/lit/ - Literature

>>10019443
>>10019209
Yes, I ought to read more new books, but the likes of Bakker, Sanderson, Mieville appear to be either doorstep-sized series spanning books, or humdrum stuff. I'd rather read short stories, or one-and-done novels.

I want to read a good number of the great epics over the next couple of years or so. I'm asking /lit/ for advice on the best version of each one. My interest is in finding translations that attempt to convey the feel of the original, instead of focusing solely on ease of comprehension.
- I prefer verse translations to prose translation, but it's not a deal breaker.
- I would like versions that have some annotation, but don't beat you over the head with it the way a Norton annotated does.

These are the books I'm interested in specifically:

The Odyssey (Homer's)
The Illiad and the Odyssey (Pope's)
The Metamorphoses
The Song of Roland
Beowulf
Dante's Purgatory/Paradiso/etc.
Le Morte d'Arthur
Sidney's Arcadia (A good Sidney collection would be appreciated)

Books I have already: The Illiad (Barnes and Nobles version, not terrible but not great either), the Aeneid, the Niebelungenlied, the Faerie Queene and Paradise Lost.

I'm reading these in historical order, for the most part, because each builds on those which preceded it. This is why truth to the original is necessary.

cont.