I had imagined that The Iliad would be a dusty, long-winded affair, especially when in verse form. And it is, occasionally, as when the lineage of every single Greek officer is recited, or when yet another Trojan spearman dies a gory death and is honored with an inexplicably lengthy obituary. But for the most part, this is one badass poem. Consider the following:
Now could you not stand up to Menelaos?
You'd find out what a fighting man he is
whose flower-like wife you hold. No charm would come
of harping then, or Aphrodite's favors--
the clean-limbed body and the flowing hair--
when you lay down to make love to the dust! Great stuff, and going faster than I expected. But after I finish The Iliad, then I'll still have The Odyssey, Pride and Prejudice, and Lord of the Flies. Probably would've been prudent to begin summer reading more than a week and a half before school.
posted on Friday, July 30, 2004
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