The Iliad
A Line for Line Translations in Dactylic Hexameters
by William B. Smith and Walter Miller
New York 1944

[Sample from Book XXIV, taken from a review article]

Ares impetuous loosened the knees of most of my children;
One that was left me alone, who guarded the people and city.
Him of late thou hast slain as he fought in defense of his homeland,
Hector, for his sake now I am come to galleys Achaean,
Seeking to win him from thee, and I bring a limitless ransom.
Yes, have awe of the gods and compassion on me, O Achilles,
Mindful of thine own father; and even more piteous I am;
Braved have I that which never on earth braved a mortal before me,
Lifting my hand to the lips of the man who hath slain my children

REVIEW COMMENT

This translation (which I have not read, having been unable to find a copy) would seem to mark some sort of scholarly milepost: an English version of the Iliad: faithful to Homer’s lineation and in dactylic hexameters. Those who feel that an acceptable translation of Homer needs to pay close attention to such matters (in spite of all the objections raised about how unsuitable they might be for English poetry) have reason to applaud such an effort. Others, however, are not particularly impressed with the result:

At the time of his death, Dr. William B. Smith requested his friend, Professor Walter Miller, to revise and publish his translation of the Iliad of Homer, still in manuscript. It was an exceedingly difficult task, for Smith had imposed upon his work impossible limitations—to translate Homer’s epic into English, line for line, in the meter of the original. The result is a rendering which is sometimes hardly a translation, is not always line for line, and only faintly echoes the rhythms of Homer. (James E. Dunlap)

For contemporary reviews of the Smith-Miller Iliad, use the following links: Saturday Review; Quarterly Review of the Michigan Alumnus (1944).

[List of Published English Translations of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey]