/lit/ - Literature

>>23332275

>>23313667
Picture pic related but with beautiful, poignant and simultaneously vibrant language.

>>23295206
What gives the Iliad its staying power is the sheer beauty of its language and the power of its main theme. Recall the opening lines of the poem:

Rage—Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles,
murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,
hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls,
great fighters’ souls, but made their bodies carrion,
feasts for the dogs and birds,
and the will of Zeus was moving toward its end.
Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed,
Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles.

This is what the Iliad is about. The senseless violence (but not without its sheen of glory). This is the reason for the seemingly endless carnage and why the soldiers' past keeps getting brought up, to bring to the forefront the scale of the tragedy.
The opening also establishes a parallel between Paris taking Helen and Agamemnon taking Briseis - which is important due to Achilles being the main character of the poem, believe it or not. It'll become clear why that's the case as you near the ending. Achilles' wrath will be a very important plot point.

>>23274294
Try something with an engaging plot. Don Quixote (in a modern translation, e.g. Grossman) and the Count of Monte Cristo.
If you like war and can stand dozens and dozens of pages of men killing each in various ways try the Iliad. Some people find it repetitive, but I love it. If pic related doesn't sound like a lot of fun then try the Odyssey instead. Odysseus is a fantastic character.

>>23247763
The repeated phraseology and extended similes are always mocked (pic related) but that is a key part of the Homeric style. It is best looked at as an historical record of war as it was intended to be viewed as.

>>23206084

>>23172138
That was actually my response to him on why I preferred the Odyssey.

>>23140590
I noticed lots of people prefer the Odyssey. I think it’s pic related that really drags the Iliad down a bit in comparison.

>>23129955

>>23069808

I am starting with the greeks, the iliad to be specific, but I don't want to get stuck reading 50 books of greek philosophy before ever moving forward
Give me 2 or 3 books that give me the gist of it so I can just go ahead and read more modern stuff.
I have already read the symposium and I have a copy of the republic

>>23052377
Do you like boring things? Prepare for some truly boring. Here's a dead guy's notes he never meant for anyone to see about a book that was already pretty boring. Oh look and it's in a language he just made up. Set to meter. For singing.

>>23037779

Ctrl + f

“Wine dark sea”
“Stallion breaking Trojans”
“Gerenian horseman”
“of the Great War cry”
“Vituperation and insult”

This is spot on how the poem is. It is incredibly arid at parts and difficult to plod through.

>>22036680
You're not a fan of picrelated?

>>21845403
Start with the Iliad. Everything starts there.