know if The Odyssey is an accurate picture of ancient Greek theology and I don't want to draw too many conclusions from what was understood even at the time to be mythological. But I had a similar experience listening to The Iliad — the gods are great and powerful and all that, but they are so very involved in human affairs, almost as if they can't bear to be left out... why should Athena care so much whether Odysseus ever gets home? Why is it that human affairs so concern the councils of Olympus? I suppose the simple answer is that these stories were made up by humans and since the thing that interests us most is ourselves, we can't imagine gods who aren't likewise fascinated.I listened to an older translation by George Herbert Palmer and I'm glad I did. My experience of The Iliad was marred by the fact that it was a modernized translation, the latest and greatest supposedly. But all that really means is that it was dumbed-down for lazy listeners, to the point where some of the heroic moments almost became comical in our modern parlance. No thank you! I'm no expert in translation, but this one presented no jarring moments of disconnect between the style and substance, and I thought it fitted the subject matter very well. The reader of this particular audiobook, Norman Dietz, has a low, smooth, calm voice that I quickly learned to like. This is an excellent story that never slackens its pace or lets you stop caring what happens to its hero. Don't be intimidated by its status as a classic — all that means is that it's a good story that has stood the test of time, delighting its hearers both in ancient days and now. I recommend it!
    • 4/5
      Opmerkelijke, niet-chronologische structuur. Ook minder tragedisch-hero?sch dan Ilias, meer accent op waarden trouw, vriendeschap. Verschuiving tav Ilias: mensheld speelt hier de hoofdrol; Odysseus doorspartelt alle gevaren dankzij zijn formidabele karakter (groot hart, eerlijk maar ook vurig en wreedaardig), een man voor alle tijden; doorslaggevend: hij gelooft in eigen kunnen. Ook intelligent-listig (soms web van leugens), daarom in de Oudheid eerder als negatieve figuur gezien (corrupt en leugenachtig), pas met Renaissance gerehabiliteerd.Maar Odysseus is wel de enige onbesproken held, alle anderen (inclusief Telemachos en Penelope) worden in een dubieus daglicht gesteld. Tav Ilias komen vrouwen meer op voorgrond (maar niet altijd positief).Geen mythe, maar wel heldenverhaal, epos. De hoofdlijn is grondig vermengd met andere verhalen (dat van de cycloop is bij andere volkeren in 125 versies te vinden). Het centraal thema is de queeste, de zoektocht naar wat verloren is gegaan (vergelijking met Gilgamesj mogelijk: bezoek aan onderwereld, nihilistische visie op dood).
    • 4/5
      This epic I never did try to read as a teenager, but I knew that it too would come someday just as the Iliad would. This epic took longer to read than the Iliad, but then the translation of the Iliad I read had some books taken out for the sake of the readers. This translation by Fagles didn't cut anything out. I really enjoyed this translation. I've heard others praise Fagles as a wonderful translator and I have to agree. This myth is also an outstanding one. It really personifies the Quest Pattern we now-a-days link to many books. This is another epic I would love to listen to as well, so we'll see if I can get my hands on another good translation.
    • 4/5
      Opmerkelijke, niet-chronologische structuur. Ook minder tragedisch-heroïsch dan Ilias, meer accent op waarden trouw, vriendeschap. Verschuiving tav Ilias: mensheld speelt hier de hoofdrol; Odysseus doorspartelt alle gevaren dankzij zijn formidabele karakter (groot hart, eerlijk maar ook vurig en wreedaardig), een man voor alle tijden; doorslaggevend: hij gelooft in eigen kunnen. Ook intelligent-listig (soms web van leugens), daarom in de Oudheid eerder als negatieve figuur gezien (corrupt en leugenachtig), pas met Renaissance gerehabiliteerd.Maar Odysseus is wel de enige onbesproken held, alle anderen (inclusief Telemachos en Penelope) worden in een dubieus daglicht gesteld. Tav Ilias komen vrouwen meer op voorgrond (maar niet altijd positief).Geen mythe, maar wel heldenverhaal, epos. De hoofdlijn is grondig vermengd met andere verhalen (dat van de cycloop is bij andere volkeren in 125 versies te vinden). Het centraal thema is de queeste, de zoektocht naar wat verloren is gegaan (vergelijking met Gilgamesj mogelijk: bezoek aan onderwereld, nihilistische visie op dood).
    • 4/5
      My first foray into ancient Greek myth and I loved it. This translation is very accessible and immersed me into Odysseus' journey of trials and tribulations. Loved it!
    • 4/5
      This is a classic epic poem. Give it a chance!
    • 5/5
      Over the last fifty years I've read four translations of 'The Odyssey': E V Rieu (Penguin Classics), Butcher & Lang (used and parodied by Joyce in 'Ulysses'; despised by Pound), T E Lawrence (critics are a bit sniffy, but I enjoyed it) and finally the only verse translation I've read, the other three are prose, by the American poet Robert Fagles (pronounced as in bagel). I was further delighted to find when listening to Adam Nicolson's book, 'The mighty dead: why Homer matters' (2014) that Fagles is his choice of an exemplary modern translation.Of course it could be growing familiarity with the tale over three quarters of my life that enhances the jouissance of re-reading, but Fagles is now my choice - every evening I looked forward to picking up the book. His use of verse enhances the emotion and action of the tale. You have to pay attention otherwise you may lose who is speaking or the thread of the tale's subtle structures of back story and/or current action, oftentimes twined. I was pleased when re-reading Robin Knox's introduction to find that some passages I'd enjoyed for their impact were highlighted by him, but also noted, to my chagrin, that I'd missed some as well - how could I have missed this and this? Of course that's the pleasure of the text - with each reading you find something new. This text repays close attention, at times difficult because the action urges the reader on - so I'll be going back for more - this really is a book to live with.The edition is enhanced with Robin Knox's introduction, as mentioned, maps, translation notes, genealogies, textual variants, suggestions for further reading and a pronunciation glossary - all very useful.
    • 4/5
      One of the great works of classical antiquity. A rousing good story of a hero's struggle to return home from war and of a wife's determination to remain faithful. Also, as pointed out by William Bridges, Odysseus's return provides an excellent metaphor for life transition. I read the translation by Richard Lattimore, which is supposed to be one of the best. I can't comment on that except to say I found it quite readable. His introductory notes (Harper Perennial Classics edition) are thorough and most helpful. If you decide to read it, I recommend first learning a smattering of classical mythology and of the historical and cultural context.
    • 4/5
      I've always loved the Odyssey. Odysseus isn't my favourite hero -- he spends far too much time being tricksy for that. But I always enjoyed the stories.
    • 5/5
      I won't say too much about the actual story. Everyone already knows that stuff from freshman English and general knowledge of myths and literary tropes. It has monsters and heroes and true love and coming of age and an awesome scene with a trick arrow shot and 3 guys against the world. Give it a try if you haven't looked at it since you were 15.

      I'm not sure I had ever read the whole Odyssey before. In any case, I now have heard the whole thing performed by Ian McKellen. I suppose Homer on audio book is about as close as I'll get to the original, unless someone can point me to someone who does the audio book in ancient Greek... McKellen's narration was great, but I bought the book to listen to while driving, and it put me to sleep. The story was really quite exciting, even if it did drag on a little when Odysseus was planning his suitor revenge. I guess we skipped that part in 9th grade English. But Gandalf's voice seemed to be more suited for bedtime stories than distracting me from traffic jams. I know what I'll be listening to when I can't get to sleep though.

      The translation, by Robert Fagles, was excellent. There were some places where I was like "that seems really colloquial" but then I was glad because it really was easy to understand. I would use this translation if I ever needed to read Homer for some reason.
    • 5/5
      I love this book. Lattimore's grasp is huge and the story is immortal (of course). One of the primordial epic stories in which we interact with the gods. The most rosy-fingered story ever told in its *best* translation. The story has everything -- including lots of sex. "It is hateful to me to tell a story over again, when I has been well told." After reading it in starts and fits, over the course of many years, it is finally finished -- "let the rest be hidden in silence."
    • 3/5
      A very abbreviated version of the Odyssey. However, the illustrations are nicely done and the fill-in-blanks information after the actual "story" is helpful
    • 4/5
      The Trojan War is over and one of our hero kings is lost. His son (Telemachus) travels to find any information about his father's fait. His wife (Penelope) must cunningly hold off suitors that are eating them out of house and home.If he ever makes it home, Odysseus will have to detect those servants loyal from those who are not. One absent king against rows of suitors; how will he give them their just deserts? We look to Bright Eyed Pallas Athena to help prophecy come true.Interestingly all the tales of monsters and gods on the sea voyage was told by Odysseus. Notice that no one else survives to tell the tale. Therefore, we have to rely on Odysseus' word.
    • 5/5
      A really good read, though between this and the Iliad, I actually found the Iliad more engaging. The journey of Odysseus was over too quickly and the revenge too long. Still a great tale. Never did find the noxious overtones that certain modern commenters find in it (e.g. Sexism, etc). Rather I found a man who only wanted his home and could never fully reach it. Too vexed by fate and war that even when he found home and his beloved, his past overrode his sense. Bittersweet, as both Homeric epics are.
    • 4/5
      I can't really speak to the translation: I've read the Fitzgerald version, but that was several years ago and don't remember the specifics of the language.

      What we have here is a faithful and passionate rendering of the epic poem, which captures both the problematic nature of Odysseus's character and some of the more important features of the civilization. My feeling is that the early listener was meant to learn the values of the society through the trials and travails of Odysseus. Some of these values persist today in different forms: but the question of revenge is not really dealt with after the death of Penelope's suitors at her husband's hands. (Aeschylus wrestles with this in the story of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra).

      Don't be intimidated, this is very readable and one of the pillars of our civilization!!!

      Postscript 2: My third reading of this epic in the last eight years! My one additional insight from this reading is how closely the description of the slaughter of the suitors in the hall tracks with some of the gorier battle scenes in The Iliad. If the two epics are part of a continuum, the return of "Trojan War" Odysseus at the end brings his journey full circle.
    • 4/5
      Such a creative and fascinating story! To experience the Odyssey is to tread through dreams with your eyes wide open.
    • 5/5
      While I found Pope's poetry with its strong rhyming and regular meter appealing, I would recommend Fagles' modern translation over this unless the reader has a strong classical background. Not only does Fagles use the Greek, rather than the Roman, names but his writing style and word choice is more easily understood by the modern reader.On a trivial note, I have now read something which uses the word "whelm"!
    • 4/5
      I've read at least four versions of The Odyssey over my lifetime. There was the Classic Comic from the 1940s or 50s; a copy, maybe by Pope, in my high school library, which I barely understood; there was a paperback version read sometime in mid-life; then the 1996 Robert Fagles translation in pretty clear English; and finally this volume, translated a few years ago, in 2018 by Emily Wilson, and in iambic pentameter no less.I enjoyed each reading, still own both the Fagles and Wilson versions, but Wilson's is my clear favorite now.
    • 3/5
      This version of the Odyssey only gets three stars because Alexander Pope's translation of the Odyssey is one of the few books ever that actually made me fall asleep while reading it. Which is dangerous because the Easton Press edition is very heavy--its not a great one to have fall on your face. Part of this might be that I wasn't a big fan of Pope when I read him college, and another part is that its poetry from the 1700's. In any case, I think there are both better versions of the Odyssey, and better things written by Pope, to read. The story itself is pretty interesting, though similar to the Iliad, and the bible, all of the exciting bits and stories--the things they are famous for--only take up a small amount of the text itself.
    • 5/5
      I've loved The Odyssey since the first time I read it in school. If you've never read it or its been a while since you have, this is the translation to read.
    • 3/5
      A great classic. Another epic tale by Homer.
    • 5/5
      I love Emily Wilson's translation. It feels direct, letting the poet speak in my language. Where the story feels archaic, it is because of the story, not a layer of translation.

      The introduction is really useful for understanding the story. Long, but worth it.

      The last paragraph of the introduction is this invitation to the reader. Read this for her writing style but also for her approach to the book. The Odyssey is a book of hospitality and stories. Listen carefully.


      There is a stranger outside your house. He is old ragged, and dirty. He is tired. He has been wandering, homeless, for a long time, perhaps many years. Invite him inside. You do not know his name. He may be a thief. He may be a murderer. He may be a god. He may remind your of your husband, your father, or yourself. Do not ask questions. Wait. Let him him sit on a comfortable chair and warm himself beside your fire. Bring him some food, the best you have, and some wine. Let him eat and drink until he is satisfied. Be patient. When he is finished, he will tell you his story. Listen carefully. It may not be as you expect.
    • 4/5
      To atone for missing my Shakespeare last summer I tackled the mighty Odyssey...just kidding, it's actually something I've wanted to read for a very long time, especially since I was ripped off in high school by just being made to watch the atrocious 1990s TV show. Ugh.

      I'm so, so lucky to have had this version to read. Wilson's comprehensive introduction (which, I'll admit, made me groan internally until it started flying by) explains what makes her translation distinct from those before it: not just the iambic pentameter and familiar language, but the reexamination of translations long taken for granted. "A translator has a responsibility to acknowledge her own agency and to wrestle, in explicit and conscious ways, not only with the multiple meanings of the original in its own culture but also with what her own text may mean, and the effects it may have on its readers" (p. 88).

      Me being me, I most appreciated Wilson's dedication to being frank about slavery's prevalence and looking for nuance rather than modern stereotype in the depiction of women. She gives a few examples of how past translators have chosen to filter their own vision of Odysseus, Penelope, Telemachus, and others through their own cultural lenses, and states clearly where she has done the same rather than pretending she has produced an "exact" translation. It would be fascinating to have read an older translation side-by-side with this one.

      Now I'm itching to dip my toes into The Iliad, which I also haven't read.


      Quote Roundup
      These are a bit irreverent, since I was already familiar with many of the plot basics just by cultural osmosis.

      12:391-393: The gods sent signs--the hides began to twitch,
      the meat on skewers started mooing,
      raw and cooked. There was the sound of cattle lowing.
      If that isn't enough to make you vegetarian, I don't know what is!

      12:420-424: The waves bore off
      the husk [the hull of the ship] and snapped the mast. But thrown across it
      there was a backstay cable, oxhide leather.
      With this I lashed the keel and mast together,
      and rode them, carried on by fearsome winds.
      Odysseus invents windsurfing.

      19:14: Weapons themselves can tempt a man to fight.
      Apparently having a sword in the house increases the likelihood of death by sword. Hm. Why does that sound familiar? Oh, and it gets said three different times in three different ways. The ancient Greeks could clearly teach us a thing or two about weapons control...

      19:573-580
      I never knew that Penelope came up with the contest with the battle axes instead of "Clever" Odysseus.

      23:228-300: And when
      the couple had enjoyed their lovemaking,
      they shared another pleasure--telling stories.
      How many lit nerds over the years have loved this line?

      As a final note, The Odyssey goes down with Pride and Prejudice as having one of the most anticlimactic last lines in classic literature. Ah well, you can't have everything, can you?
    • 4/5
      The Mitchell translationStephen Mitchell is a translator of poetry rather than an academic classicist, and I was hoping that might be a good qualification for a readable version of the Odyssey: in practice, I wasn't disappointed by his effort, but I wasn't blown away, either. He doesn't really seem to pull anything out of the text that wasn't there in earlier versions, but he does achieve a reasonably consistent, agreeable style that isn't constantly reminding you that it is a translation. He adopts a kind of compromise between prose and verse, a pentameter that uses everything it can find in the metrical toolbox apart from iambs, and thus doesn't really sound like English verse at all, unless you listen very carefully. It's often even more homely and prosaic than Rieu's prose — an effect that is enhanced by Mitchell's decision to ignore the poet's use of fixed epithets, which he treats as mere metrical stuffing. But you do get the feeling that Mitchell must have had Rieu's translation in the back of his mind as he worked: where there's no obvious reason not to, he often uses very similar expressions.They came at last to the banks of a beautiful stream,where the washing basins were always filled with clear waterwelling up through them, to clean the dirtiest clothes.Here they unyoked the mules from the wagon and sent themalong the stream to graze on the rich, sweet clover,then lifted the clothes from the wagon and carried them downinto the basins, and each girl began to tread them,making a game to see who could finish first.Mitchell, from Book 6 In due course they reached the noble river with its never-failing pools, in which there was enough clear water always bubbling up and swirling by to clean the dirtiest clothes. Here they turned the mules loose from under the yoke and drove them along the eddying stream to graze on the sweet grass. Then they lifted the clothes by armfuls from the cart, dropped them into the dark water and trod them down briskly in the troughs, competing with each other in the work. E V Rieu, same passage from Book 6 The text itselfWhat you forget when you haven't read a work through for a long time is how it hangs together: the proportions and the sequence in which the story is told are often different from what you recall. I was taken by surprise by the way the foreground story takes place within a very tight timeframe of a few weeks at the end of Odysseus's long journey, whilst most of his earlier adventures are told very compactly in a story-within-a-story section where he is explaining himself to Nausicaa's father Alcinous. Odysseus's arrival in Ithaca and his revenge on the suitors, on the other hand, take up much more of the book than I remembered. I'd also forgotten what an obsessive quick-change artist Athena is in the story: she slips into and out of more disguises than even Sherlock Holmes can manage in one book. It seems a little pointless, since we always know it's her, and Odysseus and Telemachus soon get to recognise the signs as well.It's a marvellous story, of course, in a lot of ways, but it's interesting that it's very much a celebration of the value of peaceful domesticity, which is constantly regretting the human loss and material damage that go together with high adventure. Even the ghost of Achilles tells us that it's better to be alive as a serf than to be the most glorious of dead heroes. Of course, it does end with rather more brutal slaughter than most of us would wish to inflict upon even the most recalcitrant of uninvited guests, but even there the poet makes Odysseus stop and protest to the goddess a couple of times before he actually starts shooting his visitors.
    • 4/5
      As with The Iliad, I find myself once again shocked at the disparity between what I remember reading forty years ago in high school, and what actually transpires.

      For instance, I would have bet a lot of money that the death of Achilles and the entire Trojan Horse thing were both detailed toward the end of The Iliad. Obviously, I know now that I would have been wrong and would have paid out a lot of money.

      Similarly, after completing that book, I seemed to have remembered that no, those two scenes were near the beginning of The Odyssey, perhaps in the first two or three books (of the 24 in total), then all but the last book or two (so, maybe 19 or 20 books) would have detailed Odysseus' long trip home. And I would have sworn he left Troy and all the various delays totalled to another decade before he got home. And that he basically burst in just after his wife Penelope offered up the whole string-my-husband's-bow-and-shoot-an-arrow-through-a-dozen-ax-heads thing.

      So...no death of Achilles scene—though we do meet up with him later on in Hades—and the Trojan Horse deal gets a very brief mention. But Odysseus spends most of that decade hanging with Calypso, and only spends three years getting home.

      My god, no wonder humans are such lousy witnesses. I was so off on all of this.

      As for the actual story itself, it was good, and I enjoyed reacquainting myself with the adventures of Odysseus, but overall, I found this one to be much more repetitious (I think we get Penelope's story of weaving a shroud by day and unspooling it by night at least three times), and overall a little less fun. Maybe it was the lack of shenanigans by all the gods, with only Calypso, Poseidon, and Athena getting any significant air time.

      I still believe both these books are an essential read, and I will be also diving into Virgil's The Aenied...and might even follow that up with Beowulf. Have a bit of a taste for these epic tales right now.
    • 5/5
      Astounding. I've never read a translation like it.
    • 2/5
      I thought it was not pertinent.You can maybe dredge up 1-point to this read.If this was a 10-star rating system I'd perhaps score this title 5 out of 10 stars.It's a common classic.