On Translating Homer

The essay maintains that a translator's primary duty is practical: to reproduce in English the effect the original produces on readers who both know the source language and can judge poetry, and to submit translations to such competent critics. It rejects abstract prescriptions that either domesticize the text into a native original or slavishly preserve every foreign peculiarity. The author offers concrete negative counsels: avoid speculative antiquarian controversies, resist constructing an artificial Saxon-only vocabulary, and beware pedantry. Critiquing rival methods, he urges use of English's full resources to convey Homeric force, rhythm, clarity, and poetic effect.