/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.11536902]

Anyone else skip the part where it just starts naming off the people who were in the army?

[Anonymous No.11536908]

I "read" it, but I mostly just skimmed and didn't retain any of the information.

[Anonymous No.11536912]

>>11536902
Real talk, why do people here not like the Fagles translation?

[Anonymous No.11536928]

>>11536908
Same. The catalogue of ships was just such a drag.

[Anonymous No.11536950]

>>11536912
Because they're obscurantists

[Anonymous No.11537031]

It's definitely tempting to skip. I read it alongside Willcock's commentary and found it more interesting than if I had to trudge through it alone. Also sometimes helpful to know who's who from the catalogue when people start dying en masse. Although not really necessary I guess since names are reused and it's not of particular importance that a certain person was a leader of the Dardanians or what have you

[Anonymous No.11537039]

Reminds me of those sections of the bible that are like "X begat Y, and Y begat Z, and Z begat..."

My family used to gather to do bible readings, and though it was stupid and pointless we faithfully read through all of the verses. Because it's the Word of God.

[Anonymous No.11537057]

>>11536902
I unironically love it when ancient mythologies insist on meticulously naming and describing things in sequence. It makes me feel closer to the writer and the civilization by giving me an insight into how they organized things and what was important enough to mention in what seems like an exhaustive list.

[Anonymous No.11537070]

>>11536902
You won't get blue-haired courtesan girls without knowing your geography, anon-kun.

[Anonymous No.11537081]

>>11537057
One of my favorite passages from the Cuchulainn saga:

Fifteen feet and nine score was the size of
that house. The chariot-chiefs were performing three
feats, viz., the spear-feat, the apple-feat, and the
sword-edge feat. The chariot-chiefs who performed
those feats are these, Conall the Victorious, son of
Amargin ; Fergus, son of Roich, the Over-bold ; Lae-
gaire the Triumphant, son of Conna ; Celtchar, son of
Uitechar ; Dubhtach, son of Lugaid ; Cuchulainn, son
of Sualtach; Seel, son of Barnene (from whom the
Pass of Barnene is named), the warder of Emain
Macha. From him is the saying ' a story of Scel's,'
for he was a mighty story-teller. Cuchulainn surpassed
them all at those feats for quickness and deftness.
The women of Ulster loved Cuchulainn greatly for his
dexterity in the feats, for the nimbleness of his leap,
for the excellency of his wisdom, for the sweetness of
his speech, for the beauty of his face, for the loveliness
of his look. For in his kingly eyes were seven pupils,
four of them in his one eye, and three of them in the
other. He had seven fingers on either hand, and
seven toes on either of his two feet. Many were his
gifts. First, his gift of prudence until his warrior's
flame appeared, the gift of feats, the gift of buanfach
(a game like chess or draughts), the gift of draught-
playing, the gift of calculating, the gift of sooth-saying,
the gift of discernment, the gift of beauty. But
Cuchulainn had three defects : that he was too young,
for his . . .? had not grown, and all the more would
unknown youths deride him, that he was too daring,
and that he was too beautiful. The men of Ulster took
counsel about Cuchulainn, for their women and maidens
loved him greatly. For Cuchulainn had no wife at
that time. This was their counsel, that they should seek out a maiden whom Cuchulainn might choose to
woo. For they were sure that a man who had a wife
to attend to him would less spoil their daughters and
accept the love of their women.

[Anonymous No.11537106]

>>11537039
>My family used to gather to do bible readings
comfy

[Anonymous No.11537116]

>>11536912
because its popular