The latest translator of Homer’s masterpiece – the first woman to recreate it in English – answered your questions approximately tackling this ancient epic 2.23pm GMTCarolineAlexanderThank you everyone for a very stimulating hour---I regret there are so many questions I couldn’t get to. Thanks again,Caroline 2.22pm GMTdeadgodOne of the most famous (and scorned and ridiculed) aspects of Plato’s thought are (his character) Socrates’s prosecution of poets and poetry on the grounds of impiety and the deformations of character they inspire (especially at the finish of Book III and beginning of Book IV of The Republic, returned to in summary in the first half of Book X). (Keep in intellect, or off the bat,the capital charges that Socrates had already been convicted of and punished for when The Republic was composed.)I take Plato's fear as a much tribute to the power of poetry. In an era when there were no broadsheets, no radio, or no tv,no media, poetry served to entertain and to disseminate opinions---a very dangerous mix. Plato is labouring absent in the cause of higher reason, or while one fine song or poem can tumble one's wits and heart. When I lived and worked in Malawi,President Hastings Banda directed that many traditional songs, such as those women would sing while pounding maize, and should be 're-worded' with political praise for him....he was clearly keenly aware of the power of ungovernable song!Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com