Oxford World's Classics or Penguin Classics?

[haziqmir]

Hi there, I am new to this forum, and this is my first post here. I have recently started reading, both for fun and for knowledge, and deep down I feel regret for having started too late. However, I maintain a large collection of books, and the logical way to start was by reading some of the books I possessed and discover what I like. After having read Aristotle's Poetics, my interest in literature, especially in tragedy, epic and drama, has been aroused. Most of the recommended Classics are available through Oxford and Penguin. Are they equally good, or not? I am eyeing classics like Beowulf, Iliad, Odyssey, and Faust, and they're available through both the publishers. Which one would be better with relation to these books, and in general?

[Lokasenna]

There is no general rule of quality - it really does depend on the individual translator. Both editions, of course, tend to offer very helpful notes and commentaries.

With regard to Beowulf, a text I know well, I usually recommend the Michael Swanton version published by Manchester University Press - it's an excellent prose translation, and gives you the original Old English on the facing page so you can get an accurate sense of the alliteration and rhythm of the poem.

[KJMarin]

I can't think of many occasions when I haven't found the Oxford World Classic edition to be superior than Penguin. The introductions and notes tend to be better. As for Beowulf...Lokasenna has picked a good version in the Swanton edition. But my personal favourite is Heaney's translation: the rhythm and word choice just feels...more Anglo-Saxon!

[Lokasenna]

But my personal favourite is Heaney's translation: the rhythm and word choice just feels...more Anglo-Saxon!

My views on Heaney's Beowulf are, shall we say, widely known here on LitNet. Which is to say, I think it's a bloody awful translation. Every year when I'm made to teach my students his version of Beowulf, I make a point of encouraging them read the Swanton (or in a pinch, the Liuzza) version.

I don't really think Heaney's version works terribly well as poetry, and he certainly has no real desire to authentically capture the beauty or imagery of the OE original. He also has a tendency of steam-rolling his own interpretation of the poem into his translation: so many of the fascinating ambiguities and mysteries in the language of the original poem are just ignored, which rather limits the ability of the scholarly-inclined to think about the poem.

[Pompey Bum]

I can't think of many occasions when I haven't found the Oxford World Classic edition to be superior than Penguin. The introductions and notes tend to be better.

I agree. Penguin produced a large number of irritatingly wooden translations of the Greek and Latin classics back in the 1970s. A lot of these are still around. Oxford is a much better bet, especially where ancient drama is concerned.

[kev67]

I noticed Penguin sometimes publish different editions to Oxford World Classics. For example, the Penguin version of Tess of the d'Urbervilles is based on the 1891 edition, the first as a book, not as a serial in a magazine. The Oxford World Classics version was closer to the 1912 edition. Since Thomas Hardy extensively revised many of his books, this made quite a big difference.

[Pierre Menard]

Why not both?


There's great editions, translations and releases from both companies. I'd also recommend branching out to Everyman's Library, Modern Library Classics, Norton Critical Editions, New Directions and the University Presses release some great stuff too.

[Clopin]

I just go by individual translator. When I shop at bookstores penguin seems more widely stocked so I ultimately own fifty or sixty volumes of Penguin and maybe only twenty Oxford press. Most people seem to say Penguin translations are worse than Oxford's on the whole.

Also this might not matter to you, but I find that the Oxford books age sort of badly, they stiffen up a bit... I'm not sure exactly how to describe what happens, but it's sort of the opposite of a Vintage publication, where the book always feels very fresh.

[Pompey Bum]

Hopefully Ebooks will be the cure for that eventually, although for the moment Kindle and Ibooks both make me crazy for all the titles that are not available. I want to agree with Pierre, by the way, about Modern Library. Their translations are excellent if a little old fashioned; and as far as physical durability goes, I still read some of their volumes that my father bought back in the 1950s. Unfortunately the dream of hardbacks for the masses couldn't compete with paper. Everyman is usually worthwhile, too.

[bluosean]

Pierre is right. One should not restrict oneself to these only. Everyman and Modern Library (as noted) are both superior and then Iv'e been buying a lot of Library of America editions lately. There are perhaps no notes, but then you can pick up in one volume, for instance, three of Melville's works (correct texts) at a very nice price. + then there are countless more obscure publishers that, while they don't print incredibly broadly, bring out excellent collections of this or that writer. The Complete Short Stories of Robert Louis Stevenson (Da Capo Press) is one example. I don't have any other books by this publisher, but this on Stevenson is as good a collection as I could ask of of any writer.

The Viking Portable Library (a division of Penguin?) is much, much better than Penguin itself I think. Those introductions and selections are actually good.

[Calidore]

I tend to agree with the folks who prefer Oxford to Penguin. Also, Amazon's reviews have plenty of people comparing individual translations in detail, so those are a good reference as well.

On the other hand, I remember several years ago Amazon had bundled the complete Penguin library--over 1000 books--into one huge package. If you have the spare cash and shelf space, you can't beat that for convenience.

[Clopin]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0147503078/ref=pd_sxp_f_avail_used?ie=UTF8&condition=all&redirect=true

What the Hell? If this is real then I'm going to buy that, that's a dollar per book...

[Lykren]

Does everyone else here have an ethical problem with pirating ebooks? 'Cause that's what I do.

[Clopin]

I pirate everything.

[Lykren]

Hmm, well then why bother with the Penguin package on Amazon? You can get a lot of that stuff on the pirate bay, no?

[Clopin]

I like being hopelessly encumbered by 750 pounds of books and I'm a compulsive spender.

[Clopin]

Also pirate bay is gone isn't it :(

[Lykren]

nope, not gone! I probably shouldn't link to it here, but it's at a .se domain now.

[Clopin]

I was using kickass, anyway. I haven't tormented anything recently since I don't have a computer.

[Lykren]

I haven't tormented anything recently

Good, good. Stay benevolent.

[ladderandbucket]

I usually go for the edition with the largest print :blush:

[Pompey Bum]

Does everyone else here have an ethical problem with pirating ebooks? 'Cause that's what I do.

If it's older than Mickey Mouse you can usually get it for free at Gutenberg. The old translations there are underrated, especially for the ancient classics (in prose, anyway). But for anno muris dates (in the year of the mouse), you're on your own. What ticks me off is when a book isn't available at Gutenberg because it is too recent, but I can't buy it at Kindle or Ibooks either. There's just something wrong with that.

[Calidore]

I like being hopelessly encumbered by 750 pounds of books and I'm a compulsive spender.

Wow, that's not just a library, it's a home gym. Just read the books in pairs of roughly equal weight, attach them to the ends of a weight bar with duct tape, and by the time you're finished reading, you'll be lifting all 750 pounds.

[Lykren]

If it's older than Mickey Mouse you can usually get it for free at Gutenberg. The old translations there are underrated, especially for the ancient classics (in prose, anyway). But for anno muris dates (in the year of the mouse), you're on your own. What ticks me off is when a book isn't available at Gutenberg because it is too recent, but I can't buy it at Kindle or Ibooks either. There's just something wrong with that.

Erm, yes, I use Gutenberg. But you can't get some great modern authors for free there; Lydia Davis, Alice Munro, Anne Carson, David Foster Wallace, Elena Ferrante, English translations of Kawabata, Pynchon, the list goes on of course.

Whereas with torrents... well, anyways, what books are you trying to get that aren't available as ebooks?

[Pompey Bum]

Erm, yes, I use Gutenberg. But you can't get some great modern authors for free there; Lydia Davis, Alice Munro, Anne Carson, David Foster Wallace, Elena Ferrante, English translations of Kawabata, Pynchon, the list goes on of course.

Yes, like I said, there's the Mickey Mouse factor. I don't mind paying for recent books, but there is a gap that covers too much of the 20th century that Gutenberg won't touch and ebooks don't bother with. And there are more recent books, too, that fall between the cracks at Kindle and Ibooks. I don't steal as a matter of principle, but I sure as hell wouldn't mind buying a few of them.


Whereas with torrents... well, anyways, what books are you trying to get that aren't available as ebooks?

Well, it's a long and idiosyncratic list and would be off topic here. But there is a link for every book on Amazon to request that it be put I to Kindle format if it isn't already. I've heard that if enough people click on it, it can have an effect. Maybe we should have a thread for collective LitNet action. If someone wants a book requested, he/she leaves the link and everyone takes the 5 seconds it would take to hit it. I don't know if people would be into it, but it seems mutually beneficial to me. Or maybe I'm the only one with this problem.

[Clopin]

Wow, that's not just a library, it's a home gym. Just read the books in pairs of roughly equal weight, attach them to the ends of a weight bar with duct tape, and by the time you're finished reading, you'll be lifting all 750 pounds.

Seriously, I can finally work on my squat and bench press while simultaneously getting my brain all jacked and juicy.

[Clopin]

Calidore thanks to you I am $1000 poorer.

[Calidore]

Calidore thanks to you I am $1000 poorer.

I'd feel better about that if I was $1000 richer as a result.

Of course you realize you're obligated to post pictures of the shipment.

[Clopin]

I don't have any shelves or space for them but yeh, will do. At $1 a book though I couldn't afford not to buy these... I mean even a battered up used book will be about $5 around here.

[Lykren]

You must be on a huge post-purchase high right now.