The figures of speech are the tools that help an author enrich their text. They aim to give readers new senses that reveal in the texts and express ideas to create a greater effect. Using figures of speech helps to make an impression and reveal passages from a new angle. Different comparisons, associations, and contrasts help an author to make their texts look richer. A translator Emily Wilson used interesting rhetorical figures in the Odyssey that created specific effects evoking an emotional response and attracting readers’ attention.
The Odyssey is an ancient composition that a reader may find confusing in terms of language. The translator aims to adapt the text to modern standards, keeping its plot interesting and transferring it to modern readers. For example, Emily Wilson translated the Odyssey, where the “Songs of a Poet” passage contains different figures (Homer 160). It is important to understand how the rhetorical aspects used by the translator impact the poem and create a specific effect on the passages. The “Songs of a Poet” starts with the following words: “Soon Dawn appeared and touched the sky with roses” (Homer 160). The translator used metaphor and epithet in one line to impress a reader from the beginning. The metaphor “touched a sky” creates a tenderness effect, emphasizing a beautiful period of the day (Homer 160). The metaphor is followed by an epithet of “roses” that play the role of clouds in this line (Homer 160). The translator tries to impress the readers with the charms of the sky, which look like alluring flowers. These figures transfer the meaning of nature as something appealing and engaging.
There are other examples of passages in Wilson’s translation that involve metaphors. The lines “Athena poured unearthly charm upon his head and shoulders” and “They reached the restless salty sea” (Homer 161). The first line’s rhetorical figure, “unearthly charm,” positively affects a passage, describing the paradisiac beauty of a woman who can attract attention (Homer 161). The translator accentuates affection and the ability of Athena to act as a goddess. The second line’s metaphor, “restless sea,” aims to transfer the meaning of a sea as an active, aggressive, and disturbing figure which may cause danger to sailors (Homer 161). It creates a terrifying effect on a person who reads this passage. As a result, the metaphors Wilson used helped her enrich the text and create a positive effect on readers; nevertheless, some metaphors carry negative associations.
The translation of the Odyssey includes several similes describing the characters, comparing and introducing them through different things. The line “Athena walked all through the town, appearing like the royal messenger” includes an example of simile, presented by the words “appearing like the royal messenger” (Homer 160). This rhetorical figure changes readers’ perception of a character, comparing it to something meaningful and potent. The passage acquires a sense of mightiness and creates a positive and intriguing effect. Another example of a simile is the line, “Despite his wanderings by sea, he looks like an immortal god” (Homer 160). “Immortal god” is the almightiness of the character’s emphasis, which evokes emotions of power and strength (Homer 160). This figure affects a passage, magnifying the given personality. Wilson increased the intonation and distinctiveness of the poem by introducing the rhetorical figure of alliteration. The line “She took his sight away but gave sweet song,” where “sweet song” represents alliteration, creating an effect on a passage and highlighting the process of beautiful singing (Homer 162). The translator wants the reader to memorize this scene, involving the emotional reaction in the passage.
Conclusively, Emily Wilson managed to gain her aim in making an effect of figures of speech on passages, consequently impacting the readers’ emotions and poem perception. She used interesting metaphors, similes, epithets, and alliterations to deliver the deep meaning of the events and characters of “Songs of a Poet.” These figures allowed to enrich the senses and change the passages appropriately, evoking different emotions and providing associations for readers.
Works Cited
Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by Emily Wilson, W. W. Norton & Company, 2018.