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.