He maintains the drive and metric music of Homer's poetry, and evokes the impact and nuance of the Iliad's mesmerising repeated phrases in what Peter Levi calls "an astonishing performance. Combining the skills of a poet and scholar, Robert Fagles brings the energy of contemporary language to this enduring heroic epic. The play is set in the present, and the Poet has been telling this story for. In this adaptation, the character of the Poet drops in and out of the story, mixing modern-day commentary with ancient stories. Renowned classicist Bernard Knox observes in his superb Introduction that although the violence of the Iliad is grim and relentless, it coexists with both images of civilised life and a poignant yearning for peace. An Iliad is a one-person show adapted by Denis O’Hare and Lisa Peterson from Robert Fagles translation of Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad. The huge themes godlike, yet utterly human of savagery and calculation, of destiny defied, of triumph and grief compel our own humanity. This timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves inexorably to its wrenching, tragic conclusion. In Robert Fagles beautifully rendered text, the Iliad overwhelms us afresh. "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." Thus begins the stirring story of the Trojan War and the rage of Achilles that has gripped listeners and readers for 2,700 years. THE ILIAD: PENGUIN CLASSICS DELUXE EDITION (TRANSLATED BY FAGLES)
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