On Translating Homer: Emily Wilson Speaks at Providence College

On September 6, 2019, Providence College invited Emily Wilson, the first woman to translate Homer’s Odyssey into English, to speak on campus about her experience as a translator. She began her talk by telling the story of how she was inspired to study Ancient Greek by participating in an elementary school play adaptation of the Odyssey and also by reading Greek myths as a child. She then went on to take Ancient Greek and Latin classes in high school before studying classics in college. During her education, she read many different English translations of the Odyssey alongside the original Ancient Greek version. When she was approached by a publisher to write her own translation, she looked back upon these others and read them closely, searching for gaps, holes, and words choices with which she disagreed. She then began writing, and during the five years that it took her to complete her work, she kept only the Ancient Greek version by her side and avoided reading any others. 

She also described how there have been more translations of the Odyssey recently than ever before, and she went into detail of the specific line lengths, rhyme scheme, and meter used by many of these writers. Homer used dactylic hexameter—six units of rhythm per line—but most contemporary translations, she said, use free verse. She decided to use iambic pentameter in order to pay homage to the rhythmic, musical quality of the source material. She also stuck to the same exact number of lines as the original work, and this kept her writing concise, avoiding unnecessary flowery language and excessive detail. Homer’s work, she claimed, should be thought of as entertaining and fun and have simple syntax—translators should not need to include footnotes in order for their readers to understand it.

Wilson used the Ship of Theseus paradox as a metaphor for translating ancient texts. If Theseus were to replace every element of his ship over the course of his journey, will he come home in the same ship or a different one? If a translator replaces every single word of a piece of literature with a new one in a different language, is it still the same piece of literature? While she did not answer this question, she made it clear that “staying true” to an original work is a difficult task. I was fascinated by the intricacies she described, including the many different ways a single word or phrase could be translated. For example, many previous translations used the words “house girl” or “servant” where Wilson used “slave.” I thought it was daring of her to do so—it makes a powerful statement to write something so radically different from those who came before you. 

I also enjoyed her points about avoiding frilly, labyrinthine language. I agree with her argument that the Odyssey and other ancient texts can and should be made more accessible and enjoyable for students. We should be able to read these works without having to consult a dictionary every five words. I adored Wilson’s translation—I loved how she was able to combine colloquial language with Homer’s famous epithets and also gorgeous similes and metaphors of her own. Though it was clear upon reading the first line—“Tell me about a complicated man”—that this version of the Odyssey is something special, her talk provided even more insight into the artistry she put into this translation.