A Guide to The Odyssey: A Commentary on the English Translation of Robert Fitzgerald

by Ralph Hexter

For those of us who know and love the incomparable Odyssey of Homer (and there are many), Dr. Hexter has created a valuable, detailed analysis, taking into account many of Homer's most fascinating subtleties.

Genres: Classics, Literary Criticism, Nonfiction, Poetry, Reference

500 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 30, 1993

Reviews

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a very useful guide to The Odyssey. It is keyed to the Robert Fizgerald translation. It's structured with an introduction comprising seven chapters explicating different themes found in the book. This includes such areas as, fathers and sons, the gods, memory, violence, and others.

Hexter's commentary either clarifies some point of the text, as in this example:

103–15 Skylla seems to display certain octopus-or squidlike elements but is fantastically elaborated and much more frightening. Her name is connected with skullein, “to tear,” but there is a further etymology hidden behind “whelp’s” [skulakos, 86]

Or he comments on a passage at length as he does here:

The folly and uncontrollability of Odysseus’ companions is a constant theme, until they get themselves wiped out. Homer himself sounds the theme at some length in the prologue to The Odyssey (I.11–16), and one cannot help noting that Odysseus’ companions bear no small resemblance to that group of fellow Ithakans, the suitors. To wonder how men so foolish and undisciplined lasted for ten years at Troy is irrelevant; the narrative logic of The Odyssey demands that Odysseus return to Ithaka alone, so his companions must be dispatched. Since Odysseus cannot be held responsible for this, they must destroy themselves.

All in all, a most useful text.

[Ashley Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't get much out of the introduction, and the line-by-line commentary did come as somewhat a surprise. For a first-time reader, though, Hexter's companion to Fitzgerald's translation of The Odyssey was helpful in discerning recurring themes and ring narrative structure. Solid scholarship.

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely necessary for reading the Odyssey - great background information.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The explanations were very helpful and enriched my enjoyment of The Odyssey.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my review of The Iliad, I noted that I enjoyed reading it, but I felt like maybe I had missed something. I also noted that I planned to read The Odyssey in the future and wondered if I would feel the same after completing it.

In response, my friend Ryan gave me this book as a gift for when I read The Odyssey. It was a big help to enhancing my enjoyment of that epic poem. I probably should have read The Iliad with a companion commentary as well.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

For those who want to dig deeper into the wonders of The Odyssey, Ralph Hexter provides a very informative guide. It discusses the intricacies of the translation and the cultural background from which the story arose.

[Evan Ahrendsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very useful (if occasionally dry) companion to the Odyssey. It gives all the context necessary to understand the Fitzgerald translation.