Translations of 'The Odyssey' can differ greatly, with translators often focusing on different aspects of its language.

The identity of the poet Homer remains a mystery, with some scholars arguing that he never really existed.

Explore an archive of scholarly writing about Homer and 'The Odyssey,' with archaeologists, historians, and literary critics unpacking the author and his masterwork.

Homer, the author of 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey,' was supposedly blind, if he existed at all.

James Joyce's legendary epic novel 'Ulysses' is loosely based on Homer's 'Odyssey,' though the writer later said that conceit was mostly for marketing purposes.

The Coen Brothers imagined 'O Brother Where Art Thou?' as a retelling of 'The Odyssey,' though neither had actually read Homer's epic.

Homer's warrior tales, including 'The Iliad' and 'The Odyssey,' were loosely based on the Mycenaean civilization.

Explore a detailed map of Odyssesus' fictional journey from 'The Odyssey.'

Various ancient writers reinterpreted the life of Helen of Troy

Helen of Troy is the woman whose face launched a thousand ships and the Greek wife of Menelaus taken by Paris of Troy to be his wife. To get her back, the Greeks launched the war that would end in the burning of the city of Troy and contribute to the literary tradition through Homer, Horace, and more.

‘Blank verse’ is an unrhymed poetic form with a consistent meter common in epics

Shakespeare’s plays are primarily written in blank verse, a consistent meter without any rhyme scheme. The mode is common in epic poems like Homer’s Iliad or John Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” though the specific meters vary.

Joyce's 'Ulysses' is among modernism's most famous novels

James Joyce’s 1922 epic, “Ulysses,” might be the most intimidating of the modernist movement's many famous novels. It’s a lengthy tome and incredibly dense, written in a stream-of-consciousness style that many readers find impenetrable. Others, however, find it transcendent. This travelogue was written by a reporter traveling to Dublin for Bloomsday, the annual holiday celebrating the novel, who wants to understand why so many people are so drawn to something so esoteric.

Adaptations of Hamlet's most famous soliloquy often change its meaning

The directors of the many "Hamlet" film adaptations have used setting, context, and tone to reframe the "To be, or not to be" monologue. Laurence Olivier's 1948 version presents it as a meditation on suicide; Kenneth Branagh's 1996 version interrogates surveillance. Lucy Zhao's 2025 film "Hamnet," although not a true adaptation of the play, utilizes the soliloquy twice to illustrate how characters grapple with grief.

O’Connor was shaped by her time with Sally and Robert Fitzgerald

After Iowa, O’Connor moved to Connecticut to stay in the garage apartment of Sally and Robert Fitzgerald—the legendary translator of Homer, Sophocles, and other classics—while working on her first novel, “Wise Blood.” Like O’Connor, the Fitzgeralds were devout Catholics, and the three attended mass every morning.

Shakespeare was criticized in his own time

Robert Greene was a respected writer during Shakespeare’s time as an actor-playwright who famously dismissed the young upstart, accusing him of plagiarism and criticizing his ability to write blank verse.

'Romeo and Juliet' was based on a preexisting narrative poem

Arthur Brooke's "The Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet" was first published in 1562 and shares many details with Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Shakespeare wasn't alone in his borrowing; Brooke's poem was based on other earlier Italian stories. None of this writing was considered fan fiction—copyright law didn't exist, and stories were regularly cribbed from preexisting sources.

How Shakespeare changed the sonnet

A sonnet is a rigid poetic form from the Renaissance, featuring 14 lines, a consistent meter (or beat) and rhyme scheme, and a noticeable thematic shift known as a "volta." Shakespeare popularized a form featuring three four-line stanzas and a rhyming couplet, departing from the Petrarchan two-part structure of eight- and six-line stanzas.

The Library of America, a reissue series that began in 1982, repackaged classic works of American writers at a low cost to encourage readers to engage with what it considered the American literary canon.

Shakespeare played a major role in the history of the sonnet

The Renaissance writer Petrarch first developed the 14-line poem with a two-part structure. Through English translations of his sonnets by Sir Thomas Wyatt in the 1500s, the form took on new life, particularly through Shakespeare. Variations on the form have continued to evolve since.

A list of nine quirky literary adaptations of Shakespeare's life and works

Although surprisingly little is known about the actual man, William Shakespeare holds an unrivalled place in English letters. His characters, from Hamlet to Hermione, have inspired countless imitators, responses, and caricatures, and this list gathers a few of the best for the modern reader, including Richard Adams' adaptation of King Lear through a story about dogs.

Robert Browning memorialized the marathon myth in a 19th-century poem

The story of Pheidippides is not likely true, but that hasn’t stopped the story from spreading. Much of that is thanks to Robert Browning, who enshrined the myth for a new generation in a 1879 poem that described the man dying after delivering word of the victory.

The first line of 'The Stranger' is one of literature's most famous openings

The novel's first sentence thrusts readers into the narrator Mersault's world, but its meaning can shift depending on the translation. A 1988 translation by Matthew Ward attempted to "Americanize" the text, removing some Britishisms and bringing it closer to what Camus intended in the original French manuscript. That included changing "Mother" to "Maman," a more familiar—and childlike—name. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Aristotle's 'Poetics': a breakdown for the overwhelmed student

"Poetics" by ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle is an analysis and commentary on theater. This 13-minute video by a theater student summarizes and explains the ancient publication, of which only a portion has survived since antiquity. Aristotle studied under Plato, another ancient Greek philosopher, for about 20 years. Aristotle's "Poetics" can be seen as a response to Plato's "Republic," which argued poets and poetry were corruptive forces.

‘Beowulf’ is a foundational text for modern fantasy

The story is the earliest surviving poem in the English language and enshrined many Anglo-Saxon ideals about heroism, loyalty, and adventure. JRR Tolkein was an enthusiastic fan of the poem, even lecturing about it in 1936, and mirrored many of its themes in “Lord of the Rings.” Critics have also highlighted the influence on later fantasy stories, including “Harry Potter.”

Elephant bones likely inspired the cyclops character that appears in 'The Odyssey.'

Ancient ghost stories appeared in texts like 'The Odyssey'

Sharing ghost tales has been around for centuries. Ancient Mesopotamia, Rome, and Greece each had their own chilling stories about encountering spirits. Find mentions of specters in some of history’s most famous writings like the "Epic of Gilgamesh" and "The Odyssey."

The best Shakespeare plays, ranked

The Guardian worked through the Bard's plays, from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to "The Winter's Tale," evaluating what distinguishes the mediocre from the truly excellent.

Twain read (and lampooned) classic literature

Ever the ironist, Twain claimed to have “ no liking for novels or stories.” Obviously, that was untrue: He read widely, devouring books by Charles Dickens, slave narratives, and texts on astronomy. He also loved John Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” which he called “something everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.”

Why Emily Dickinson's poems were heavily edited after her death

Mabel Loomis Todd worked alongside Dickinson's confidant, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, to publish the first volumes of Dickinson's poems in 1890 and 1891. They removed many of the poem's idiosyncrasies, including their dashes, and created titles where Dickinson had provided none.

Linguists proved Shakespeare wrote his plays

In the 1800s, linguist Wincenty Lutoslawski invented a method of linguistics analysis called stylometry to help certify literary authorship. Stylometrists concluded that Shakespeare wrote his plays, and likely collaborated with Christopher Marlowe for some.

Read the Beats' poetry

The Beats were alike in their willingness to experiment and transgress, though the movement’s writers were distinct artists with varying styles. This collection showcases the breadth of the Beat Generation’s work, with authorized texts from Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Diane di Prima, Richard Brautigan and others.

Hear what ancient Greek music sounded like

Greek poetry was usually created with the intention that the words would be sung along with music. Evidence and reconstructions of ancient melodies and instruments mean researchers and musicians of today can play music in which the final notes have long since faded.

Read the poetry of Henry David Thoreau

Although primarily known for his nonfiction, the New England transcendentalist was also a prolific poet, writing verse that, like his essays, tackled nature, man, and society. The Academy of American Poets has collected 30 of his poems, which you can read for free.

Shakespeare wrote in an early form of Modern English—not Old English

Old, Middle, and Modern English are three distinct language eras. A speaker of Modern English wouldn’t be able to understand Old or Middle English.

Poet Robert Lowell encouraged O'Connor to turn away from commercial appeal

When O'Connor secured a publisher for "Wise Blood," her publisher envisioned it as a broad, commercial comedy, something Lowell—the accomplished poet whom she met after graduate school at Yaddo, an artist colony in upstate New York—suggested she avoid, encouraging her to lean into her more esoteric and darker interests. This interview with O'Connor biographer Brad Gooch elaborates on that advice.

14 famous authors trash-talking classic books

Just because something's considered a "classic" doesn't mean it's universally loved. Even the world's most respected writers don't agree on what defines great literature. Look no further than this list of writers criticizing canonical texts, like Charlotte Brontë deriding Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" or Virginia Woolf on James Joyce's "Ulysses." The most succinct might be Aldous Huxley on Jack Kerouac's "On the Road": "I got a little bored after a time. I mean, the road seemed to be awfully long."

Dozens of common phrases are attributed to Shakespeare

His clever wordsmithery infiltrated English, from “Neither rhyme nor reason” to “In my heart of hearts.” This article lists nearly two dozen of his best-known phrases.

Nobel Prize winner William Butler Yeats was fascinated by magic and the occult

The Irish poet and 1923 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature laid out his beliefs in a 1901 essay, entitled "Magic," and was a member of several organizations dedicated to occult and mystical practices.