Lengthy Narrative Poems

[logophile]

I recently purchased a copy of Virgil's Aeneid in a prose translation. On reading the introduction the translator explained that he had chosen to translate it as prose because "No one at the end of this century [it was published first in 1990] reads lengthy narrative poems, and I want The Aeneid to be read." Now I know that in the grand scheme of things, epic poems and the suchlike represent a relatively miniscule proportion of all books bought and sold, but does that mean that no one reads them? Am I truly in the minority of people who still adore the idea of reading a novel in verse? As far as I can see, some of the most valuable additions to the wealth of literature available to us have been written in verse and would much rather read them as such (Eugene Onegin, The Divine Comedy, Paradise Lost, Orlando Furioso...). What do you all think?

[AjaxAscendant]

Well, both have their merits, but in a time-pressed milieu, one can hardly sit down with Paradise Lost and expect to do all the functions required while reading-understanding, translating, and comprehending-while waiting for a flight, or bus.

[Buh4Bee]

I can speak specifically about ancient poetry as translated to modern English. I believe that many people still enjoy reading the poetic form, but one needs to obtain a good translation. These poems (Aeneid and Odyssey) are classical in that they still are relevant today. They are a joy to read out loud and offer one insight into the minds of ancient culture as well as the very essence of human nature.

There is a group now reading the Metamorphoses. They are lovely, but I find they are better read aloud.

[JCamilo]

Poems, overall, are secundary to prose those days. People read newspapers (or their online versions), maganizes, etc. This off course, has a bigger effect on length poems, just like length novels are less "atractive". It is an old form, old language, old style, etc. Of course, "nobody reads" is just an exagerated opinion, one could easily argue he could have wrote "Harry Potter's and the foundantion of Rome" as a translation of Aeneid to have more readers as well.

[logophile]

Well, both have their merits, but in a time-pressed milieu, one can hardly sit down with Paradise Lost and expect to do all the functions required while reading-understanding, translating, and comprehending-while waiting for a flight, or bus.

Are you then saying that very few people will actually take the time to sit down and give a book like this the time it deserves? Obviously, I'm not pointing the finger of accusation, or demanding people read these books, and obviously I am not entirely adverse to prose translations or I wouldn't have bought one (I picked it up for a nominal fee in a charity shop, or I would have bought a verse translation) I'm just wondering if there are any more like me out there who take joy in such in-depth poetic narratives and feel that the difficulties that they present in reading are more than worth it.

[Lokasenna]

Are you then saying that very few people will actually take the time to sit down and give a book like this the time it deserves? Obviously, I'm not pointing the finger of accusation, or demanding people read these books, and obviously I am not entirely adverse to prose translations or I wouldn't have bought one (I picked it up for a nominal fee in a charity shop, or I would have bought a verse translation) I'm just wondering if there are any more like me out there who take joy in such in-depth poetic narratives and feel that the difficulties that they present in reading are more than worth it.

Well, I for one do. I recently read the Kalevala in a verse translation (which, incidentally, is the one Oxford World Classics have plumbed for) and it was truly stunning - you get much more of a feel for the performative qualities of these stunning works of art, even if some of the musicality is lost. That said, it is imperative to me that the translation is accurate and of good quality - I'm more than willing to sacrifce poetic quality for linguistic accuracy.

My old edition of the Lais of Marie de France just came to mind. The usual English edition is a prose rendering, which is a shame - so I when I get the urge to read some Marie, I tend to make a stab at the medieval French originals, even though my French is seriously sub-par. I prefer the poetry of it.

As for your question about whether people read them any more, well, I can't think of any contemporary examples - Aurora Leigh is about as recent as I can think, but I freely admit my ignorance of contemporary literature. However, I think the comment of the translator in your Aeneid is rather fatuous: it makes assumptions about the tastes and intelligences of his readers that he is not equipped to make. I don't think the format of the translation will make any difference to potential readership whatsoever - the Aeneid is hardly a casual read. It is a book you pick up with the intention of reading, not just something you buy on the spur of the moment after an idle browse in Waterstones.

[Des Essientes]

I agree with jersea. Verse is meant to be heard and so if you are not going to read lengthy narrative poems aloud then they may as well be translated into prose.

[stlukesguild]

I agree with jersea. Verse is meant to be heard...

Since when? Certainly, some poetic forms have an oral connection. The Psalms were essentially songs, and many of the older epic poems were transmitted from generation to generation orally and thus employed certain repetitive devises to assist in memorization. But this is not true of all epic poetry or all poetry in general.

[YesNo]

For what it's worth, I don't mind reading long narrative verse poetry, although I might not ultimately finish it. I'm reading Ovid's Metamorphoses that jersea mentioned and I find it quite interesting. However, I don't think I would want to write or translate anything that long in verse.

Also if the original were written in metrical verse, I would expect the translator to use some sort of metrical verse in the translation. If it were free verse, I would expect a free verse translation.