Diving into Epic Poetry



True confession time: I love me some epic poetry. Total nerd-alert I know, but there is nothing better than reading something you know is ancient, and being able to understand it and relate to it. Right now I'm ready both The Iliad and The Odyssey (one on the kindle, one on the Path train aka paperback). I read The Odyssey in 9th grade (I don't even want to talk about how many years ago that is) and I loved it then, and I love it now. I am particularly fond of the Robert Fitzgerald translations perhaps because they are the easiest for me to read because they sound how people actually speak.

Aside from the Greek cycle (epic poetry is told in "cycles" or series based on location) I have also read Beowulf recently as well as slogged through Nibelungenlied (Think ride of the Valkyries). Each poem provides the reader with ancient insight that was important then just as it is now. In the Odyssey, Homer says "Each man delights in the work that suits him best", which is grandfather to most important and quintessential phrase in job-hunting, "do what you love, the money will follow. Not bad considering it was written centuries ago. This timeless advice, along with many other lines is why I cherish epic poetry so much. I highly recommend , if you have or  haven't taken a recent dip, dive on into some epic poetry.
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