In his Preface to the Iliad, Alexander Pope declared that in his poetic
invention Homer possessed ""unequalled fire and rapture."" Pope spent
his formative years as a poet translating Homer, beginning with the
Iliad, and in his translation he successfully found a style that answers
the sublimity and grace of Homer. Steven Shankman provides scholarly
critical apparatus for this Penguin English Poets edition, which is
based on the 1743 edition that contains the poet's final revisions.
Pope's Preface and the three indexes are also included. Most
importantly, this edition makes available for the first time in
paperback Pope's notes in their entirety, enabling us to observe one
poetic genius illuminate the work of another.