RaveSlateNaturally, Wilson’s admirers hoped that her second Homeric translation would be as great an achievement as the first. What they might not have expected is that it would be better. Like her Odyssey, Wilson’s Iliad is crafted in language that is accessible without being modish, and elegant in its brightness and clarity. She continues to render Homeric hexameter into English pentameter, and this translation, too, pulses with a beat that is perceptible but not distracting. Once again, she has also set enough buoys to help first-time readers navigate and stay afloat: the introduction is informative, incisive, and modern; the notes are extensive; the glossary of names a great help ... Emily Wilson has not only produced fresh and limpid new translations of two foundational ancient poems. She has also given a new generation of readers the tools to approach Homer, with comfort and confidence, for the very first time. For those who knew the poems already, she lets Homer speak to them in a new voice.
