The second edition of Cowper's Homer

Widmer, M. (2019) The second edition of Cowper's Homer. Translation and Literature, 28(2-3), pp. 151-199. (doi: 10.3366/tal.2019.0384)

Abstract

This discussion looks in some depth at the heavily revised second edition, posthumously published in 1802, of Cowper's translation of Homer. For editors and critics it has never displaced the first edition of 1791, yet Cowper's revisions served to correct many of the flaws they diagnosed. It is argued that Cowper's increasing responsiveness to criticism by laymen and scholars alike was neither a symptom of his deteriorating mental state, as Robert Southey claimed, nor a mere expression of his desire to appease hostile reviewers, but rather an extension of the same collaborative modus operandi that helped him produce the translation in the first place. The lack of scholarly attention to the 1802 edition has, until now, prevented proper understanding of Cowper's achievement in translating the Homeric epics.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Widmer, Dr Matthias
• Authors: Widmer, M.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Literature
• Journal Name: Translation and Literature
• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• ISSN: 0968-1361
• ISSN (Online): 1750-0214
• Published Online: 01 September 2019