The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin Classics)

By Anonymous, Ingen Forfatter, Stephen Mitchell, et al.

Book Overview

N. K. Sandars's landmark translation of one of the first and greatest works of Western literature A Penguin ClassicGilgamesh, King of Uruk, and his companion Enkidu are the only heroes to have... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140449191
• ISBN13: 9780140449198
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 0.7" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

Book is in horrible condition. The front cover has been cut up and it looks to have water damage.

Haven't read the book yet

A work of art!

Translating poetry is a tricky thing. Some people maintain that it can't be done. I would say that the translator can set himself three possible goals. First, he can try to create a "trot," a plain, "literal" translation where every word of the original is explained. See Nabokov's "Eugene Onegin" for an example of this. Second, he can try "simply" to translate it, to give his reader a good idea of what is there on the page, the mood, and so forth. LOTS of translators do this. Third, and most elusive, most difficult, is to create a work of literary art IN ENGLISH (or whatever the target language is). Hopefully this third goal will automatically include all the most important elements of "mere translation." But, if the translator succeeeds, he will have created an independent work of art which will then take on a life of its own. The most famous example of this would probably be FitzGerald's "Ruba'iyat of Omar Khayyam," probably better described as a fantasy and variations on themes of Omar Khayyam. Alexander Pope's translation of Homer's "Iliad" surely has legs, still in print after all these years. David Ferry has attempted the third goal in his translation of "Gilgamesh," and to my mind he succeeds. The result is a moving and beautiful work of literary art, and I predict a very long life for it.