Thread: Now reading The Iliad

I have some thoughts, let me tell you! I'll post when I'm finished. It's an interesting read. Anyone else read this? I'm also planning on moving on to The Odyssey afterward. And then, God willing, James Joyce's Ulysses.

I read The Iliad for school. It was incredible! I loved it so much!

I also read The Odyssey and it was amazing as well.

However, after reading The Aeneid, I cringe to read another 'remake'. Let me know if Ulysses is good though!

Originally Posted by Missy

However, after reading The Aeneid, I cringe to read another 'remake'. Let me know if Ulysses is good though!

I have Iliad, the Odyssey and Ulysses all on my Kindle right now. I tend to bounce between six or seven works at any one time. I’d like to point out to Missy that Ulysses is not really a redux of the Odyssey but rather an original and important work of twentieth century English literature.

Ulysses, as with all of Joyce’s work is set in Dublin. It is June 16^th, one day in the life of Leo Bloom. He walks through the streets of Dublin and encounters various events. The work is extremely complex. I find it difficult to handle more than ten or so pages at any one sitting. Joyce was said by friends at the time of the writing to have spent, on some occasions, as much as a day composing a single sentence; agonizing over each word.

Ulysses is recognized as important and celebrated by so many that on every June 16^th in New York City, a venue called Symphony Space conducts a “Bloomsday” reading of excerpts. The list of names of the readers scans like the guest list of a Tony Awards after party. Is it a novel that demands an inordinate amount of knowledge and work from the reader? Yes. Is it a work of world literature, yes, destined for acceptance into the cannon? Yes.

Slainte.

Originally Posted by LaughinJim

I have Iliad, the Odyssey and Ulysses all on my Kindle right now. I tend to bounce between six or seven works at any one time. I’d like to point out to Missy that Ulysses is not really a redux of the Odyssey but rather an original and important work of twentieth century English literature.

Ulysses is recognized as important and celebrated by so many that on every June 16^th in New York City, a venue called Symphony Space conducts a “Bloomsday” reading of excerpts. The list of names of the readers scans like the guest list of a Tony Awards after party. Is it a novel that demands an inordinate amount of knowledge and work from the reader? Yes. Is it a work of world literature, yes, destined for acceptance into the cannon? Yes.

I did not read Ulysses so I wouldn't know, but if it is actually 'original' then I will glady read it.

I did hear that Ulysses was original, interesting, and unique but that is what just about everyone says about The Aeneid which, in my opinion, it is not and I was looking forward to reading The Aeneid. I was horribly disappointed which lead to a distrust of anything sounding like a remake (yupp, that is probably not a good way to see things. I know, but I was really let down).

So as I said I am reluctant to push my way through Ulysses, but if it is worth reading I will give it a shot. I have it on my Kobo.

I read Chapman's translation of both The Iliad and The Odyssey. I've also read some excerpts from Dryden, Pope and Longfellow.

Pope's is awesome, as is Dryden's, though I only have Chapman's in its entirety.

I started Ulysses once, though only made it to about forty pages becoming distracted. I promised myself only to pick it back up when I have the determination to finish it. I've read various translations of the Aeneid by various authors, as I have some Ovid and Horace.

Has anyone read A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man? It's meant to be the 'entry novel' to Ulysses, which in turn is the gateway to Finnegans Wake.

"Portrait' is a wonderful book, as is 'The Dubliners.' I have my own opinion of 'Finnegan's Wake' however. Borrow it from the library and take a peek. If you think it is worth the effort to even begin try and read then I wish you good luck.

riverrun...

Originally Posted by LaughinJim

"Portrait' is a wonderful book, as is 'The Dubliners.' I have my own opinion of 'Finnegan's Wake' however. Borrow it from the library and take a peek. If you think it is worth the effort to even begin try and read then I wish you good luck.

riverrun...

Many people have said Finnegans Wake is a test of comprehension over author and reader. People often note that whilst reading, even small segments at a time, they can feel the book taking advantage of them, testing their wits, foreknowledge and ability to decipher the, at times, cryptic messages. I haven't read so much as an excerpt, so can't give any credence to such comments.

Hi philistine,

When I was younger, I believed that my reading comprehension skills were so highly developed that I could understand anything, from Process and Reality to the Summa Theologica. I endeavored to attempt Finnegan’s Wake before reading Ulysses. This is the reason I left the latter for much later as I am still reading it.

Before discussing the work at too much length, I suggest that instead of paraphrasing critics you should take a look at the whole work. I think that Ulysses can be viewed as a test of comprehension for the reader and that Finnegan’s Wake is a monumental hoax. Joyce, I believe, and this is my own view and not particularly popular anymore, after having made several abortive attempts at the book, was at the time of the writing finally losing his tenuous grip on reality. I believe the book was penned to take revenge on the publishing community and the literati who had treated him so shabbily when he was a young man. Then, after the wide acclaim (and disgust) over Ulysses he could drop this unreadable bomb on the world and patrons of the arts would purchase it and put it on their bookshelves because it was the work of an important avant-garde artist, even though it was written in a code to which only the author himself possessed the key.

I believe it is still in print by Penguin Classics. Being paperback, after several evenings’ frustration, you can pitch it into the fireplace without worrying too much about the wasted money.

(That last bit was an attempt to be humorous. I do not condone the burning of books. That should be obvious but after some of the feed-back I have received thus far, I can afford to take nothing for granted.)

I've read certain snippets of all of them for Latin in school, and though the ones I read were not the translated English versions but, to begin with, little comprehension passages in Latin and a couple of times there were a few verses in tests for you to translate I found them all pretty engaging (or as engaging as is possible when you're cramped up from doing yearlies all week and all you can think if is how many more tests and hours of study until freedom) so...
My favourite used to be the Odyssey from when I read all the Roman myths in a little kid book when I was young, but I turned off it when I read about two verses into the whole thing (in English) in this scrappy little hardcover with all it's pages falling out and in teeny tiny font from the library. Urgh...

I read that in college. All I remember is that it was good... heavy.... very heavy, but good

Michael Schaap