Homer's Epic, 'The Iliad': a world classic in a South African context

Whitaker, Richard

Homer's Epic, 'The Iliad': a world classic in a South African context

dc.contributor.author	Whitaker, Richard	en_ZA
dc.date.accessioned	2014-07-30T13:48:24Z
dc.date.available	2014-07-30T13:48:24Z
dc.date.issued	2013-02	en_ZA
dc.description.abstract	For anyone interested in learning more about the interpretation and translation of Homer's epic in a South African context. A lecture series by Emeritus Professor Richard Whitaker, translator, writer, freelance travel writer. Homer’s epic poem, the Iliad, which tells the tale of Troy, has been continuously loved, read and translated for two and a half thousand years. This course will explain why the poem has achieved classic status, and then will explore the poem in a South African context. After an introduction to the archaic Greek world of Homer and the epic, it will look at the plot and major themes of the Iliad, analysing aspects such as the nature of the hero, heroic values and the representation of women. Translation is a vital part of the Iliad’s history, as most readers have always read the epic in translation. The course will compare selected passages in English translations by Alexander Pope (1720), Christopher Logue (War Music, 1959–2005) and the lecturer’s recent southern African version (2012) to show that every translation is an interpretation. Using the lecturer’s own translation, the course will demonstrate how the Iliad can be understood in the light of South Africa’s present and past. Similarities will be drawn between the world of the epic and aspects of South African society, such as the assessment of bride-price in cattle and poetic praise singing as a central way in which a person’s identity survives into the future in an oral culture. LECTURE TITLES: 1. Homer and the Iliad: Where? When? How?; 2. ‘Muse sing the anger of Achilles’: the plot of the Iliad; 3. Major themes of the epic: gods and heroes, life and death; 4. The Iliad in English: translation as interpretation; 5. Understanding the Iliad in a southern African context. Recommended reading: * Griffin, J. 1980. Homer on Life and Death. Oxford: Clarendon Press. * Steiner, G. 1996. Homer in English. London: Penguin. * Whitaker, R. 2012. The Iliad of Homer: a Southern African Translation. Cape Town: New Voices.	en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitation	Whitaker, R. (2013). Homer's Epic, 'The Iliad': a world classic in a South African context [OER]. University of Cape Town, Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4127	en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitation	Whitaker, Richard. (2013). "Homer's Epic, 'The Iliad': a world classic in a South African context." Lecture presented at University of Cape Town. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4127	en_ZA
dc.identifier.citation	Whitaker, R. 2013. <i>Homer's Epic, 'The Iliad': a world classic in a South African context</i> [OER].University of Cape Town, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4127	en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris	TY - Open Education Resource AU - Whitaker, Richard AB - For anyone interested in learning more about the interpretation and translation of Homer's epic in a South African context. A lecture series by Emeritus Professor Richard Whitaker, translator, writer, freelance travel writer. Homer’s epic poem, the Iliad, which tells the tale of Troy, has been continuously loved, read and translated for two and a half thousand years. This course will explain why the poem has achieved classic status, and then will explore the poem in a South African context. After an introduction to the archaic Greek world of Homer and the epic, it will look at the plot and major themes of the Iliad, analysing aspects such as the nature of the hero, heroic values and the representation of women. Translation is a vital part of the Iliad’s history, as most readers have always read the epic in translation. The course will compare selected passages in English translations by Alexander Pope (1720), Christopher Logue (War Music, 1959–2005) and the lecturer’s recent southern African version (2012) to show that every translation is an interpretation. Using the lecturer’s own translation, the course will demonstrate how the Iliad can be understood in the light of South Africa’s present and past. Similarities will be drawn between the world of the epic and aspects of South African society, such as the assessment of bride-price in cattle and poetic praise singing as a central way in which a person’s identity survives into the future in an oral culture. LECTURE TITLES: 1. Homer and the Iliad: Where? When? How?; 2. ‘Muse sing the anger of Achilles’: the plot of the Iliad; 3. Major themes of the epic: gods and heroes, life and death; 4. The Iliad in English: translation as interpretation; 5. Understanding the Iliad in a southern African context. Recommended reading: * Griffin, J. 1980. Homer on Life and Death. Oxford: Clarendon Press. * Steiner, G. 1996. Homer in English. London: Penguin. * Whitaker, R. 2012. The Iliad of Homer: a Southern African Translation. Cape Town: New Voices. DA - 2013-02 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2013 T1 - Homer's Epic, 'The Iliad': a world classic in a South African context TI - Homer's Epic, 'The Iliad': a world classic in a South African context UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4127 ER -	en_ZA
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4127
dc.identifier.vancouvercitation	Whitaker R. Homer's Epic, 'The Iliad': a world classic in a South African context [OER]. University of Cape Town, provided on lecture given 2014-07-30T13:48:24Z [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4127	en_ZA
dc.language.iso	eng	en_ZA
dc.publisher.institution	University of Cape Town
dc.rights	Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International	en_ZA
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/	en_ZA
dc.source.uri	http://southernafricaniliad.com/
dc.subject.other	classics	en_ZA
dc.subject.other	history	en_ZA
dc.subject.other	Homer	en_ZA
dc.subject.other	Iliad	en_ZA
dc.subject.other	literature	en_ZA
dc.title	Homer's Epic, 'The Iliad': a world classic in a South African context	en_ZA
dc.type	Open Education Resource
uct.type.filetype
uct.type.publication	Teaching and Learning	en_ZA
uct.type.resource	HTML	en_ZA
uct.type.resource	Web siteAudio	en_ZA
uct.type.resource	Audio Lectures	en_ZA